AlUla, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-: The inaugural AlUla Old Town horse parade took place this Saturday in a celebration of the end of Winter at Tantora and the start of AlUla Arts festival. The already vibrant market street become even more colourful with crowds lining the streets and taking to the rooftops to watch the spectacle.
Strolling down AlUla Old Town’s vibrant Market Street were the champion polo horses and world famous players from Argentina’s La Dolfina including the legendary Adolfo Cambiaso with La Dolfina team mates David Stirling (URU), Pablo Mac Donough and Juan Martin Nero (ARE).
Wearing the same hand-designed tack as they did at the recent Dolce&Gabbana Alta Moda runway show – AlUla Arabian horses will demonstrate the grace, beauty and craftsmanship of Saudi design – with horse attire designed by Saudi designer Nora AlShaikh.
AlUla Old Town and adjacent AlJadidah is the arts and culture hub of AlUla and to celebrate the start of AlUla Arts festival, a marching band of musicians from The Performing Arts Festival and actors from AlUla Old Town’s immersive theatre, Path of Poets, will also join the parade. Path of Poets is an immersive live show about the celebrated poet Jamil bin Muammar sharing the story of Buthaina.
A caravan of camels bought a further touch of the AlUla desert to the parade. The parade was not only a celebration of AlUla Moments events calendar, but also a homage to the past, present and future of the horse heritage of AlUla. From sporting competitions to leisure tours – AlUla is being revived as a centre of all equestrian activities.
Restaurants in Old Town got in on the action. Suhail, a high-end eatery offering regional Saudi cuisine offered a ‘breakfast of Kings’ for the ‘sport of Kings’ and Merkaz was a popular spot for onlookers also offering a degustation Grand Mother breakfast.
Superstar performer Alicia Keys, who performed an emotional and empowering concert at Maraya last night also stopped by to enjoy the proceeding.