The thunder of hooves returned to El Jadida’s Mohammed VI Exhibition Centre on Monday, as Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan opened the 17th edition of the Horse Fair, held this year under the banner « The Horse at the Service of Man » and placed under the High Patronage of King Mohammed VI.
Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan was welcomed on arrival by Moulay Abdellah Alaoui, president of the Horse Fair Association, as a Royal Guard detachment rendered honors. Among the officials greeting him were the Wali of the Casablanca-Settat region, the secretary general for agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, the governor of El Jadida province, and several local elected officials. This year’s roster of guests of honor carried a distinctly international flavor: the ambassadors of Türkiye and the Sultanate of Oman, a representative of the United Arab Emirates embassy, and senior officials from the Emirates Arabian Horse Society, the Omani Sultan’s Cavalry and the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority all made the trip to the coastal city.
The Crown Prince then toured the fairgrounds, moving through sections devoted to institutions, breeders, traditional crafts, an international village and the kingdom’s regions, before stopping at the children’s village « Fares, a Journey Through Morocco, » an immersive space designed to introduce young visitors to the country’s equestrian heritage. In the main arena, he watched equestrian art performances by Moroccan and foreign riders, followed by a tbourida display featuring eighteen sorbas, or mounted squadrons, representing regions across the kingdom, before posing for a commemorative photograph with the troupes’ leaders.
A living tradition passed down through generations, tbourida has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2021, and it remains the centerpiece of the King Mohammed VI Grand Prix created in its honor. This year also marks a milestone for the fair’s sporting program: the King Mohammed VI Grand Prix for show jumping has been upgraded to five-star status (CSI5*-W), a classification that organizers see as cementing Morocco’s standing on the international equestrian circuit.
Running through October 18, the fair rounds out its program with seminars, workshops and activities for younger audiences, blending scientific, cultural and recreational content around the central theme of horsemanship, in an event that confirms its place among the world’s leading equestrian gatherings.
