Launch of New Qualifying Rounds for the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival 2025 in Riyadh
Yesterday, nine qualifying rounds for local owners were held as part of the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival 2025, which is considered the largest gathering of falcons in the world. The festival is organized by the Saudi Falcons Club at its headquarters in Malham (north of Riyadh city) and runs from December 25 to January 10, 2026, with wide participation from local and professional falconers, visitors, and those interested in the heritage of falconry.
A record-breaking 367 falcons participated in the fifth day’s events across nine diverse rounds for categories including Gyr Pure (Fledgling and Passage), Gyr Shaheen (Fledgling), two rounds for Gyr Shaheen (Passage), and four rounds for the Gyr Taba categories (two for Fledgling and two for Passage). This represents the largest number of falcons to gather in a single day during the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival 2025 so far.
The start featured the Gyr Pure Fledgling round, where Osama bin Thunayyan took first place with the falcon “Gentle,” followed by Abdullah Ghanem Al-Dousari in second with “A3,” and Hamad Mohsen Al-Marri in third with “Al-Muhadhub.” Meanwhile, in the Gyr Pure Passage round, Dhafer Salem Al-Marri claimed first place with “Al-Mared,” while Abdullah Al-Ajmi came second with “Al-Muhami,” and Fahad Al-Quraini finished third with “Sultan.”
In the third round for the Gyr Shaheen Fledgling category, Saleh Al-Mutairi took first place with “Onix,” Yasser Al-Mutairi came second with “Kroushan,” and Nahid Al-Dousari finished third with “Wanqa.” In the first round for the Gyr Shaheen Passage category, Hamad Abdulmohsen Al-Marri secured first place with “96,” while Abdulaziz Al-Atiq came second with “Oqab,” and Mohammed Daifallah Al-Shammary took third with “Salma.”
In the second round for the Gyr Shaheen Passage category, Saud Al-Duaij won first place with “Sun,” Yasser Al-Mutairi came second with “Fly Wing,” and Sultan Al-Yami finished third with “Expo.”
This was followed by the Gyr Taba categories. In the first Fledgling round, Khalid Al-Buainain won first place with “Farouq,” Dhafer Al-Marri came second with “Suhail,” and Saad Al-Buainain took third with “Al-Shahm.” In the second Fledgling round, Khalid Al-Hajri took first with “K3,” Dhafer Al-Marri occupied second with “Al-Range,” and Fadl Al-Khater came third with “Hattan.”
In the first round for the Gyr Taba Passage category, Hamad bin Musli Al-Qahtani claimed first place with “Nimrod,” Barghash Al-Hajri came second with “T1,” and Saad Al-Buainain finished third with “283.” The fifth day concluded with the second round for the Gyr Taba Passage category, where Fahad Al-Nassar snatched first place with “Al-Saab,” Jafar Al-Qahtani came second with “Ghazi,” and Yasser Al-Mutairi finished third with “Daif.”
It is noted that the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival 2025, which reflects Saudi interest in falconry heritage, features 139 rounds offering 1,012 prizes with a total value exceeding 38 million riyals. The festival includes two main competitions: “Al-Melwah” (400-meter lure) and “Al-Mazayin” (beauty pageant), with the Al-Melwah competition attracting categories of owners, amateurs, professionals, and the elite through rounds dedicated to both local and international falconers.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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