Camel Racing From the Starting Gates to the Catching Pen

High class, high quality camel racing, such as that seen at the Al Bashayer Camel Racing Festival this week is an engrossing experience, so for those of you who have never encountered the sport, here is an introduction as to how the racing takes place. [gallery link='file' ids='658896,658895,658894'] The starters for each round are checked against the start list produced by the host club, and the runners in each round then have their microchip read to verify their identity. That done, they are assembled adjacent to the starting area, and a few minutes before the start are checked for a third time and admitted to the start gates. The handlers take the camels forward and, themselves ducking under the barrier, connect their camels’ headcollar to the starting barrier pegs by way of a short bungy. When all the camels are secure, and as settled as the barrier attendants can get them, the field is ready. The starter, standing on a raised stand to the side, where he can see all the camels, starts the race by pushing his button, thereby quickly raising the barrier. As the barrier rises, the bungies release, and the camels are all free to run, at the same time. Because of their training, the encouragement of the barrier attendants, and their experience, the camels lunge forward, fighting their way clear of the pack, and the race is on! The action and excitement doesn’t end at the camel races when they lope past the Finish Line. In fact, the activity level skyrockets when the camels reach the catching pen, about 300 metres past the line. As the camels are slowing down, a horde of high-viz clad young men descend upon all those camels that have finished in prizewinning positions and take custody of them for post-race testing procedures. After those runners have been secured, all the other camel handlers charge in to catch their own charges. It looks incredibly chaotic, but incredibly, within a couple of minutes the catching pen is completely empty and ready for the next race. Saud bin Ali al Junaibi is the Manager of the Post-Race Retrieval Team for the Al Bashayer track, and has been so, in charge of his 22 handlers, for the last 7 years and loves his job, taking pride in his team’s efficiency. “Here at Al Bashayer Camel Track, we have a vision to be the best, and the camel racing world is watching us via CCTV. Not only do we want to do the job, but to look the part, and be professional at all times,” he said. Al Junaibi’s staff are also responsible for retrieving the ‘jockey-bots’ of the first three runners for performance and mechanical testing. Finally, one member of the team is responsible for daubing the neck and head of the winner with Saffron, the yellow denoting to all that this camel is a winner! For most of the last twenty years, camel racing has featured robot jockeys, initially scorned, but now totally embraced by the global camel racing community. Believe it or not, the first robots were built from a drill machine in a small frame! Initially though, developed mechanically by the Qatar Scientific Club, and enhanced by Swiss robotics engineers ‘K-Team,’ from 2003 to 2005, these robots have evolved from a basic 18 kg model, to today, being as light as 3 kg. The Jockey-bots are strapped to the camel’s back, and can provide ‘camel friendly,’ measured and limited whip strokes, voice commands, and encouragement from their handlers, and speed information, while the most sophisticated, record physiological information such as heart rates and recovery data. Because robots could be enhanced illegally to provide electric stimulation, the first three jockey-bots are inspected immediately after each event by a specialist team, to ensure compliance with animal welfare. The Al Bashayer inspectors; Rashid al Jabri, Saeed al Malki and Saeed al Junaibi, reflected that no issues have been identified to date in their events, confirmation surely of their post-race testing vigilance. Camel racing is traditional, cultural and prominent in the Omani psyche, and from start to finish, from the starting gates to the catching pen, its tradition demands performance and excellence, all of which are on show at the Al Bashayer Camel Racing Festival till Saturday of this week. — Photos by Lena Petersen