World Arabian Horse Racing Forum 2019 Bucharest, Romania - July 2-7 Athénée Palace Hilton Bucharest

Important aspects of Arabian horse racing raised at World Arabian Horse Racing Forum

The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s World Arabian Horse Racing Forum opened in Bucharest, the Romanian capital on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

About 300 experts, veterinarians, horsemen, trainers and media professionals from around the world are participating in the Forum.

Attending the Forum were HE Ahmed Abdullah Al-Matroushi, Ambassador of the State to Romania; HE Mohammed Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman; Abdullah Alraisi Director General of the National Archives, Faisal Al Rahmani, IFAHR President, Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director of Outdoor Promotion at the Department of Tourism and Culture Abu Dhabi; Khulood Al Nuaimi, Representative of the National Company for Feed and Flour Production and Marketing among others.

The Forum is being organised as part of the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The first session of the Bucharest Forum was on Breeding Session and was moderated by Derek Thompson. The panelists were Khalid Al Nabooda (UAE), Hassan Moussali (FR), Susan Meyer (USA); Giovanna Picconi (Italy), Dr Robert Dalglish (Scotland), Emanuel Cessac (FR), Thomasz Chamouliak (Poland), Mark Weeks (UK).

The speakers presented examples of their experiences in breeding of Arabian horses, where they all agreed that the process required expertise in addition to trying out successful experiments.

The panelists recommended the importance of ensuring all means of breeding to be of high quality, which contributes to the production of horses capable of achieving good results and this compensates the owner of his great efforts.

The second session on the opening day was on Rules & Regulations & Veterinary Services and was moderated by Philip Brenan (UK) the panelists were Hecham El Debagh (Morocco), Thierry Délégué (FR), Nelly Philippot (Belgium), Dr Ezadine Sedrati (Morocco), Dr. Geronimo Branescu (Romania), President of Sanitary Vet Authority, Bodil Blonqvift (Sweden), Mohammed Al Hashemi (Oman).

The debate was broad and varied, and speakers called for the development of laws and regulations to contribute to the development of Arabian horse racing around the world. They hailed the UAE races which they considered the best in the world.

The efforts of the UAE, initiated by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, were commended for their support and efforts to develop and promote Arabian horses throughout the world.

Speakers also stressed support for the proposal to set up a race for young people under the age of 18 to create a large base by targeting this age group.

The session on Racing & Training Session was moderated by Ajay Anne (India) with the panelists being Antoine De Watrigant (FR), Richard Mullen (UK), Viorel Dabija (Romania), Dennis Madson (Sweden), Jean De Rouaille (FR), Ernest Ortel (FR), Mussabeh Almuhairi (UAE), Genny Haynes (UK).

Ace jockey Richard Mullen spoke about the role of the jockey and said the relationship between jockey trainer and owner must be strong and they should work as a team.

Mullen said he came to the UAE 20 years ago with the help of trainer Jackie Wickham, who taught him many horse secrets. ‘I was fortunate to ride horses owned by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. My family and me are proud to be Ambassador to the Festival,” he said.

"We have a long history with Arabian horses 150 years ago, but in the communist era these races had stopped since 1960. Now thanks to the Festival we have been able to revive them again in 2018," said Vorel Dabija, head of the Romanian Racing Federation.

"We are keen to maintain local breeding. We are making great efforts to develop our horse racing through the national stables. We currently have 350 horses and we import some horses from France," he said.

The three-day Forum ends on Friday and will be followed by flat races under the Festival’s banner as part of the ‘UAE Tolerance Day’ race meeting on July 6, 2019.