Arabian Horse

2013 - Arabian horses prove mettle on
St. Moritz lake ice-tracks
While the primary focus of the HH Sheikh Mansoor
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse
Flat Racing Festival has been to further the
cause of Arabian horse racing, it has also helped
Purebred Arabian horses take on new challenges.
One such initiative was to see the Arabian
equine stars race on the ice and snow tracks on
the frozen lake Moritz in Switzerland.
Seven Purebred Arabian horses lined up to create
history on February 13, 2013 when they tackled
the tricky ice track and Fanal El Samawi
under Fabian Xavier won the Sheikh Zayed Bin
Sultan Al Nahyan Cup over 1800 metres.
In the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan series,
it was Ameretto that once again sizzled to win
the Berlin and Warsaw legs of the European Triple
Crown and with a second place finish in Duindigt,
won the Euros 30,000 bonus for the second
successive year.
The year 2013 also heralded a series of Endurance
rides, the feature of them being the HH Sheikha
Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Cup that was
run in Abu Dhabi and was won by the UAE’s Afra
Al Suwaidi.
The Festival staged Endurance rides under its
banner both in the UAE and abroad.
In another key development, Ms. Lara Sawaya,
the Director of the Festival was elected as the
Chairperson of IFAHR Ladies Racing.
The French city of Toulouse was the proud host
of the fourth edition of the World Arabian Horse
Racing Conference 2013 and like the three before
it, this three-day meet also ended in success.
The HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak EARS (European
Association of Racing Schools) Conference
on Education and Training was another ground-
-breaking initiative that was aimed to bolster
the skills of aspiring jockeys.
South Africa’s Collen Thabana riding Manan won
the second running of the HH Sheikha Fatima
Bint Mubarak EARS Apprentice Jockeys race in
Abu Dhabi while the Ladies Championship, after
ten races around the globe, brought victory to
Oman’s Salima Al Taleei.
Riding the Jaci Wickham-trained Kareem, Al Taleei
did very well to win the 1600-metre race
and be crown as the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak
Ladies World Champion for 2013.
Valiant Boy won the Best 4-year-old as well as
the Best US Horse of the Year Award as Houston
played host to another Festival supported Darley
Awards function.
It was a Dutch dominance in the HH Sheikha Fatima
Bint Mubarak International Awards as Karin
van den Bos (Best Owner), Jadey Pietrawiecz
(Best Jockey) and Diana Dorenburg (Best Trainer)
made The Netherlands proud. The Lifetime
Achievement award was won by the late Susan
Santesson of Germany.
The Wathba Stud Farm Cup series continued its
presence in Abu Dhabi while 23 races in the series
were held around the world, providing a major
boost Arabian racing at the grassroots level.
The Festival continued to participate in shows in
Oman and the UAE while another edition of the
Year Book for 2012 was also unveiled.
48 Arabian Horse Intl