Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Every year in November, Morocco’s national equestrian organization celebrates Morocco International Meeting (MIM), an event dedicated to equestrian sports.
Morocco’s Royal Society of Horse Encouragement (SOREC) is promising a high-level event at the Morocco International Meeting to celebrate Moroccan equestrianism, which takes place every third week of November. This year’s event will take place this weekend on November 19-20 at the Casablanca-Anfa racecourse.
the Casablanca-Anfa racecourse
Under the instructions of King Mohammed VI, MIM will bring together national and foreign horses and their riders with the aim of strengthening the role of the annual meeting and contribute to the Moroccan racing sector internationally.
Open to the general public, MIM aligns with “SOREC’s strategic ambitions aimed at democratizing horse-related practices and promoting the Moroccan racing sector,” a statement from the organizers said.
“The influence of Moroccan races is a major challenge for SOREC, which is working to position the Morocco International Meeting on an international scale,” SOREC Managing Director Omar Skalli said.
Skalli stressed that the event is an important part of the association’s ambition to share the “dynamism and emotion of major races”.
Morocco International Meeting
“Our long-term objective is to make the racecourses of the Kingdom real places of leisure and entertainment,” he said.
The program
The organizers promised the public a “high-level” program, with different horse-related activities.
The program features several races, eight of which are international. The races will include the prestigious Grand Prize of King Mohammed VI of English Thoroughbreds on Saturday and Arabian Thoroughbreds on Sunday. The thoroughbred categories will be the two main events of the Morocco International Meeting.
The English thoroughbreds are a popular breed for either riding or flat and jump racing, according to Pet MD.
The breed is best known for its strong physical characteristics, particularly speed.
The Arabian horse breed’s origin dates back thousands of years; and is known for its beauty. In history, the horses were used for transportation and as war mounts. The breed is known for its endurance as its key physical characteristic, making them the perfect horses for equestrian sports.
In addition to its main events, Morocco International Meeting will also feature over 190 horses at the start of different races.
The participating horses will travel to Morocco from 16 countries, including Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, the US, Norway, the UK, Hungary, and Denmark.
The program also includes an exhibition, showing a fresco from Moroccan artist Anwar Belaaroui. Belaaroui used recyclable materials to make his fresco artwork, which will be featured at the racecourse for the duration of the event.
SOREC’s vision for the sector
As a public company, SOREC works under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries to promote equestrian sports in Morocco.
The group’s main ambition is to shed light on Morocco’s horse-related heritage and contribute to the development of the sector as a lever for economic and social development.
Morocco’s national strategy for the horse industry seeks to professionalize and scale up equestrian events as part of the country’s ambition to safeguard and boost the bond between Moroccans and horses.
Moroccans and horses
SOREC takes King Mohammed VI’s instructions to boost the sector very seriously. The group quotes the monarch, who emphasizes the importance of horses as part of the country’s history.
“Strongly present in our literary artistic heritage, the horse gives beauty and aesthetics to our religious and national holidays and to our family festivities. So much so that some sultans of Morocco have made the back of their horse their favorite throne, thus giving the most beautiful illustration of the heights to which the Moroccan has hoisted the status of his horse,” the monarch said in 2013.
Inspired by the monarch’s speech, the association recalled the strong links between Morocco’s history and horses, explaining that the first equine breed in the history of North Africa is the Barb.
Morocco celebrates horses in several equestrian events, including in the traditional “Tbourida” (Fantasia) – a traditional Moroccan exhibition of horsemanship where mounted riflemen perform synchronized charges. The event reflects the strong relationship between horse and rider.
Tbourida (Fantasia) Morocco
UNESCO inscribed Morocco’s Tbroudia into its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2021.
Morocco submitted its Tbourida application in 2019. Tbourida is associated with traditional and regional festivities, often celebrating harvest festivals for specific agricultural products, a tradition that dates back to the 16th century.
