ABU Dhabi turned itself into the self-proclaimed ‘capital of the world’ last week as it played host to more than 700 guests as part of the Sheikh Mansoor Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival. It proved to be an interesting and productive networking event for racing people from more than 60 countries.

Held under the banner of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, a three-day conference on education and training formed the centre-piece of a five-day festival which also included the general assembly of the International Federation of Horse Racing Academies (IFHRA) and a race day featuring the finals of an international apprentice series plus the ladies world championship for Arabian horse racing and the world’s richest race for purebred Arabians.