Sport | Horse Racing
Equine sport lover to the core leaves behind rich legacy
Colonel Edward Bearby Wilson, a close friend of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Director General of the Royal Stables until 2004, passed away peacefully on January 2.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:35 January 5, 2009
Abu Dhabi: Colonel Edward Bearby Wilson, a close friend of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Director General of the Royal Stables until 2004, passed away peacefully on January 2.
Speaking to Gulf News yesterday, his son, Charles EVB Wilson, said a memorial service will be held at 1pm on Sunday, January 10, at St Andrews Church in the capital.
"He was unwell for a few days and passed away peacefully. We were with him when the end came," said Charles, the only son of Wilson.
Wilson, who retired after helping the UAE form the Abu Dhabi Defence Force, was asked by the late Shaikh Zayed to form the Royal Stables which he did in 1973, according to Charles. "He was Director General of the Royal Stables from 1973 to 2004," his son said.
"My father organised the stables and also got the UAE Purebred Arabian horses into the World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO). He also played a major role when the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club's race course was built," Charles said.
Wilson is said to have enjoyed a very active life and was fit right up to the end. In 2005, many got a glimpse of the man when he received the Abu Dhabi Award from General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Wilson, when posted with the Worcestershire Regiment in Malaysia in the early 1950s, had won the Johore Grand Prix on a motorcycle.
In 1990, Wilson took part in the London-to-Peking Motoring Challenge, completing a distance of 9,162 miles.
Under the late Shaikh Zayed's directives, Wilson ensured the successful breeding programme for Purebred Arabian horses and was also instrumental behind the UAE staging a flat race for Arabian horses in UK.
Deirdre Hyde, stud manager at the Royal Stables, who had worked under Wilson for more than 25 years, said: "Col Wilson was responsible for importing the early horses which ensured the success of the breeding programme.
"He was instrumental, in keeping with the wishes of the late Shaikh Zayed, in encouraging UAE nationals to breed Purebred Arabians and continue the heritage and tradition of these noble creatures," said Hyde.
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