By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Kuwait Sports Club jockey Ali Jassem Al-Kharafi claimed the first ever Kuwait Equestrian League title Friday by winning the eighth and final round of the championship. Masayel Club's Abdullah Al-Awadhi was second, while Equestrian Club rider Abdelrahman Al-Fuzaei stood third in the final standings.

In the final round, Kharafi won first place after a differentiation round with 46.11 points free of faults followed by Rakan Al-Hasawi, Awadhi, Enaz Al-Enaz and Fuzaei. Kharafi raised his point total to 159 points, Awadhi to 151, Fuzaie to 113 and Hasawi to 88. Kharafi said he is happy with the league title, adding that "the win was with the help of Allah and support of my father, uncles and Kuwait Equestrian Club administration for providing us with training camps abroad and participation in local and international tournaments".

Kharafi thanked the Kuwait association for organizing a successful local tournament at the highest technical and organizational levels, which was held in three different clubs in the presence of international track designers from Germany, Austria, Poland, Portugal and UAE. Secretary of Kuwait Equestrian Association Nabila Al-Ali congratulated all jockeys for their participation and wished those who did not win better luck in the future, adding that next year's league tournament will be of eight rounds, with plans to organize three international tournaments.