Amateurs and Apprentices come under focus

IFHRA General Assembly held in Marrakech

The International Federation of Horse Racing Academies, IFHRA, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has decided to formulate its own rules and regulations to differentiate between amateur and apprentice jockeys, as it has been creating lot of confusion in the equine fraternity.

Ms Lara Sawaya, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Executive Director of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival  and Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR), disclosed this at the General Assembly meeting held on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at Marrakesh, Morocco, on the sidelines of the seventh World Arabian Horse Racing Conference, WAHRC.

This was necessitated because many countries have different rules which govern their respective amateur/apprentice races, Ms Sawaya added.

It was decided that the executive board of directors will meet in London on August 11 to draft the rules and regulations for the amateurs and apprentices.

The other highlight of the meeting was the addition of new members - Chile and New Zealand. Representative from Chile Emmanuel Aguilar thanked IFHRA for admission and said they had currently five training academies and 18 apprentices with another 250 people involved in the breeding industry.

Representatives from Algeria, Bahrain, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Poland, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Sweden, South Korea, Slovakia, Turkey and United States of America. Many representatives from different countries joined the discussions via Skype.

The meeting was deliberated by Chris Watson, Industry Training and Education Consultant, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, in the absence of IFHRA General Secretary Remi Bellocq, who shared his thoughts via Skype.

Another noteworthy outcome of the meeting was Hungary is back in IFHRA and will be represented by Hungary Jockey Association and Japan will be joining the Federation in Abu Dhabi in November.

Ms Sawaya thanked His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, for his continuous support to IFHRA activities and funding the RSF Mentorship programme which is benefitting several jockeys from many parts of the world. She lamented that many countries were not taking the meetings seriously and stated that if the member-countries skip two meetings consecutively, they will be suspended from IFHRA membership. “Great efforts go into organizing meetings and if members don’t take it seriously, we will suspend them,” Ms Sawaya stated categorically. She thanked all the officials, especially from the host country Morocco and ambassadors for their role in making the Marrakkesh meeting a big success.

Ms Sawaya also stated that three workshops are being planned to help apprentice jockeys, lady jockeys and also a workshop on social media for the jockeys.

Representatives from many countries whose students are selected under the Racing Scholarship Fund, RSF, mentorship programme, shared their experiences and thanked His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Arabian Flat Horse Racing Festival, for providing them and ‘unforgettable’ opportunity to travel to other countries and share their experiences and learn from them.

The IFHRA Mentorship programme comes under the umbrella of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival and the Fund will help provide professional mentorship opportunities abroad for students who are currently enrolled in or who have recently graduated from a IFHRA member Racing Academy or national representative. The goal is to improve the horse racing and breeding industry workforce by providing deserving racing academy students or recent graduates with an opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience in equitation and overall horsemanship, while learning about new culture and customs.

The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival is sustained by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and coordinated by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, with National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC as associate sponsors, The National Archives as the official partner and Emirates airline as the official carriers, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and sponsored by Al Aweer Stables, Ayadii LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC, Bloom, Petromal, Rise GeneralTrading Co. LLC, Hayatna, Wathba Stallions, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club,  Mohamed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Al Awani General Enterprises, Kabale, Omeir Travels, Dr Nader Saab, Switzerland, Laboratories Fadia Karam Cosmetics, YAS Channel, Racing Post, Paris Turf,  Al Wathba Centre, the UAE General Women Union, The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2016,  Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Eastern Mangroves Suites, Abu Dhabi by Jannah, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.

Source: HH SH Mansoor Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival / Bharathi Gowda
Photo: Morhaf Al Assaf