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HISTORY
Syracuse, 1/13/08. Approval of the first draft of the Union's statute.
Syracuse, 1/13/08. Approval of the first draft of the Union's statute.
Naples, 14/12/08. The drivers participating in the first stage of the Championship organized by the UIM.
Naples, 14/12/08. The drivers participating in the first stage of the Championship organized by the UIM.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 8/2/09. The finish of the first stage of the Fantini Championship organized by the UIM.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 8/2/09. The finish of the first stage of the Fantini Championship organized by the UIM.
Francesco Pettinari and Sofiane Boumedienne: Mediterranean champions 2008. Igor Isaev at Tordivalle.
Francesco Pettinari and Sofiane Boumedienne: Mediterranean champions 2008. Igor Isaev in Tordivalle.
The beginnings
In 1996 at the Tor di Valle Racecourse in Rome, thanks to an idea by the international journalist Carlo Biffi, the first edition of a horse racing championship reserved for drivers from Mediterranean and Black Sea countries was organized. The event took place in a single day in Rome and grew in media interest and participation for six years, also extending to a jockeys' championship held at the Agnano Racecourse in Naples. Drivers, jockeys, and horse racing officials from 14 nations thus had the opportunity to meet and exchange experiences. This sporting event immediately proved capable of achieving, through the effective trait-d’union of the passion for horses—a passion that knows no borders—goals of unity and dialogue among nations on a scale much broader than that of mere competition among champions on the track. It was the first sporting event in which Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia participated together since the beginning of the Balkan war. In 2002, the drivers' event was held in Naples and was followed by a historic relay of trotting horses, led by the champion Varenne, who crossed the city carrying a torch of peace from the racecourse track to the Maschio Angioino Castle where, on the initiative of the President of Ippodromi & Città, Gaetano Papalia, a round table was held on the theme "Sport as an instrument of peace" with the participation of various international authorities, including political representatives from Israel and Palestine.
In 2005, on the initiative of the Société des Courses de la Cote d’Azur in France (which manages the Cagnes-sur-Mer racecourse) and Ippodromi & Città in Italy (then the largest Italian racing company, managing the racecourses of Rome, Naples, and Florence), the first Mediterranean Jockeys Championship was organized as an international circuit. With the same formula, the following year saw the birth of the Mediterranean Trotting Championship, also open to the Black Sea. The entry into the organizing team of François Forcioli Conti and Danièle Bernardi brought new skills and energy for the development of the project.
In June 2006, the President of the Mediterranean Racecourse of Syracuse paved the way for the creation of an association by promoting a round table entitled “Mediterranean Jockeys Championship: an opportunity to start international cooperation between the countries and horse racing federations of the Mediterranean,” attended by representatives of the Horse Racing Authorities of France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia, together with distinguished members of the Parliament and the Sicilian Regional Assembly. From here began discussions around the idea of giving a legal personality to the experience of international collaboration carried out by the Championship organizing committees. Tamara Papiccio, manager of the racecourses of Rome, Naples, Florence, and Siena, prepared a draft statute for the association, which was discussed on March 8, 2008, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, with the presence and contribution of representatives from all the horse racing federations participating in the Mediterranean gallop and trotting championships. The text of the statute was then approved on May 8, 2008, in Casablanca, Morocco, when the delegations present decided to choose Italy, in the city of Naples, for the official establishment of the association, which took place on December 13 of that year at the Expo Center of the Maritime Station of Naples, right on the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Naples, 13/12/08. Founding assembly of the Mediterranean Horse Union.
Naples, 12/13/08. Founding assembly of the Mediterranean Equestrian Union.
Athens, 13/4/08. Mediterranean Championship Prize at the Markopoulo Hippodrome.
Naples, 14/12/08. The awards for Noel Baldacchino, Francesco Pettinari and Ukraine.
Naples, 12/14/08. The awards of Noel Baldacchino, Francesco Pettinari and Ukraine.
Malta, 31/3/09. Riders and drivers participating in the first stage. Magomet Kappushev, 2009 champion.
Malta, 31/3/09. Riders and drivers participating in the first stage. Magomet Kappushev, 2009 champion.
The realization: the Mediterranean Championships
Since 2006, the Mediterranean Hippodrome has become the venue, for Italy, of the Mediterranean Jockeys Championship, an annual circuit of races organized in various nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, with one jockey representing each country. Fifteen nations have so far taken part in this event: Algeria, Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.
In the same year, the Mediterranean Trotting Championship also began. Eleven nations have so far participated in the trotting competition: Algeria, Croatia, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Serbia, Russia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
The days reserved for the Mediterranean Championship trials are opportunities to open the racetracks to the community and promote the resources and traditions of the host country, through exhibitions, shows, and events related to folklore, tourism, and Mediterranean culture. In fact, the aim of this event, through the organization of horse races in the participating countries, is to celebrate the historical and cultural commonality of the Mediterranean, to promote friendly relations among peoples, and to develop their collaboration, starting from the world of horse racing and extending to the fields of culture, history, tourism, and economy.
