Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

New clip. The journalists were all taken to watch the Dubai contingent 
trotting horses on a track. Princess Haya is there next to Maktoum.  
This must be the interview session that Lucie was talking about.

One part is basically a journalist with an accent that I can't identify 
telling Maktoum how wonderful he is. He does state how we are all one 
big family, which we in Egypt would find rather laughable. No one here 
has ever been treated as family, maybe we don't count.

Asked about Olympic goals, Maktoum stated that endurance doesn't need 
the Olympics because they have the WEC. But Dubai would be happy to 
host the Olympics sometime in the future.

Both Maktoum and Princess Haya are doing a big PR job on the nature of 
endurance as a truly Arab sport.  I wasn't aware of a strong connection 
with endurance for Haya other than the fact that she was the Lady of 
Equestrian Sport in Jordan. Around here, she's mostly known as a show 
jumper.

Don't know if it's the recent rains or they are riding on groomed sand, 
but the surface is lovely and hard. Wish we had a few miles of that 
sort of sand around here.  Our desert is more sort that you see in the 
background of these shots. Sand, rock, sand, hills, sand...and no green 
stuff at all.

"All Arabs are good riders. It's in their blood."  (I'd beg to differ, 
since I give lessons here)  He started endurance riding at 2 yrs old in 
front of his father, apparently.  The French team, and then all the 
teams, are praised as being "very professional".

Special shots of the boys kissing their horses (all of whom belong to 
the father by the way according to some of the people watching with me. 
Only the oldest son has a horse of his own.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
http://www.alsorat.com


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