Saudi women are making history at Aramco's four-star Diriyah Equestrian Festival (DEF), competing alongside men for the first-time in the Gulf nation's history.
The competition, launched last weekend and ends on Dec. 21, is hosting over 120 riders, 150 grooms, 50 officials, and 300 companions and trainers.
Out of those competing are 13 female riders including Saudi nationals, according to Harper's Bazaar Arabia. The latter were never previously allowed to take part in such a public race in the kingdom before.
The festival, which is part of the country's Diriyah Season, is highly prestigious as it's considered a qualifying step for riders hoping to be recruited for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2020 FEI World Cup.
One of those taking part in the event is Saudi equestrian Dalma Malhas.
Attending the Equestrian Championship in Diriyah last year, Malhas was left impressed with how fast the sports field is developing in Saudi Arabia.
"I'm always proud to represent the kingdom," she said in a video posted on Diriyah Season's official Instagram account.
Malhas is a medalist who has previously competed outside the kingdom and is considered one of the country's top equestrians.
Jordanian Sarah Al Armouti became the first non-Saudi and female participant to win at an international championship in Saudi Arabia.
Al Armouti won the second round of "the international jumping competition against the clock (1.20m)" with a record of 63.01 seconds.
Taiwanese Jasmine Chen came in fourth place during the FEI Jumping World Cup of international jumping competition. Chen had her hopes quite high for the Diriyah competition as she was counting on the points collected from DEF to get her a spot for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
"I'm extremely excited to be competing in the DEF [...] From the photos and videos of previous competitions, the place looks amazing. I try to focus my show schedule on outdoor competitions with big arenas and sunny weather, so the DEF will be perfect for me and my horses," Chen told Saudi Gazette ahead of last weekend's competition.
Saudi women are now officially taking part in public sports and cultural events
In August, a group of women became the >first to ever perform at the kingdom's Souq Okaz Festival.
The women, all top-notch equestrians from different Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, took part in an event called "Forsan Okaz" (Knights of Okaz).
This came at a time when women in the kingdom were breaking into fields previously deemed off-limit to them, including professions like> stage acting and >flight attending.