30 April 2018, Madrid, Spain ~ The HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival’s annual World Arabian Horse Racing Forum (WAHRF) opens in Madrid from 1 May 2018, along with a range of other events, all being organized under the umbrella of the Festival.
On Tuesday, 1 May, the Festival’s International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA), which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, will hold its General Assembly at the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel between 10 am to 12 noon followed by the Press Conference the same evening at 5 pm.
The three-day World Arabian Horse Racing Forum begins on 2 May, and experts from various aspects of Purebred Arabian racing will be in attendance to present ideas and knowledge.
Seven sessions of the WAHRF will discuss seven different topics over three days while the third and final day on 4 May will bring the curtain down on the Forum.
The Festival’s guests and Forum delegates will leave for a one-day trip to Sevilla on 5 May where the Festival will be staging the Year Of Zayed Race Day, a flat race meeting at the Gran Hippodrome De L’Andalucia race course.
On 6 May, the Festival will stage endurance races which are the 100 miles Sheikh Zayed Cup and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak CEIO Cup 120 km **. A Gala Dinner at the La Quinta de Jarama in Madrid will be the last event of the Festival at Madrid.
“The World Arabian Horse Racing Forum which was earlier held as the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference, made its debut in Abu Dhabi in 2010. The next seven editions were held in The Hague in The Netherlands, Berlin in Germany, Toulouse in France, London in the UK, Warsaw in Poland, Rome in Italy and last year in Marrakesh in Morocco,” said 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).
“Every edition of this Forum has rewarded the Arabian horse racing fraternity which is now more close-knit than ever before. We expect this 2018 Forum in this magnificent city of Madrid to contribute more for the progress of Purebred Arabian horses and racing all over the globe,” she added.
The Forum was conceived by HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and supported by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and Head of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
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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File pictures from the Marrakesh WAHRC in 2017