Adib Al-Ani: Sheikh Mansour Arabian Horse Photography Award has created a new culture as 12th edition heads to Morocco

Euro Times — The 12th edition of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Award for Arabian Horse Photography is preparing to open in El Jadida, Morocco, after a year marked by stronger competition, higher participation and a broader range of artistic approaches, according to Adib Shaaban Al-Ani, president of the Arab Photographers Union.

Speaking exclusively to Euro Times, Al-Ani said the new edition builds on the previous rounds of the award and will be presented on new ground in the Kingdom of Morocco, with the official opening scheduled for 12 October 2026 in El Jadida.

He said this year’s competition has been particularly intense across four main categories: the beauty of the Arabian horse, equestrian events, Tbourida, and video photography of horses in general. He added that the number of participants has increased compared with the previous edition.

Al-Ani said the award is witnessing “rapid movement” in the development of artistic visions, with entries increasingly combining fine-art sensibilities with the craft of creating images of horses across different settings and disciplines.

One of the most striking outcomes of the award, he said, is that it has helped create a genuine culture of horse photography. “Horse photography used to be very limited,” he said, explaining that the award helped establish fertile ground for a large number of photographers to take part in workshops and dedicated shooting sessions, producing images he described as exceptionally beautiful and impressive.

He also highlighted the participation of photographers entering the field for the first time. According to Al-Ani, many of them were introduced specifically to the culture of photographing the Arabian horse and submitted works that captured both the fine details of the animal’s beauty and the movement required to turn a fleeting moment into a potentially award-winning image.

Al-Ani said the 12th edition will also place particular emphasis on the presentation of the winning works. The programme will include displays of the award-winning photographs as well as the winning video films, with special attention given to image scale, presentation format and the overall artistic direction of the exhibition.

He said the official opening will be held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI of Morocco on 12 October in El Jadida. The official programme of the El Jadida Horse Show lists the formal opening for Monday, 12 October 2026, with the show running from 13 to 18 October.

For Al-Ani, the importance of the award goes beyond competition itself. He said it has created a growing artistic environment around Arabian horse photography, encouraged photographers to explore the subject in greater depth and helped transform a once relatively limited specialty into a broader visual field combining technical precision, movement and artistic expression.