Saudi Riders Go One-Two in Individual Show Jumping at Asian Games 2026

Saudi Arabia's riders turned the individual show jumping into a highlight of the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya. Ramzi Al-Duhami took the gold and Abdulrahman Al-Rajhi the silver, a Saudi one-two in the arena, while Khaled Al-Mobty added a bronze. It capped a standout equestrian campaign for the kingdom, which had already claimed the team jumping title earlier in the Games. Show jumping can look effortless from the stands, but it asks a great deal of an athlete's body. Here is what the Saudi riders achieved, and what their sport can teach anyone who trains in a gym.

In this article

1. A Saudi One-Two in the Individual Jumping
2. How the Jumping Capped a Big Saudi Games
3. What Show Jumping Demands of a Rider's Body
4. Train Like a Rider: Build Your Athletic Base
5. Find Your Athletic Edge at GymNation

A Saudi One-Two in the Individual Jumping

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saudi riders Ramzi Al-Duhami and Abdulrahman Al-Rajhi finished first and second in the individual show jumping, with Al-Duhami on top of the podium and Al-Rajhi alongside him in silver. Khaled Al-Mobty added a bronze in the individual competition, rounding out a memorable day for the Saudi team. For Al-Duhami it was another gold at this level, extending a career that Arab News reports now runs to six Asian Games medals, a remarkable record for one of the region's most consistent riders and a sign of how deep Saudi equestrian talent has become.

How the Jumping Capped a Big Saudi Games

The individual medals followed Saudi Arabia's team jumping gold, won by Al-Duhami, Al-Mobty, Al-Rajhi and Saad Al-Ajmi. For Al-Ajmi it was a first ever Asian Games gold, a milestone moment in a squad full of experience. Arab News reports Saudi Arabia ended the Asian Games with 17 medals, its highest tally since the kingdom first competed back in 1982, with the equestrian team among the standout performers of the trip to Japan. For young riders and gym-goers watching at home, it is the kind of result that makes a sport feel within reach.

What Show Jumping Demands of a Rider's Body

Riding at this level is a full-body sport, even though the horse does the jumping. A competitive show jumper needs a deep base of strength, balance and endurance to stay secure and precise over a course where a single touch can cost a medal. The main physical demands include:

• Core strength and stability to stay centred and absorb the horse's movement.
• Strong legs and hips to grip the saddle, hold the riding position and cushion each landing.
• Balance and coordination to adjust in a split second between fences.
• Cardiovascular fitness and calm breathing to stay sharp through a long, tense round.

None of that happens by accident. The best riders train off the horse as seriously as they train on it, building the engine and the control the sport rewards.

Train Like a Rider: Build Your Athletic Base

You do not need a horse to borrow the way riders prepare. The same athletic base helps with almost any sport, and with everyday life:

• Work your core with planks, carries and anti-rotation moves rather than endless crunches.
• Build lower-body strength with squats, lunges and hip work you can progress over time.
• Add balance and single-leg drills to sharpen control and protect your joints.
• Keep your engine going with steady cardio, so you stay composed when it counts.

Put those together two or three times a week and you build the kind of all-round fitness that serves a rider, a weekend athlete, or anyone who simply wants to move well and feel strong.

Find Your Athletic Edge at GymNation

Watching Saudi athletes succeed on a world stage is a perfect nudge to start your own training. Whatever your sport or your starting point, a base of strength, balance and conditioning will get you moving better, and the easiest way to begin is to turn up and try. Sign up for a free day pass and see how a GymNation session feels for yourself.

Sources:
arabnews.com
aawsat.com

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.