TAIF — At the start of the final round of the fifth annual Crown Prince Camel Festival in Taif, American camel racer Taylor Dees was named the victor of the sixth stage of the rider marathon. Taylor and other victors received the trophy and medals from Saudi Assistant Minister of Sports for Sports Affairs Adwa Al-Araifi, who is also a member of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee's Board of Directors.
With a time of three minutes and 57.44 seconds, Taylor won the open international stage (2 km), which was held for the first time in the festival's history. Iranian camel racer Azatollah Farmoush placed second with a time of four minutes, 9.46 seconds, and German camel rider Mark Ward finished third with a time of four minutes, 15.49 seconds.
As part of attempts to advance women's sport, the festival's organizing committee, in collaboration with the International Camel Racing Federation (ICRF), launched the open international marathon stage specifically for women, with cash prizes up to SR155,000.
The rider marathon featured six stages on Monday, with five stages for men spanning a distance of 4 km each and one stage for women reaching a distance of 2 km. With a time of 7 minutes, 27.42 seconds, Munif Al-Aradi, riding the Beshra Hammad-owned horse Al-Shard, took first place in the rider marathon.
Abdullah Al-Rubaie rode Mushabbab Al-Qahtani's horse Baraqah to victory in the second stage in a time of 7 minutes, 37.47 seconds. Nayef Al-Juhani rode Hamlul, owned by Safar Al-Osaimi, to victory in the third round. Salem Al-Hwaiti rode Harba, owned by Atef Al-Qurashi, to victory in the fourth round. Suleiman Al-Hwaiti won the fifth stage while riding Salman Obaid Al-Dosari's horse "Doctor."
