Abu Dhabi: More than 100 lady riders from the UAE, Gulf region and the rest of the world will compete in the 4th edition of the HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The CEN-90km ride carries a total purse of Dh300,000 and in addition the top five finishers will be presented with keys to five 4WDs.
Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi led the UAE team to a clean sweep of the top ten positions in last year’s event.
Announcing the details at a press conference Adnan Sultan, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club said the race is being held under the directives of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs as part of the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
“I would like to thank our partners Abu Dhabi Sports Council, HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, Emirates International Endurance Village, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Invest AD, TDIC. National Archives and Emirates for their generous sponsorship of the event,” he said.
Lara Sawaya, Executive Director of the Shaikh Mansour Festival, Chairman of IFAHR’s Ladies Racing Committee and Chairman of Apprentice Jockeys & Racing in IFAHR and Ahmad Al Fahim from TDIC, Nadem Lahad from Emirates, Mubarak Al Nuaimi from the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Shaikh Hamdan Al Sharqi from Invest AD and Salah Al Marzouqi from Abu Dhabi Sports Council also presided over the press conference.
“When we promote Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, we are also targeting the foreign markets in process,” said the TDIC representative Ahmad Al Fahim.
Shaikh Hamdan Al Sharqi, speaking on behalf of Invest AD, said: “The display of the company’s name at the race venues within the UAE and around the world will introduce our brand name to the international investors who will try to come closer to know about our business.”
Sawaya said: “It has also been decided to open the race for all lady riders and not to be restricted to Arab ladies alone, provided that each stable should enter an Arab lady/girl rider.
“We are also delighted to welcome National Archives as our new sponsors for the HH Shaikh Mansour Festival.”
