What a great week we have had in Doha. We had heard there were 
horse races on Thursdays at the racetrack which is directly across Al Farousiya from the University of Calgary-Doha. (In fact there are no street addresses here ... for delivery purposes, UC-Q's address is Farousiya Street -across from horse racetrack)! Well, in fact it is much more than a racetrack; it is an equestrian center. It is enormous, for one thing. There are a couple of indoor arenas, an outdoor stadium for dressage and show events and a big racetrack with both grass and sand tracks. Apparently more than 700 horses are stabled there.
Of course, the horses were incredibly beautiful and the youngsters did great jobs on their jumps. I have only ever seen Ian Millar at the Olympics and Spruce Meadows, so it was a
real treat to see a show in person. The leader right up until the end was a young Kuwaiti girl, but the last oir second-last rider just eclipsed her speed. The girl who came in third was from Great Britan. We talked to her mother later and she said they had been here 12 years, so at 14 and in her first juniors competition, she is more Qatari than British. Although when I heard her mother say "Well done, poppet!", it seemed pretty British to me:-)
horse races on Thursdays at the racetrack which is directly across Al Farousiya from the University of Calgary-Doha. (In fact there are no street addresses here ... for delivery purposes, UC-Q's address is Farousiya Street -across from horse racetrack)! Well, in fact it is much more than a racetrack; it is an equestrian center. It is enormous, for one thing. There are a couple of indoor arenas, an outdoor stadium for dressage and show events and a big racetrack with both grass and sand tracks. Apparently more than 700 horses are stabled there. 
We got to the race track at around 4:30 and there was a show jumping competition ongoing. We got there just as the finalists in the junior class were competing. There were 7 or 8 finalists. The stands were not particularly full, but there were lots of family members and friends cheering on the competitors, who ranged from a Saudi princess, and Emirati sheikha, and a few other young people. It was interesting to note that the girls and boys competed together ... one of the few sports where that occurs ... the world over.
Of course, the horses were incredibly beautiful and the youngsters did great jobs on their jumps. I have only ever seen Ian Millar at the Olympics and Spruce Meadows, so it was a
real treat to see a show in person. The leader right up until the end was a young Kuwaiti girl, but the last oir second-last rider just eclipsed her speed. The girl who came in third was from Great Britan. We talked to her mother later and she said they had been here 12 years, so at 14 and in her first juniors competition, she is more Qatari than British. Although when I heard her mother say "Well done, poppet!", it seemed pretty British to me:-)After we saw that set we wandered over to the race track, where there was supposed to be the Doha Cup race. We saw the Thoroughbred Stakes race and it had a very exciting finish. The horses were all very keyed up, but so beautiful. One, Naked Ambition, was just a beautiful bronze colour and very unruly .... it took two
people to walk it around the paddock ... but it came in third. I was rooting for it. There was another one that just wouldn't run ... I don't k
now if that is common, but the jockey didn't even mount the beastie until it was in the starting gate. People watching was great ... we wondered how many nationalities were represented there. Many I am sure.
people to walk it around the paddock ... but it came in third. I was rooting for it. There was another one that just wouldn't run ... I don't k
now if that is common, but the jockey didn't even mount the beastie until it was in the starting gate. People watching was great ... we wondered how many nationalities were represented there. Many I am sure.The next day we went lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall joint (Summerland Restaurant) across Al Shamal Street (the Indy 500 Race Track) for lunch and it was really nice. The food was simple but good. But the real treat was that we dropped into a little supermarket beside the Summerland and we found patio furniture ... oh, yay! I have been looking all over for chairs to put outside now that we are in Villa 11 but couldn't find any. Now that the weather is so nice, we can sit outside on our new chairs. Very exciting.
Yesterday Dave and Lois and I were on a little magical mystery tour ... scoping out the best route to take them to the airport for their Christmas trip to Turkey ... and when we came back we thought we would look at the new Lulu Hypermarket which is going up in our vicinity. Dave and I were having a bit of a disagreement about how to get to it. However, it is easily reconized by its undulating roofline. So off we set in search of it ... however, it turned out to be a different building ... a new hospital. So then I showed hi9m where I thought it was and we did get there, but OMIGOODNESS ... we found the most incredible Sheikh's palace under construction. I thought it was a train station ... about the size of Union Station ... I will have to go back and take pics. He has a huge aviary for his falcons. My jaw is still agape.
Tomorrow we go back to work for 4 days ... I am sure it will be hard to adjust, but we are going to start off by going to College of the North Atlantic-Qatar for a workshop. Hope they have food:-) I am so shallow. I will take pics there, as it is an incredibly beautiful campus.
I will include some facebook links so you can see more pics if you like. Hope all is well with everyone who is reading this. Please drop a line if you feel so inclined.
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