"The Beauty of the Arabian Horse" honors photographers.. and Sheikh Mansour's award reveals the winners

Oct 14, 2026

As part of the 17th edition of the Horse Exhibition in El Jadida, the 12th edition of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Award for Arab Horse Photography concluded today, Wednesday. The winners of the top positions in this competition, which aims to "encourage Arab photographers to showcase the beauty of the Arab horse and document its movement and various artistic manifestations, in addition to appreciating the cultural and heritage legacy associated with it," were honored.

“Authentic Arab Cultural Heritage”

This year's award ceremony was chaired by several Moroccan and Emirati officials, including the governor of El Jadida, Saleh Al-Daha, the head of the office of the ruler of Ajman, Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Ghafli, the executive director of the awareness and knowledge sector at the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, Abdullah Al-Qubaisi, along with the representative of the Horse Exhibition in El Jadida, Habib Marzaq, and the regional director of the culture sector in El Jadida and Sidi Bennour, Munir Al-Hajouji.

The award is organized and managed by the Arab Photographers Union, under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. Each year, it seeks the most beautiful photos and videos related to Arab horses in four categories: "Beauty of the Arab Horse," "Horse Events and Festivals," "Tbourida (Fantasia)," and "Specialized Horse Video."

The total value of the cash prizes allocated for the winners, set in UAE dirhams, is 75,000 dirhams for each category, distributed as follows: 30,000 dirhams for the first place winner, 25,000 dirhams for the second place, and 20,000 dirhams for the third place.

One of the notable features of this year's edition, according to Adeb Shaaban Al-Ani, president of the Arab Photographers Union and supervisor of the award, was a 15 percent increase in the number of participants compared to the previous edition, along with achieving a "qualitative leap" in the level of submitted works, which he described as reaching "the level of global works."

Participants succeeded, according to Al-Ani's statement to Hespress, in "mastering the visual reading of how to create images of the Arab horse, highlighting its beauty at a high and refined level across various competition categories."

Winners Announced

In the end, Abdullah Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Hattawi from the UAE won first place in the "Beauty of the Arab Horse" category, followed by Sudan's Mohammed Al-Samani Mohammed Al-Ahmar in second place, while Inda Fares Badr from Syria took third place.

Egypt's Samir Mustafa Abdel Fattah topped the winners in documenting "Horse Events and Festivals," followed by his compatriot Saber Abdel Maqsoud; while Emirati Amal Al-Marashda secured third place.
In the "Tbourida (Fantasia)" category, the winner was Sihem Mohammed Ibrahim from the UAE, followed by Moroccan Abdel Rahim Al-Zigh, and Algerian Akram Al-Manari.

Sami Nabil Yaqub from Syria won first place in the "Horse Video Photography" category, while Majid Al-Subaie from Saudi Arabia took second place, and his compatriot Hamdan Al-Shammari came in third.

Intense Competition

The victory of these photographers came after "very strong competition in all categories," as confirmed by Abdullah Al-Bakish, a board member of the Arab Photographers Union and head of the video judging committee, noting that the competition has become "more intense year after year."

In numerical terms, Al-Bakish mentioned in a statement to Hespress that "345 works were submitted in the 'Tbourida' category alone, 90 percent of which were from Moroccan photographers." He added that the criteria used were generally based on "the beauty of the image and composition, avoiding excessive processing of the image, and maintaining the natural appearance of the horse while respecting its unique beauty, especially in the eyes, nose, and ears, extending to the neck."

Documenting Richness

Sami Nabil Yaqub, who won first place in the "Horse Video Photography" category, expressed his happiness with the award for a "video that documented a beautiful event of the Moroccan 'Tbourida' art; it provided opportunities for stunning shots." He emphasized that he made sure "not to overlook" any of its moments.

In a sign of the award's aim to document not only the beauty of the Arab horse but also to highlight the beauty of the Arab heritage events associated with it, the speaker expressed his admiration for "Tbourida," describing it as "a collective sport that requires harmony among team members, reaching a remarkable level of synchronization."

On the other hand, the list of top winners highlighted the diversity of "Tbourida" arts in Morocco, as confirmed by Abdel Rahim Al-Zigh from Agadir, who won in the category named after it for a photo of "the Saharan Tbourida."

Al-Zigh told Hespress that the uniqueness of "the Saharan Tbourida," especially its practice in the late afternoon to avoid the high heat of the sun at other times of the day in the southern regions of the kingdom, led him to "capture the photo with a wide lens, ensuring proximity to the horse, thus bringing the viewer closer to the grandeur and elegance of our Moroccan heritage," as he described.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Samir Mustafa Abdel Fattah, the leader in the "Festival Events" category, confirmed that what he documented was "the Marmah," a traditional equestrian heritage in Upper Egypt, which showcases individual skill in controlling the horse and guiding it to 'tread' with rhythmic, graceful steps in harmony with the sound of the flute," noting to Hespress that this was the first time he submitted to the award.