Young orphans connect with horses at Dubai's Meydan

AT TIMES NO WORDS ARE NEEDED TO DISPLAY AFFECTION ... Faces of the kids lit up as they touched and petted the horses when they were taken on a special stable tour at Meydan's Oasis Stables.

Sometimes even small things that you may do, can bring a big smile on another person's face and these small gestures add up to make this world a better place to live in.
In a beautiful gesture of humanity, the Meydan Group in conjunction with Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), recently treated 20 young orphans to a special stable tour at Meydan's Oasis Stables.
Faces of the children, under the protection of the Dubai Minors' Affairs Office, lit up when they toured the yard and interacted with beautiful horses at the yard of Dubai Golden Shaheen and Kahayla Classic-winning trainer, Musabah Al Muhairi.
The youngsters from the Second of December School, aged between 7 and 8, attended the tour, offered through the Meydan Equine Education Programme along with DMI.
The visit was part of an ongoing community outreach project which saw Meydan Group host the Rashid Centre for the Disabled in October last year, just before the 2015-16 season started. The children met Al Muhairi and asked him questions about his experiences in racing and on Dubai World Cup day when he landed two Group 1 races with horses owned by Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Following the tour of the yard, the children were taken to the grandstand to visit the jockeys' dressing room and parade the ring before having lunch at Farriers Restaurant in The Meydan Hotel.
Equine education for kids
The Meydan Equine Education Programme is now in its fourth year and was launched as part of a drive to teach young people about the history and heritage of horse racing in the UAE.
Youngsters are taken to visit Dubai Racing Club yards including Grandstand Stables, Oasis Stables and Green Stables, which are located inside the Meydan Racecourse complex in Nad Al Sheba.
During the tours they meet the equine stars of the track as well as the trainer and racing personnel from each yard. They complete educational work sheets and have the opportunity to ask questions about the care and training of racehorses. They then visit the operational areas of the grandstand including the Parade Ring, Weighing Room and Jockeys' Dressing Room.
The programme runs from October to May every season with a break during January, February and March to allow the yards to focus on the Dubai World Cup Carnival and the Dubai World Cup - an international season of horse racing worth $40 million in prize money.
saman@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai