Al Shaqab ( ar, الشقب ) is

Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Found ...

’s (QF) equestrian center in the Al Shagub district,

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

. Founded in 1992 by Sheikh

Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 199 ...

, Emir of Qatar, Al Shaqab joined QF in 2004. Al Shaqab is now the region's leading

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. Mac ...

education resource center and features the

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily ...

History

Centuries before

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

gave prominence to Qatar as one of the world's fastest growing economies, the country was known for its prized Arabian horses. When the

Al Thani The House of Thani ( ar, الثاني , translit=Al Thani) is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Banu Tamim tribal confederation. History and structure The Al Thanis can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar. The tribe w ...

ancestors, the ruling family of the State of Qatar, migrated out of the Arabian Desert three centuries ago to settle in Qatar, the Arabian horse was a vital part of daily life. The Arabian horse played an important role in the founding of Qatar. Al Shaqab takes its name from a historic battle against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. Taking place in the town of

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...

in 1893, the Battle of Al Wajbah, or Al Shaqab as it is also known, saw the Qataris, led by Sheikh

Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني; c. 1825 – 17 July 1913), also known as "The Founder", was the founder of the State of Qatar. He had a total of 56 children, 19 sons and 37 daughters. Early lif ...

, defeat the Ottomans. This historic battle eventually led to Qatar's independence. The emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani established Al Shaqab in 1992. In honour of his ancestor, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, he chose to establish the breeding farm at the site of the Al Shaqab battle. In 2004, Al Shaqab became a member of

. The facility covers some 980,000 square metres and has a stable capacity for more than 400 horses. The breeding program is intended to preserve the Arabian breed and to produce horses that are beautiful, athletic, and have character and kindness. They must be physically strong to carry their riders. The breeding program is divided into three categories: international Arabian horses, combining all Arabian

bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

s; straight Egyptian Arabians, as defined by the Pyramid Society; and the traditional Qatari bloodlines of the past. In 2008, the Al Shaqab team finished second out of the 24 competing countries to earn the silver medal in the competition.

References

External links

Qatar Foundation: Education, Research, and Community Development

Home , Al Shaqab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaqab Sports organizations established in 1992 Sports organisations of Qatar 1992 establishments in Qatar Equestrian organizations Equestrian sports in Qatar Venues of the 2030 Asian Games Asian Games equestrian venues

History

See also

References

External links