RIYADH, 18 February 2005 — A ten-day “Festival of Arabian Horses” show has got under way at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center here.
Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), was the patron at the opening ceremony on Monday night. Addressing reporters after touring the exhibition, Prince Sultan said that the SCT seeks to revive aspects of the Saudi cultural heritage and a letter to this effect has been sent to the National Guard, under whose auspices the Janadriyah festival is held annually, for participation.
“The SCT has organized for the first time this kind of horse show with the participation of both the private and public sectors and I hope that this festival, which is similar to the Arabian Horses Show in Dirab, will be much wider in scope in the future,” he said.
Two hundred studs and one mare are participating in the show that will continue until next Wednesday.
The festival, which is expected to be international in scope next year, includes endurance racing championship, jumping championship and an awareness program on horses for women and children at the Al-Aghan Club.
Prince Sultan said that horses and tourism are linked and so he expects the festival, which also showcases pictures of horses of different breed, to attract many visitors.
“We hope to see more festivals in the future which will turn the spotlight on every region’s characteristics,handicrafts and agricultural produce, among other things,” he said.
He added that the organization of festivals has to be packaged very well and marketed in a well-planned manner.
Prince Sultan said the Janadriyah festival has contributed so much to the propagation of national heritage and that “our efforts will be built on that.”
Four government associations, four private groups and fine art students are participating in the horse festival, which includes the King Abdulaziz Library (showing pre-historic, pre-Islamic and Islamic objects); Darat Al-Malik Abdulaziz (history of the Al-Saud family, and origins and relationship to Arabian horses); Department of Antiquity and Archaeology (objects from pre-historic period and the kinds of horses during the period); and King Abdulaziz Center for Arabian History.
Participants from the private sector include a private museum from Dhahran owned by Abdallah Al-Asmari, Friends of Light and the Adarat Arabia group.
