Dubai Some of the world’s best Purebred Arabian show horse will assemble in Dubai next week for the season-ending Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship (DIAHC).
Close to 300 horses representing 21 countries and over 80 breeders will be competing for top honours in the six championship classes — Yearling Fillies. Fillies, Mares, Yearling Colts, Colts and Stallions.
At stake is a staggering $4 million in prize money.
Staged under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, the Championship will be held at a purpose-built venue at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from March 16-18.
Qusai Obaidallah, Secretary of the DIAHC highlighted Shaikh Hamdan’s significant role of promoting an event that has earned its right to be the biggest and most prestigious horse show on the planet.
“Right from the start, in 2004, Shaikh Hamdan’s mission was to ensure that the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship would become the premier horse show in the world,” said Obaidallah.
“Through Shaikh Hamdan’s unstinting support, encouragement and financial backing the DIAHC is now an event that every proud breeder or owner of Arabian show horses, wants to compete at.
“It is the benchmark that all other shows in the world aspire to equal.”
Obaidallah pointed out that the DIAHC has made a huge impact on the breeding of Arabian show horses, not just in the UAE and Middle East, but around the world.
“Thanks through Shaikh Hamdan’s vision to create an event of unparalleled quality the breeding industry overall has grown beyond expectations,” he said.
“The UAE is at the forefront of this massive growth and today we can proudly say that stud farms in the country can compete with the best in the world.
“Stud Farms based in the UAE have produced several world champions and that is precisely what Shaikh Hamdan had in mind when he launched the Championship back in 2004,” added Obaidallah, a breeder himself.
Obaidallah launched MDS Stud (My Dubai Stud) and successfully bred a champion in MDS Shaikha, a yearling who won gold at the Abu Dhabi International Championships.
Christianne Chazel, a consultant who has worked with the DIAHC since its early years, says that the event is unparalleled in terms of quality, facilities, organisation and prize money.
“There are several major shows in the Middle East, like the ones at Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, but the Dubai show is at the very top,” said the Frenchwoman, a former breeder and organiser of the World Championship in Paris for two decades.
“If you talk of a high quality horse show, then you are talking about the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships. Show horses are known for their beauty, agility and heritage and all those qualities are evident in the champions that come to compete in Dubai each year.
“The qualification is not easy, as we only want the best breeds in the world to compete here and it’s getting more and more difficult each year, as the breeding of Purebred Arabians gets better and better from one season to the next.
“A lot of this is due to the success and stature of the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships. Judging from the entries, I’m sure we’re going to see some very strong competition at this year’s event.”
