Well within the desert the Bu Deeb Endurance Village is Abu Dhabi emirate's second and the UAE's third centre for the sport.

Commissioned late in the season and with a highly successful junior ride, the Bu Deeb Endurance Village earned praise from most of the experienced endurance officials.

The Bu Deeb Endurance Village.

Similar to the UAE's existing two endurance venues, the Dubai Endurance City in Seih Assalem and the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba in many respects, but with a part of the route taking riders through forest area adds the much-needed variety to Bu Deeb Endurance Village.

About 60 kms from the city of Abu Dhabi on the highway to Al Ain, Bu Deeb is near the Shooting range with Zayed Military City Road on one side and the other area ending near the Seih Al Shuaib road.

Sheikh Sultan, who also heads the Emirates Heritage Club, toured the various areas and facilities at ABU Deeb during the junior ride and expressed his satisfaction.

The Emirates Heritage Club is already involved in a big way in promoting heritage sports like traditional dhow racing has now turned its focus on endurance riding.

Mohammed Saeed Al Rumaithy, President of the Organising Committee of the inaugural ride said, "the smooth success of the event augurs well for the sport in this village. With more facilities yet to be added, Bu Deeb Endurance Village will be another truly international venue," he added.

Clover formation

Unlike most international endurance ride sites, Bu Deeb, like DEC and Al Wathba revolves around the central vet gate. Usually in Europe at least two of the five loops are between different points while here in the UAE all five loops start and end at the central veterinary gate vicinity in a sort of clover formation.

This has been highly successful as experienced in the numerous international rides held here in the UAE as owners, riders, officials and vets can all base themselves in this central area and monitor both the progress of the ride as well as the welfare of the horse.

Bu Deeb Endurance Village is equipped with an electronic heart rate monitor and display system while the computerised timing system at the entry gate as well as the vet gates adds the hi-tech aspect to the ride site.

Ali Al Amri, who has played a major role in chalking out plans for the lay of the village, said all aspects were taken into consideration. "We have a total of 12 trotting lanes and 12 heart-rate monitor systems in place which makes it possible for 12 horses to be checked at one time," he said.

"This venue is unique in the sense that some part of the ride route takes one through the forest area. During the April 1 inaugural ride the second stage took riders next to the forest area which was very pleasing to the eye and a relief from the sandy surroundings," said Vijay Moorthy, who was the Ground Jury President for the ride.

A highly experienced official from the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation who has been part of the UAE's endurance drive since the very beginning, Moorthy said Bu Deeb Endurance Village will be a very active centre in the next season.

"The Emirates Heritage Club and the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation together will be staging more rides next season with many innovative additions on the anvil," he said. While Bu Deeb will be staging a few open rides next season, the focus will be more on training young riders.

Under the aegis of the Emirates Heritage Club, the young riders will have the opportunity to train at Bu Deeb Endurance Village. The inaugural ride was a big success with a total of 42 youngsters getting off to a mass start at 6.00 am in the morning.

An encouraging number of 19 riders crossed the finish line after 83 kms but seven of them could not clear the final veterinary check. "Most of the eliminations were due to speed and with most of them being very young riders that was expected," said one of the officials connected with the ride.

But that apart the route and terrain came in for some wholesome praise. "This venue comes at a time when the sport is growing at a tremendous pace. What this means is more rides and more opportunities for the UAE riders, particularly the youngsters," commented Hussein Mohammed Hussein, Secretary General of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation.

"The Emirates Heritage Club is already closely involved in the development of several traditional and cultural activities. AS part of its focus on creating vital training opportunities, the Club has set up the Bu Deeb Endurance Village. There is no doubt that this is an important step in the development and progress of this sport," said Moorthy.