Abu Dhabi, the sophisticated and modern capital of the U.A.E. presents a fascinating mixture of tradition and progress. With a history rich in tradition dating back to 3000 B.C., Abu Dhabi maintains a more distinctly Arabian ambiance than glitzy Dubai. The strong dominant white color of its territory, sunny blue skies, traditional landscape offer a glimpse into the Bedouin life along with the Women’s Craft Centre, the particular design inspired by the Arabian heritage and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. From February 10th-14th the charming capital city hosted the 2018 Abu Dhabi International Arabian Horse Championship, one of the most prestigious morphology competitions in the world. Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayan, the Horse fair is much more than a prestigious show for the Arabian horses. Over five days there are auctions and judging in various classes culminating in the highly anticipated championship honors and special awards. The Show was governed by the EAHS Rules and Regulations established by the Emirates Arabian Horse Society that for the technical part could rely on the competence of Show manager Mr. Essam Abdulla Al Hameerie, Mr. Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi and Mr. Mohamed Al Harbi. It was a real pleasure for Arabian Horse Magazine to be present at such an extraordinary event. The Higher Organizing Committee was ably composed by: Mr. Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Mr. Essam Abdalia Al Hameerie and Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Al Harbi. We had an outstanding Judging Committee represented by: Mr. Peter Gamlin (United Kingdom); Mr. Eric Gear (France); Mr. Robbie den Hartog (The Netherlands); Mr. Terry Holmes (United States); Mr. Mark Ismer (Germany); Mrs. Joanne Lowe (United Kingdom); Mr. Manfred Neubacher (Austria) and Mrs. Martine Van Hee (Belgium). They all worked extremely hard to select and to award the winners among the many horses competing. DCs members were: Dr. Sameh Bedair (Egypt); Dr. Mohamed Mabrouk Hammad (Egypt); Dr. Shadi Radwan (Lebanon); Dr. Abdel Wahab Ben Ali Amira (United Arab Emirates); Dr. Mamdoub Hassan Fouad (United Arab Emirates); Dr. Haitham Babiker Tayfour (United Arab Emirates); Mr. Kaies Ben Hadi Ouelhazi (United Arab Emirates); Dr. Umer Raza Gill (United Arab Emirates) and Dr. Sujeet Suryawanshi (United Arab Emirates). Impeccable in their role of Ringmasters, Dr. Mohamed Mabrouk Hammad (UAE) and Dr. Sameh Bedair Mohammed (UAE). Livestream by: Mr. Michaël Steurs (Belgium). Appointed commentators, Mrs. Nabila Al Ali Kuwait (Kuwait) and Mr. Abdallah Albarmaki (Jordan). Official photographer, Mr. Morhaf Al Assaf. Official scorer, Mr. Biju Peter; while the lovely music could be only that played by Mr. Ali Yaeesh. But let us now go back to the core of the competition. The categories were truly ‘packed’ apart from being beautiful from a technical point of view, so that most of them had to be split up into three sections, and even five as to the Senior Stallions category. The results of the preliminary categories can be seen on the website of the Emirates Arabian Society, www.eahs. org, featuring also the scores given by the various judges. Only the top two winners of each category were able to compete in the final championship and fight for the three sought after medals.The Final Championships were a pretty emotional moment for all given the top horses that came this far. In the Yearling Fillies category, the Gold medal was earned by D SHIHANAH (FA EL RASHEEM x D SHAHLA) bred and owned by DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD. The Silver was earned by AJ BANAFSAJ (AJ MARZAN x PRINCESS OF MARWAN) bred and owned by AJMAN STUD. The Bronze was grabbed by AL ARYAM SAMHA (KAHIL AL SHAQAB x JJ SALINA) bred and owned by AL ARYAM ARABIANS. In the Yearling Colts category, the Gold medal was earned by D MAHBOOB (D MSHARY x JULIANNA Z) bred and owned by DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD. The Silver was earned by FAKHR AL ZOBAIR (CAVALLI x AMMORIAH AL ZOBAIR) bred and owned by SHEIKH MOHAMMED ABDULLA MOHD ALTHANI. The Bronze went to RAMI AL BIDAYER (FA EL RASHEEM x MARAMI AL BIDAYER) bred and owned by SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQAS. In the Junior Fillies category, the Gold medal was earned by AJ SARAY (MARWAN AL SHAQAB x SIBERIA SA) bred and owned by AJMAN STUD. The Silver medal was earned by AJ TARIM (EMERALD J x ESPINILLA) bred and owned by AJMAN STUD. The Bronze medal was earned by ERALDA (EMERALD J x ENEZJA) bred by KRZYSZTOF GOZDZIALSKI and owned by AL SHIRAA STABLES. In the Junior Colts category, the Gold medal was earned by EDWAN AL ZOBAIR (S.M.A.MAGIC ONE x MAHRISA) bred by SHEIKH ABDULLA BIN MOHAMMED ALI ALTHANI and owned by MOHTHAB ARABIAN HORSE STUD. The Silver medal was earned by D IBN RASHEEM (FA EL RASHEEM x ANGELICCAH) bred and owned by DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD. The Bronze medal was assigned to MAHBOOB AL HAWAJER (FA EL RASHEEM x IILUMINATE) bred and owned by DR. GHANEM MOHAMED OBAID ALHAJRI. In the Senior Mares category, the Gold medal was earned by PISTORIA (GAZAL AL SHAQAB x PALMIRA) bred by SK MICHALOW and owned by SHEIKH ABDULLA BIN MOHAMMED ALI ALTHANI. The Silver medal was earned by SALWA AL BIDAYER (MARWAN AL SHAQAB x SAN JOSE ALFONSO) bred and owned by SHEIKH MOHAMMED SAOUD SULTAN S ALQASSIMI. The Bronze medal was awarded to AJ ARYANA (AJ PORTOFINO x MC ALEXSIS) bred and owned by AJMAN STUD. In the Senior Stallions category, Gold medal winner PERSEUS K.A. (ESPRESSIVO x PHIROUETTES) bred by NV ZOUTEKREKEN and owned by ALMAZROUEI ARABIAN HORSE STUD. Silver medal winner OMEAR AL HAWAJER (SH-HAB AL HAWAJER x GHARSHOUB AL HAWAJER) bred and owned by DR. GHANEM MOHAMED OBAID ALHAJRI. Bronze medal winner S.A ALMOSHAHER (AL AYAL AA x FS CAYENNE) bred by AJMAN STUD and owned by REEH AL SHAMAL ARABIAN HORSE STUD. This show was rich and thrilling from every point of view, starting from the large number of high quality horses entered, the beauty of the facility hosting this lovely five day event, the generous prize money and, last but not least, the excellent job done by the Organizers. Congratulation once again to the speakers Mrs. Nabila Al Ali and Mr. Abdallah Albarmaki who managed the five day competitions with a great and flawless power of speech both in English and Arabic. We hope we managed to convey the readers some vibes of the International Arabian Horse Championship experience by this short commentary. We will leave you now to the beauty and elegance of the winners and the enthusiasm of their owners. The pictures were taken for Arabian Horse Magazine by Gianluca Martino. The rendezvous is for next year 2019 with other stellar champions!