“Only in Dubai……”

Just when we thought we had seen it all, Dubai once again pulled something ritzy and glitzy out of the desert. This year’s highly celebrated Horsepower Challenge was in aid of the Dubai Autism Centre - proudly sponsored by Le Meridien Mina Seyahi.
In stark contrast to the lives of the children throughout the UAE who suffer with the autism condition, a monster fundraising event was put together and designed to highlight the undisputed lifestyle and privileges that the majority of UAE ex-pats enjoy.
The concept of the Horsepower Challenge revolved around four polo teams made up of first season beginners from the Dubai Polo Academy. Having secured four corporate sponsors – TNT, Penfolds, Aigner & Audi Middle East, each team battled it out throughout the day beginning with a polo match in the early hours of the morning, followed by a race around Dubai in the latest Audi TT’s. The sophisticated Sateltite navigation system guided all of the vehicles to the Dubai Marina where they set sail on a luxury super yacht courtesy of Blue Water Charters, around the exclusive Palm Island. Once at their destination all teams had to negotiate a slalom course on a jet ski with their two other team members in tow on an inflatable hotdog!
During the mid day heat, all competitors where treated to a sumptuous lunch courtesy of the title sponsors Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Hotel on a traditional Dhow moored in the center of their exclusive beach resort. As the afternoon became cooler it was a dash back in the Audis’ to the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club to the thousands of waiting supporters and spectators to continue the Challenge.
Two more chukkas of polo led nicely into the first ever camel polo in the UAE. With neither steering nor brakes each team brought tears of laughter to the watching crowd as the camels either bolted off or lay down mid chukka. The day’s events concluded with a fantastic display of skill from the players in the finale Le Meridian Mina Seyahi Polo Cup between Citi and Dubai Luxury Homes. In true polo style, the after party hosted by Deep Nights from Trilogy rocked Dubai to its very core. The event masterminded by Steve Thompson and Adriana de Koeyer from the Dubai Polo Academy had succeeded in creating mass brand awareness of the Autism campaign and the event raised just under 200,000AED for the cause. For further details on how to make donations to the Dubai Autism Center- please visit www.dubaiautismcenter.com
Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Horsepower Challenge winners were TNT with Audi only points behind and closely followed by Penfolds and Aigner.
TNT Team :
1. Francessca Harris
2. Colin Webb
3. Mike Burbidge
4. James Drinkwater
Audi Team :
1. Ellen Meng
2. Arnie Breuer
3. Tibout Laveniere
4. James Fagan
Penfolds Team :
1. Emma Westmacott
2. Catherine Carter
3. Steve Westmacott
4. Elizabeth Clarence
Aigner Team :
1. Fiona Shepherd
2. Michaela Gradinger
3. Garry Shepherd
4. Annemieke Goos
In the final chukka of Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Cup, Dubai Luxury Homes was narrowly beaten by Citi who managed to squeeze in a couple of goals in the dying seconds of the match.
Citi Team :
1. Ragnar Meitern
2. Alice Harvey
3. Mohammed Al Habtoor
4. Rashid Al Habtoor
Dubai Luxury Homes Team:
1. Helen Tatham
2. Raja Abuljebain
3. Rodger Kay
4. Sheik Khalid