All of the stables had been purpose built with air conditioning, fans, with wood shavings brought in from Florida.  Jay’s stable was next door to that of Arko III, Nick Skelton’s famous show jumper, and he loved the attention of being next door to a celebrity – Jay that is! Of course, we were in effect in quarantine and we had our own exercise times, so that we did not mix with any horses from the Arab Nations represented there.

Due to the untimely death of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Sheikh Mohammed’s older brother and ruler of Dubai) a shadow of sadness was cast over all the proceedings, as the country was in mourning.  It was decided not to cancel the show, as so many horses had already arrived and it was a qualifier for the FEI World Cup Jumping in Kuala Lumpur.  In view of Dubai’s sorrowful event, the entire show format had to be changed. 

A daily meeting was held at 9.30 each morning with everybody attending, together with show organisers, press, lighting, sound and television.  The meetings were also used to discuss etiquette and dress code and we were all issued with black armbands to wear as a mark of respect.  The day’s programmes were discussed and times and contents of each demonstration were confirmed to achieve a smooth professional programme.