women in the UAE

[guest@endurance.net]

Jennifer Nice jenn_nice@hotmail.com
Up until now, I've kept pretty quite about all the UAE-related posts. Mind
you, I am an American citizen and American endurance rider living in the
UAE. I've found that so many of the posts I've read, particularly those by
Angie, to be inaccurate. What compels me to finally comment is this post
by Angie:

 "I've got to admit that I can't enjoy the Endurance World Magazine
because it irks me so bad that there are SO many women in every photo
except those of the Middle Eastern teams.  Where are their wives?
Daughters? The men are having an awful lot of fun...you can't tell me
there aren't just as many horse crazy girls there as anywhere else.  It's
just wrong."


I'll answer this as best I can. Women here, in general, are free to choose
to participate in any equestrian sport they want. I have found that their
sport of choice seems to be show jumping. There are a few UAE women who
compete side by side in show jumping against the men--and they beat them
all the time. One of them, on occasion, competes in endurance riding. She
is in every sense a horse-crazy girl. The Equestrian Club where I work has
a large
riding school, and a huge majority of the students are women. Keep in mind
that organized equestrian sports are very new in the UAE (were talking
less
than five years). This school has really taken off. The lessons are always
full and go on night and day during the riding season, which is from
October
to May. The riding instructors tell me that everyone from the young girls
to
the mothers and grandmothers love the horses, love to ride, and love to
see
their children having so much fun. I believe that the women in UAE that
love
and ride horses are not yet ready to take on endurance riding. It's not
because they can't, it's because they haven't mastered the skills yet. The
women who are on the UAE National Show Jumping Team are an inspiration to
many young girls. I cover the UAE show jumping circuit for the other
magazine I edit, Equestrian & Golf. I assure you, there are a lot of
little
horse crazy girls competing in the UAE's version of pony club.

Every season, the UAE endurance federation schedules a ladies-only
endurance
event. This is a 100-km FEI Cat-B, to be held this year on Dec. 21. This
is
a very popular event, and the ladies are VERY competitive! Later in the
season, there is also a non-sanctioned ride that draws quite a few women.
Angie, as far as your not being able to enjoy the magazine because of the
lack of women in the UAE-related photographs... I think you are getting
the
wrong impression. Let me explain: There are actually very few UAE
endurance
riders. I'm going to guess that there are maybe 100 UAE riders total. The
AERC, on the other hand, has thousands of riders.
If you look closely at the photographs used in the magazine, they are
typically of the same group of guys. With only 40 or so really competitive
endurance riders in the entire country, I don't have a lot of photographic
choices. (that's the number of UAE riders on the FEI world rankings list)
You are correct in saying that it is a man's sport here. But take into
consideration that in the US, endurance riding is predominantly a women's
sport. Sure, there are more men than there used to be. But I think it's
all
relative. If you count the few UAE women, plus women such as myself that
live, work and ride here, then there are a few of us worth counting.
One more note...in a Muslim culture, you really can't photograph the
women.
Of course, I have photographed the show jumpers quite a lot. But in
general,
I'm not going to run around taking random pictures of women at endurance
rides. I think that would be rude. As they say, "When in Rome..."
You mentioned pictures of the "Middle Eastern" teams...I've only ever
published photographs of UAE riders. I don't think there really are any
other "Middle Eastern" teams. (No offence, Maryanne!). Sure, Syria has a
couple of riders, Qatar does, too.. But the numbers are scant. I think
people have the wrong impression about the actual number of participants.
Endurance World magazine launched in May. I've only completed three
issues.
The UAE endurance season ended in May and does not start up again until
November. The only UAE riders in competition I've pictured in the magazine
are those that have spent their summer in Australia (the Al Reef riders),
the US (the Al Wathba riders) or Europe (Sh. Mohammed's riders). I think
they are pretty lucky to travel around the world and compete at rides like
the Tom Quilty, Florac and the Tevis.
We can all remember that moment when we "discovered" endurance riding. I
think for women in the UAE, that just hasn't happened yet. But there are a
lot of little girls out there taking part in gymkhanas, pony club events
and
local jumping shows. If you ask them who their idol is, they will likely
say
Athaba Al Tayer, who is the Margie Goldstein of the UAE.
Jennifer Nice
Editor
Endurance World Magazine