ARAB BEAUT Y

Magnificent stallion Mahabi Al Sagheer has been hailed as the kingdom's most beautiful horse at the fifth Bahrain National Arabian Horse Show.

And, according to equine experts, he simply shines when he's placed in front of a crowd.

The weekend's event was held in memory of the late Shaikh Faisal bin Hamad Al Khalifa under the patronage of Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation at the Mounted Police Centre in Budaiya.

The five-year-old Mahabi Al Sagheer entered the 'four-year-old and up stallion class' in the competition shining clearly above 30 competitors vying for the crown.

Stable and horse owner, Jamal Ali Ahmed, told GulfWeekly that he had expected nothing but greatness from his horse and that he is a true champion at heart. Mahabi currently resides in Saar at Al Reef Stables.

He said: "This is not his first time Mahabi has competed in competition as he participated in a couple of shows earlier this year and took first place in both. It was only a matter of time before he was crowned the most beautiful!

"First he was judged on his type and received almost full marks, followed by the other categories. The judges also said he had beautiful form, head and neck."

Stable and horse owner Jamal Ali Ahmed said: "I have always had a passion for horses and as you know Bahrain is known for its Arabian steeds. I have always enjoyed attending horse shows over the years and one day thought it would be exciting to have a horse of my own. It grew from there and now I have been doing this for about eight years and couldn't be happier with the results.

"I was particularly lucky with Mahabi. I imported him from the United Arab Emirates and he cost me an arm and a leg! However, he is worth more to me than money nowadays because of the love I have for him.

"Mahabi is part of my family and I will never part with him. His value may have gone up but that means nothing to me. I was extremely excited with the win as all the stable staff worked hard to bring him up. But deep down, we just knew he was a champion."

Currently Jamal has six show horses at his stable and some horses for riding as well. Jehangir Rustomjee, one of the judges as well as a leading race horse trainer and supervisor at the Royal Arabian Stud of Bahrain, said: "Mahabi is a very nice horse and I always find that he does his very best on the night of a show.

"I think he likes the atmosphere around him because at the stables he seems like an ordinary stallion but when he is under all those lights and with a crowd around him it's as if he transforms into a proper show horse - strutting his stuff and displaying himself so beautifully. This was Mahabi's year to become champion and he fully deserves it."