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VALKENSWAARD: The 2025 Valkenswaard edition of the Global Champions Arabians Tour in the Netherlands concluded on Sunday, with Berlin MP, owned by Hleetan Qatar Stud, taking home the prestigious Senior Stallion Gold Championship title.

The 2018-born grey stallion was handled by Glenn Schoukens, delivering a performance that captivated judges and spectators alike.

The sixth stage of the Tour in the Europe & the Middle East series unfolded at the renowned Longines Tops International Arena in Valkenswaard.

Over three days, more than 100 of the world’s finest Arabian horses competed in a venue filled with breeders, sponsors, influencers, VIPs, and fans.

With a total prize purse $1.64 million, of which $1.22 million was allocated to championship classes and $419,000 to qualifiers, Valkenswaard reinforced the GCAT’s status as the most prestigious and rewarding series in the history of Arabian horse sport.

“Valkenswaard continues to surprise and inspire,” said Bader M. Al-Darwish, CEO of the Global Champions Arabians Tour. “We witnessed world-class competition at the epicenter of equestrian sports in the Netherlands.”

The show now moves to London, where the tour will make its much-anticipated UK debut from Aug. 14 to 17 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The season’s grand finale in Doha, the World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme, is from Dec. 3 to 6.

Championship Winners – Valkenswaard 2025

Yearling Fillies: Gold for VERONICA BV, owned by Al-Shaqab and bred by Bautista Vich Stud, Qatar.

Yearling Colts: Gold for SK KAYAN, owned by Aljumail Stud, Qatar, and bred by Abdulaziz Mohammed A. Almudimigh.

Junior Fillies: Gold for Shahalel Al-Shaqab, owned and bred by Al-Shaqab, Qatar.

Junior Colts: Gold for D Borkan, owned and bred by Dubai Arabian Horse Stud, UAE.

Senior Mares: Gold for Al-Aryam Banafsaj, owned by Ajman Stud – Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi, bred by Al-Aryam Arabians, Ajman, UAE.

Senior Stallions: Gold for Berlin MP, owned by Hleetan Qatar Stud, bred by Mindy Peters, Qatar.

Championship Points Standings after Valkenswaard

Top Female: Shahalel Al-Shaqab – 120.

Top Male: Berlin MP – 104.

Leading Handler: Glenn Schoukens – 307.

ROME: Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man’s arrival on the moon Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

After praying the Sunday Angelus at his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo headed to the astronomical observatory located in the Pontifical Villas, where he took a close look at the telescopes that have supported celestial exploration from a faith-based perspective for decades.

The pontiff was accompanied by astronomers and students participating in the traditional summer school organized by the observatory.

This was Pope Leo’s first visit to the observatory, founded in 1891 by Leo XIII. The first vision of it, however, can be traced back to the establishment by Pope Gregory XIII of a commission aimed at studying the scientific data and implications of the calendar reform that took place in 1582.

The Vatican Observatory has generated top-notch research from its scientist-clerics, drawing academics to its meteorite collection, which includes bits of Mars and is considered among the world’s best.

Later Sunday, the pope called astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who shared with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins the historic 1969 moonwalk.

“This evening, 56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, I spoke with the astronaut Buzz Aldrin,” Pope Leo wrote on his X account. “Together we shared the memory of a historic feat, a testimony to human ingenuity, and we reflected on the mystery and greatness of Creation.”

Pope Leo then blessed the astronaut, his family and his collaborators.

There are a few precedents of papal calls to “space.”

In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI rang the space station and asked about the future of the planet and the environmental risks it faced.

Before Benedict, Pope Paul VI sent a radio message to astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins after their moonwalk, calling them “conquerors of the Moon.”