Camel Racing in the UAE
Saleh:
Hello Uncle; how are you?
Uncle Mohamed:
I am fine; how are you son?
Saleh:
I am well, thanks; I come to know that you are an expert in camel races.
Therefore, I would like to chat with you about camel races in the UAE and want
to know how its started in the country.
Uncle Mohamed:
Camel racing is one of the heritage unique sports practiced by grandparents in
the UAE and Gulf countries. The beginning of camel racing started when Sheikh
Zayed Bin Sultan had a passion to take care of the camel due to its important
in transportation and it was considered as a significant source of food (milk
and meat). As Sheikh Zayed is awell-known as a heritage saver he took care of establishing
an annual event for camel racing and gave this sport very generous support. In addition,
other UAE rulers of the emirates followed him. So it’s become an important
annual event in the Emirates.
Saleh:
Really interesting, so what are the procedures for camel racing?
Uncle Mohamed: Camels
can run at speeds up to 65 km an hour. Previously camels were controlled by
child jockeys. Before the race the camels owners invested in training their
camels for a long time; in order to ensure that Camel can participate in the
race and win. On the race days around 20 camels participate and run around 5 to
10 kilometers. The winner gets a very valuable prize; not only the owner but
the winning camel gets a special treatment; they mix saffron and put it on the
camel is head to show appreciation.
Saleh: Do you feel that this sport changed from the past or is it still same?
Uncle Mohamed: Oh Saleh, there are some changes in the camel
race. One of these changes is previously they tended to have children as camel jockeys, but due to many injured cases for
children they replace children with robots.
Saleh: Thanks Uncle Mohamed for this valuable information;
I really appreciate your time.
Uncle Mohamed: You are most welcome son.
