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Dubai: In 1992 the Jebel Ali Equestrian Club opened its doors to the UAE's horse riders. Sixteen years on and much has changed. With more than 1,200 members and 80 horses, the club is a firm favourite among children, parents and schools.
Farhang Sadeghi has been general manager and partner of the club since 2001, taking over at a point when the club only had 100 registered members.
Despite studying management information systems at the American University of Dubai, his passion for horses took over and now he's a permanent fixture.
Riding lessons form a large part of the club's schedule and classes are organised into stages, for example, A1 is the most basic class, going up to A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3 etc. The C1 class is an advanced group meaning the riders have enough ability to jump in competitions, take part in dressage and compete with other clubs.
Every month a gymkhana is held at the club's grounds.
Sadeghi said: "At the end of the month we encourage the kids to do something that they will enjoy and make them want to carry on horse riding. If you just put them in a lesson all the time they will get bored, so they need some playtime. We usually have over 100 kids that come and take part and we give them gifts at the end of the event."
The club's membership base is around 85 per cent children and the remainder is adults. Members range from five to 55-years-old: under-fives are not permitted as their concentration span is lacking at this young age.
The club also holds "pony camps" as Sadeghi explains.
Pony camps
"With pony camps the idea is for children to be separated from their parents overnight, to learn and stay with the horses, feed the horses and take part in stable management. For example how to tack up and untack the horses and how to lead the horse. It's important for them to know how to clean the stables, we explain what breeds the horses are and how we train the horses."
Morning lessons are also held for children with special needs, who come from schools around the UAE to experience horse riding with voluntary supervision.
Lessons and social or educational gatherings, however, are not the only event taking place at the club. It has a team of eight that take part in a competition in the UAE every week, comprising four children and four adults.
"The team goes to compete in a UAE Racing Federation competition every weekend, in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman. We had really good results in 2004 when we came first in the junior teams. We've held two shows at the club for the Federation before and we'll do it next year as well, so riders from all over the UAE will come and compete with us," Sadeghi said. Team members also take part in dressage competitions and cross-country events, the latter of which are held every year.
Breeds of horses suitable for events differ dramatically. Arab horses are particularly good for teaching, especially ex-polo horses.
"Ex-polo horses are very calm and they're good when they're together. They don't kick each other and they're very calm for the kids to get started. You have to make sure that the horse will stop when the child tells it to. If you put a child on an 18-hand warmblood horse, they'll never get back on a horse again," Sadeghi explains.
Lessons and children's events aren't the only thing on Sadeghi's schedule, however. Tiennes, an 18-hand, Belgian warm-blood gelding, is being trained up for the 2011 Asian games. Sadeghi himself will be competing in the showjumping, with a standard jump height of 160cm. This doesn't seem to phase Sadeghi at all.
He adds a shaikh's two children undertake lessons at the school.
"It doesn't matter who the person is," he says, "the main thing is that they progress through the lessons properly, slowly, slowly going up through the levels.
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