Two-day educational seminar started today at Museum of Islamic Art.

Seminar is co-organized by Qatar Museums Authority, Qatar Olympic Committee, Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Qatar Equestrian Federation and Al Shaqab.

First seminar of its kind inviting world-renowned specialists to speak and discuss the history and evolution of horse sports.


Top experts on horse sports from several countries commenced a two-day public seminar organized by Qatar Museums Authority, the Qatar Olympic Committee and other partners.  The seminar offers various aspects of horse sports throughout history and its evolution in different parts of the world.  It also commemorates Doha as Arab Cultural Capital for 2010, which coincides with a variety of art exhibitions, film screenings and theatrical performances taking place around the city.

On day 1 the seminar sheds light on the oriental tradition and horses.  It opened with an introduction from Khalid Johar, speaking on behalf of Abdulla Al Najjar, CEO of Qatar Museums Authority and comments by Rashid Ali Al Mansoori, President of Qatar Equestrian Federation.  The first panel offered a historical perspective on horse sports in the Near East and included:  Dr Wolfgang Decker from Germany who spoke on Horse and Chariot in Ancient Egypt; Dr Joachim Gierlichs, Curator of the Museum of Islamic Art who presented examples of horse games in Islamic art and Timur Shah who demonstrated to the audience the development of Oriental Polo and Buzkashi.  Another focus of today’s seminar is horse games in Turkey and various regions in Asia as well as the history of the relationship between the royal family and the horse tradition. 
 
Some of the international experts speaking at the seminar include: Cynthia Culberston from the US who has a special interest in Bedouin culture and folklore relating to the horse; Dr Nigel Crowther from Canada who is the former director of the International Centre of Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario in Canada; Dr Ingomar Weiler is a top scholar in the history of sports and a founder of the sports journal Nikephoros; Judith Forbis from the US who is a renowned author and top scholar on Arabian horse and Dr Ibrahim Yildiran from Turkey who has composed works on traditional sports during the Ottoman Empire.

Local horse experts are also participating: Ali Ismael Al Baker, will give some insight on the relationship between the royal family and the horse tradition and Fahad Al Qahtani will speak on the vision of Al Shaqab.  In addition, several experts from Qatar Museums Authority are contributing to this seminar including Dr Christian Wacker who is heading efforts to establish Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum.