RIYADH: Six winners were crowned in a falcon beauty pageant at the King Abdul Aziz Falconry Festival at Malham, north of Riyadh.
The beauty pageant, or Mazayen competition, was part of the festival’s second edition and was judged in two categories — Farkh (birds under 12 months of age) and Qurnass (older than 12 months).
Falconer Khaled Nasser Al-Hajjri won three first places in the Farkh category with his falcons Hasheem, Merheb and Tamam scoring 92 percent, 85 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
In the Qurnass category, Salem Nasser Al-Hajjri’s falcon Zandan won first place with 92 percent, Sultan Fahd Al-Damer’s falcon Nyoom second place with 81 percent, and Dahy Ali Al-Mansoury’s Al-Qayed third place with 72 percent.
The Saudi Falcons Club had specified seven criteria for winners in the beauty competition, including head and shoulders, upper part of the chest, back, leg and claw, and color. The falcon with the highest score out of 100 was awarded first place in each category. Prize money in the Mazayen competition totaled SR3 million ($800,000) with the winner in each round receiving SR300,000, second place SR200,000 and third place SR100,000.
As part of the beauty contest, the festival will include a final round for the Qurnass category. Competition in the 400-meter Milwah event will continue until Monday.
