SYRIA: SHOW JUMPING - Seif al-Sham Tournament, the 10th round of the Arab show jumping championship finals

Record ID: 279633

  • Title: SYRIA: SHOW JUMPING - Seif al-Sham Tournament, the 10th round of the Arab show jumping championship finals
  • Date: 20th March 2008
  • Summary: AUDIENCE APPLAUDING
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA22U57I4UFBZA1SPNVBN1G3WDN
  • Story Text: The 10th round of the Arab show jumping championship finals, the Seif al-Sham Tournament, came to a close in Damascus on Wednesday (March 19).
    Riders from 14 Arab countries -- including Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- participated in the event, competing for points that would qualify them for the Show Jumping World Cup to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden April 23-27.

    "We still do not know who will participate in the world championships. We will know definitively in the al-Wafa tournament that will be held in a couple of days," Lotfi Ostwani, information officer of the Seif al-Sham Tournament, told Reuters.
    Egyptian rider Osama al-Borai won first place, but pointed to stiff competition from the Syrian team.

    "The standards of this championship were excellent in terms of organisation and administration. The Syrian team performed very well and won first place in the team competition. We can say that Egypt and Syria have come out firsts in the different contests," al-Borai said.
    The Syrian and Egyptian teams will also compete in the 11th round in Damascus on Sunday (March 23), the final event of the Arab Equestrian League championships.

    "There are very minor differences in the performance of the winners of first, second or third place. It could be an error by the horse or just bad luck," said Syria rider and winner of third place Yasser al-Sharif. "I am still competing and I am still ahead in the rankings."
    Previous competitions have been held in Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
Register