Omani Horsewomen Blaze a New Trail of Glory

By Sumayyah Meehan

January 25, 2010

One place where women are making leaps and bounds – actually taking them while sitting – on the back of a horse, is in Oman. Female equestrians are wowing audiences and garnering much support from their fans and even a couple of critics. Oman’s annual Royal Horse Race Festival, held at Al Adiyat horse race track, was the latest venue where female horse riders were given an opportunity to perform right alongside their male counterparts. A gleeful audience greeted the Royal Calvary horsemen and horsewomen earlier this month, fully ready to enjoy the camaraderie between man and beast.

The Omani Sultan, Qaboos, attended the horse festival with dignitaries from Oman and the UAE. The dignitaries and horse-loving audience were treated to six rounds of races between primarily purebred Arabian horses and some Thoroughbreds, equally strutting their stuff. Jaw-dropping and heart-racing horse stunts were littered in between as both male and female riders stood, flipped and jumped high atop their horses.

Other highlights from the event included dancing horses getting ‘jiggy’ all over the track and a fancy schmancy military procession of horse drawn carriages. However, one of the most unique aspects of the event was that of a performance known as ‘sleeping horses’. Basically, the horses ‘play dead’ and appear to be sleeping right in the middle of an important event (hmmm…kind of like the Obama Administration during the current crisis in Haiti).

The horse race featuring female riders is just one way that Oman is wearing its love for gender equality on its sleeve. Omani women have long since prided themselves on being equal to males in every way – whether through work or leisure activities. Hopes are high that Omani women will continue to rise to never-before-tried challenges and do it with a flair that only a female can pull off.

Source: Middle East Online