Abu Dhabi: The Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival launched a book recording its activities and achievements from 2009 to 2011 at an impressive function at the Emirates Palace hotel on Monday night.

Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, director of the Emirates General Women’s Association and chairperson of the UAE Women Sport, received the first copy of the book from Abdullah Al Qubaisi, chief of communication at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach) and Lara Sawaya, director of Festival.

In the book’s foreword, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, quoted two lines from a poem to highlight the role of Arabian horses.

“The horse to men represents dignity and honour. An honour so precious with treasures we acquire.”

“It’s a well-known poem that we memorise from father to son, because it captures the importance of horses in our history,” Shaikh Mansour said.

“The horse represents chivalry, bravery, protection, strength, prestige and victory and that’s the reason why so much of our poetry is written in its honour.”

“That’s also why horses deserve that we persist on heightening the grand role it played in our ancestor’s lives and the support it gave them throughout the ages,” he said.

“This book is dedicated to the role horses played in our history, and to highlight the accomplishments we were able to do with the essential presence of horses in our lives,” Shaikh Mansour said.

Noura honoured women jockeys who took part in the Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies IFAHR Cup.

Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazroui, director general of Adach said in his message in the book, “Today, with the publishing of this book, we take a necessary step towards preserving this unique part of our history and to ensure that people worldwide will give it well-deserved interest.”