Saudi Women Secure First Camel Race Wins at Taif Festival

Saudi riders Reema Al-Shuwaie and Hadeel Al-Sharif made history at the Crown Prince Camel Festival in Taif, achieving first-time wins in the festival’s main rounds. These victories mark the first time in the festival’s history that female competitors have won titles in the main races.

Al-Shuwaie secured the title in the first main round aboard her camel Absher, finishing with a time of 3:14.585 minutes, while Al-Sharif claimed the second main round on her camel Mubshir, crossing the line in 3:17.950 minutes.

The event featured 249 races and drew participants from eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, and the UK. Total prize money exceeded SAR 50 million (USD 13.3 million).

Organised by the Saudi Camel Race Federation, the festival is regarded as one of the region’s largest camel racing events. Now in its seventh edition, it recorded over 100,000 camels competing.