Arabians galloping to glory in Jubail

It is the large painted sign on a fence next to a row of trees that catches the eye. In simple, no-nonsense English, the Jubail Jockey Club announces itself as: “Horsing.” With smoke stacks and gas flares as a backdrop, steely gray Jubail Industrial City doesn’t exactly evoke the sport of kings like Ascot or Kentucky. Yet, horse racing is alive and kicking in this desert environment. With a racing season running from December to April, every Friday afternoon sees up to six events and prizes of up to SR15,000 (approximately $4,000) coming from sponsors, owner payments and even royal support from King Abdullah (a noted horse lover) and his princes. Behind a modest grandstand in Jubail there are a clutch of busy stables, a sandy ring where geldings are lunged on the rein, as well as accommodation for the mainly foreign stable hands. Jockeys, mostly Saudis under 50 kilograms in weight, work as freelancers and receive 250 Riyals per race, a figure which becomes a percentage on bigger prizes. There is also a vet on site to maintain dietary fitness and take care of any sickness or accidents. Local breeder Waleed Al-Obaid, who has 16 horses in his stables, tends to one of his foals and comments: “The foals are kept with their mothers until they are six months old. They are separated at that time to keep their weight down. When they are two and a half years old we begin to teach them. They are initially ridden at three years.” Two young lads happily go about feeding and grooming the horses alongside full-time workers from India and Sudan. “The horses have an amazing affinity and respect for my sons,” Al-Obaid adds affectionately. “For the first three weeks, we walk with them, getting to know each other outside the stable and help them become aware of the surroundings. Then, for the next three weeks they trot and after that, we canter them for an hour every day. They are taught how to race here on the stadium track. When they are ready they rest for one day every week. We take them out for 20 kilometer treks along the sea or into the desert to build stamina.” In Dirab, a 750-acre equestrian center outside Riyadh, under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture, there are stables solely for breeding Arabians. It is also where new stallions are introduced to strengthen specific physical traits and to guard against inbreeding. The Saudi racing centerpiece takes place at the King Faisal race-track in Riyadh, which was established in 1972, and where the annual King Abdul Aziz Cup is held. The winner takes home a first prize of 400,000 Riyals ($100,000). Yet the fastest and most successful horses in the region are found in the United Arab Emirates, a nation that hosts the Dubai Cup — the world’s top prize in horse racing with a million dollar pot. The Jubail racetrack is now 20 years old and grows in popularity with each season. Of course, the summer months, when temperatures push up to 50 degrees centigrade, are far too hot for the animals and the high humidity (which can easily kill a horse) of Jubail’s coastal location means that Al-Obaid transports his entire stock over to the cooler mountainous region around Taif in the Western Province. The Al-Obaid stables house a mix of Arabians and thoroughbreds, which are chosen for their pedigree and bloodline. They are fed on a diet of grass, oats, bran, vitamin pellets and, he laughs: “Only sometimes, carrots and apples.” The desert climate also produces the Arabian’s famed “dry” look, as opposed to the heavier and fleshier Arabs in Europe and America. Female Arabians are more expensive than the males. Arabian fillies are bought and sold for anything between SR35,000 and SR100,000 while males will fetch between SR20,000 and SR100,000. “For their beauty and blood. Pure Egyptian breeds are reared on the stud farm at El Zahraa near Cairo and make the best horses in the Middle East,” says Al-Obaid. Archaeological remains resembling modern Arabians have been discovered and date back 4,500 years. Thanks to a strong lung capacity, the Arabian is famed for its energy, stamina, intelligence and gentle nature. The breed is ideal for lengthy treks and can keep going for extensive periods without food or water. Raised outside in harsh desert climates, Bedouins brought their horses to shelter in their tents and as protection against theft. They shared their food and water with them, which led to a close affinity between man and beast, and this familiarity is often attributed to foals having little fear of man or sudden noise. The desert nomads were excessively concerned in keeping a purity of the race among their horses and this protectiveness has led to the distinctive arched neck, a wide, bulging forehead and a proud tail in the Arabian breed. To this day, this has initiated scrupulous control of bloodlines on the Arabian Peninsular, but it wasn’t until the late 1940s that written records in this part of the world began to replace Bedouin memories. Ironically, throughout the world, it was also at this time that man turned away from the horse as a means of travel in favor of the car. Previously, the horse had allowed armies to move swiftly to attack their enemies, land was conquered and settled and empires were subsequently built. It was the Egyptian pharaohs who initially hitched their steeds to chariots and ran rampant across northern Africa. Trade using packhorses flourished thereafter and horseshoes — crude, solid affairs, which covered the whole hoof and said to have been invented by Arabs — became the norm for horses everywhere. The speed and agility of the Arabian made them a fearsome weapon in battle and soon became widely known as the most effective military horse in the world. The sudden spread of Islam in the 7th century AD was wholly aided by the horse, which allowed Muslim armies to dominate as far as Andalusia in Spain and India and western China in the Far East. The sport of horse racing saw Arabians first introduced to England in the 17th century, and the royal families of Poland, Russia and Germany soon followed suit by importing the, by then, revered Arab breed. The Arabian also proved very popular in early America and was introduced there in 1725 shortly after the English had taken to them. The breed was seen as invaluable in the conquest of the Wild West and subsequently as cavalry mounts in the American Civil War (1861-65), and therefore played an important role in the establishment of the modern American state. In fact, the first American President George Washington rode one. By 1908, the Arabian Horse Club of America had been founded along with the Arabian Horse Registry of America and the British Arab Horse Society. In the modern day, on the sands in Jubail, Waleed Al-Obaid remarks: “My father had horses so I got involved that way. I feel a challenge between man and horse; as if you are riding on the wind. It is the best animal in the world. If you train him, he is like your friend.”