SOUTH AFRCA — The Saudi National Team won the 2023 Tent Pegging World Cup at the international competition, which took place in South Africa from August 24 to 26 and featured nine nations as competitors. Hassan Omar Asiri, a Saudi equestrian, won the world championship in the individual competitions, with Abdul Wahhab Asiri taking third.
With 581.5 points, Saudi Arabia won the World Cup. Pakistan finished second with 570 points, and India took third place with 548.5 points. The Saudi squad demonstrated their strength with impressive performances both individually and as a team, taking first place in the sword round, second in the lancet round, and second in the pegs and relay race. In the sword round, the peg race, and the relay race, Hassan Asiri came in second.
The riders who make up the Saudi national squad are Rashid Al-Marri, Muhdhal Al-Qahtani, Abdul-Wahhab Asiri, Hassan Asiri, and Mishaal Al-Shammari. International coach Muhannad Al-Rishan Al-Yami oversaw their training.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian team's minister of sports, congratulated them on their World Cup victory. The minister posted the following message on his official X platform account: "Congratulations, champions. The equestrian Hassan Omar Asiri won the World Championship in individual contests, and I salute our heroes, the riders, on taking first position in the Tent Pegging World Cup.
The global championship was held at the George Showgrounds in South Africa's Western Cape province. In this popular sport, horsemen gallop at full speed while striking targets with lances.
One of the twelve equestrian sports that the International Equestrian Federation has officially recognized is tent pegging, an old cavalry sport. A mounted horseman playing the specific game of tent pegging gallops while piercing, picking up, and carrying away a small ground target (a representational tent peg) or a string of small ground targets with a sword or a lance.
The tent pegging discipline of equestrian competition is governed internationally by the International Tent Pegging Federation. Tent pegging involves the use of lances, swords, and revolvers. Following polo and show-jumping, tent pegging gained popularity in Saudi Arabia as a result of the rapid growth of tent pegging teams and their success at both national and international competitions.