Last week Bart went on a trip again, this trip went to the United Arab Emirates. He then visits existing customers to check saddles and measure new saddles and also meets many new customers through the stables and competitions he visits there. This time he visited stables in Dubai and Sharjah and visited the Longines Jumping Nations Cup UAE competition in Abu Dhabi.
Day 1
Flew in the evening and night and arrived in Dubai in the early morning due to the time difference. We immediately went to Desert Palm Equestrian Center (this is a combination of riding school and pension stable) and 9 Valleys Stable (this is a private stable) in Dubai to check and adjust horses and their saddles. In the afternoon check in and freshen up at the hotel and then visited 2 more customers. Then it was time to have a bite to eat and to go to sleep early because during the trip there was not much sleep.
Day 2
This day started at Sjarjah Equestrian and Racing club. This is a large complex where many shows are held both indoor and outdoor. They were now fully preparing for a jumping competition in 2 weeks. But there are also a race track, Arab shows, driving school, quarantine stables and you can rent stables. Here Bart also helped several customers and in the evening back to 9 Valley's Stable to test saddles for a customer. If he sells new saddles here, the horses are measured and a drawing is made of this. The saddle is then ordered according to the customer's wishes in terms of color and details. And when the saddle is ready, shipped from the Netherlands. Bart therefore tries to return regularly so that he can also check the delivered saddles.
Day 3
Today Bart is going to the competition in Abu Dhabi where the 5* Grand Prix will be held this day. He has a number of appointments here to try out saddles with customers and to measure the horses. This is of course a great opportunity because many riders come together here and he even meets acquaintances from the horse world who also work in this area.
In the evening we went to the horse races at Meydan Race track in Dubai where he saw the famous Dutch jockey Adrie de Vries ride. A beautiful and very large and impressive racing complex. This is a large branch of equestrian sport in this country.
Day 4
This day started at sunrise and first a horse had to be measured that had just arrived and was still in the quarantine stable. Then on to the next stable for refilling saddles. Today there were 2 employees from 9 Valley's stables who drove Bart from stable to stable and then on to the competition in Abu Dhabi. Spotted some camels and other wildlife along the way and after a last look at the competition area back to Dubai early in the evening.
Day 5
One last customer this morning to measure a saddle and then pack and on the way to the airport for the return journey to the Netherlands. It is about a 7 hour flight, but due to the time difference, we landed in Dusseldorf early in the evening. It was another beautiful and busy week.
