World Arabian Horse Racing Forum to be held in Romania in 2019
14 May 2018, Madrid, Spain ~ The Romanian capital of Bucharest was named as host for the 2019 edition of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s World Arabian Horse Racing Forum (WAHRF). This was announced at the Gala dinner on the final day which came to an end in the Spanish capital on 6 May 2018, Sunday night.
Bucharest will be the 10th city in the world to stage the annual conference which brings together Arabian horse Racing Professionals and enthusiasts from around the world, and made its debut in 2010 in Abu Dhabi under the directions of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The closing dinner ceremony of the 30 April to 6 May 2018 WAHRF brought the curtain down on 3 days of the Arabian Racing Forum at the La Quinta De Jarama in Madrid, Spain, where 400-plus delegates from nearly 90 countries marked the 100th birthday of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The Forum and other activities of the Festival were held as the Year of Zayed to mark his 100th birth anniversary which in fact fell on Sunday, 6 May.
A portrait of the great UAE leader painted by Santosh Kumar, was unveiled on the night and later was gifted to HE Dr. Hessa Al Oteiba, UAE Ambassador to Spain, as a memento to the embassy by Ms. Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Chairperson of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and Chairperson of Ladies & Apprentice Racing Committees in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR).
HE Dr. Hessa along with HE Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazroui – UAE Ambassador to UK, HE Yousif Al-Sabri – UAE Ambassador to Poland, HE Mohammed Al Suwaidi- UAE Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Edward Hamod, Director of National Feed and Flour Production and Marketing Co. LLC, Dr. Abdulla Al Raisi, Director of General of National Archives, Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi-Director General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, WAHO President Peter Pond, IFAHR Chairman Faisal Al Rahmani and many other prominent personalities were awarded mementoes for their support to the Festival and the success of the Madrid Forum.
Also feted were the UAE Ladies endurance team that won the Individual and Team Gold on Saturday, all connections of Purebred Arabian racing which attended a meet at the Sevilla Race course, members of the media, all panel members of the seven sessions, and attendees that were part of the three-day Forum.
“It was a great week for the sport of Purebred Arabian racing. Apart from the brain storming at the Forum, the other highlights were the first-ever Listed race in Seville and also the launch of the Festival’s HH Sheikha Lateefa Bint Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Pony International race series,” said Ms. Sawaya.
The Forum delegates then left on a one-day trip to Sevilla on May 5 where the Festival staged the Year Of Zayed Race Day, a flat race meeting at the Gran Hippodrome De L’Andalucia race course. On the same day Madrid hosted the 100 miles Sheikh Zayed Cup and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak CEIO Cup 120 km ** in which the UAE dominated,” Sawaya concluded.
Sunday night’s Gala Dinner at the La Quinta de Jarama which was a mix of music, dance and dinner brought the curtain down on yet another world conference with Bucharest named to carry the baton forward.
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 carrier, in cooperation with Emirates Racing Authority, IFHRA, IFAHR, Emirates Arabian Horse Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abu Dhabi Youth Council, General Authority for Sports and sponsored by Ayadi LLC, Global United Veterinary Services LLC, Nissan Middleast Al Massood Automobiles, Nirvana Travels and Tourism LLC, Equicare Veterinary Services, Alawal Stud, Cavalos Equine Care & Supplies, SET Sustainable Environmental Technologies, Al Awani General Enterprises, Omeir Travels, Kabale, YAS Channel, Abu Dhabi Falconers Club, Emirates Falconers Club, Mohammed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, Racing Post, Paris Turf, Al Wathba Centre, the UAE’s General Women’s Union, The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2018, Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Spa and Resort.
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