Each participating country sends its own jockey accompanied by a racing official to the Championship trials and has the option to organize a leg of the circuit in its own country with horses provided by local stables. On the sporting level, however, the event immediately set out to become, as soon as possible, not only a Championship for jockeys and drivers, but also a Championship for horses.
Jean Paul Fasquelle, France, crowned Mediterranean Champion 2009 in Moscow.
Jean Paul Fasquelle, France, crowned Mediterranean Champion 2009 in Moscow.
Belgrade, 10/6/10. The participating jockeys. Anthony Demanuele, Malta, Mediterranean Champion 2010.
Belgrade, 10/6/10. The participating jockeys. Anthony Demanuele, Malta, Mediterranean Champion 2010.
Naples, 6/5/12, the participating drivers. Attilio Golia, Italy, Mediterranean Champion 2011.
Naples, 6/5/12, the participating drivers. Attilio Golia, Italy, Mediterranean Champion 2011.
Naples, 6/5/12. The Mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, awards Peter Zadel, Slovenia.
Naples, 6/5/12. The Mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, awards Peter Zadel, Slovenia.
Dialogue and collaboration among peoples
On the social and cultural level, the Championship strives to involve as broadly as possible the public entities of all participating countries, because this initiative, beyond being an opportunity for broader and more fruitful collaboration among national equestrian organizations, also becomes an occasion to create synergy and cultural, social, and economic exchanges among the participating countries. In fact, it is an initiative capable of generating aggregation even outside the equestrian world, creating relationships that involve, in addition to horsemen, also the actual communities. The Mediterranean Championship is an example of what can be achieved in southern Europe, activating dialogue and collaboration among peoples different in language and citizenship, but united by history, traditions, and a millennia-old civilization. An example of how the Mediterranean Sea can be made not a sea of borders, but a sea of contacts and cooperation among peoples in the fields of culture, social exchanges, and sport.
Since 2009, the newly established Mediterranean Equestrian Union has been the organizing body of the Mediterranean Championship, and the new structure has given a great boost to the event, allowing it to experience a real boom, creating a circuit that touches ports and cities throughout the area in an ideal journey between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Each nation organizes its own Mediterranean Championship race following the guidelines regarding the quality and fairness of the competitions established by the Union, but is free to do so in its own way, resulting in a Mediterranean tour in which each participant is enriched and learns from the way their colleagues “do equestrian sports.”
Casablanca, 2/6/12. Omar Skalli and Fayçal Cherik award Sofiane Boumedienne, Algeria.
Casablanca, 2/6/12. Omar Skalli and Fayçal Cherik award Sofiane Boumedienne, Algeria.
Belgrade, 10/6/12. The Serbian stage of the Drivers' Championship.
Belgrade, 10/6/12. The Serbian stage of the Drivers' Championship.
Peter Zadel, Slovenia, Mediterranean Drivers Champion 2012.
Peter Zadel, Slovenia, Mediterranean Drivers Champion 2012.
Matteo Di Meo, Italy and Pauline Prod'Homme, Mediterranean Champions Drivers and Jockeys 2013.
Matteo Di Meo, Italy and Pauline Prod'Homme, Mediterranean Champions Drivers and Jockeys 2013.
The path to the creation of the Union
Syracuse paved the way, promoting in 2006 the round table entitled “Mediterranean Jockeys Championship: an opportunity to start international cooperation between the countries and equestrian federations of the Mediterranean.”
The Cagnes-sur-Mer racecourse further contributed to the growth of the event, organizing on March 8, 2008 a General Assembly with the presence of all the countries participating in the championships and with the aim of creating an association that would bring together the two championships, equipped with a broad statute and called the “Mediterranean Equestrian Union.” The presence of all the Mediterranean delegations, who contributed to the drafting of the association's statute with their suggestions and proposals, was further enriched by the prestige of the famous trotting race “Grand Criterium de Vitesse des Casinos de Montecarlo” scheduled during the race meeting with the participation of the best sprinters in the world.
On May 8, 2008, it was then Morocco that continued the path towards the realization of the initiative, organizing a new Assembly in Casablanca for the approval of the statute of the Mediterranean Equestrian Union, in which, for the first time, Libya also took part.
Matteo Di Meo, Italy, Mediterranean Drivers Champion 2014.
Matteo Di Meo, Italy, Mediterranean Drivers Champion 2014.
Antonino Fusco, Italy, Mediterranean Fantini Champion 2014.
Antonino Fusco, Italy, Mediterranean Jockey Champion 2014.
Ramerskoye, Russia, 6/8/16. Extraordinary stage of solidarity with France.
Ramerskoye, Russia, 6/8/16. Extraordinary show of solidarity with France.
Moscow, 2/8/15. The stages for jockeys and drivers of the Mediterranean Championship.
Moscow, 2/8/15. The stages for jockeys and drivers of the Mediterranean Championship.
The founding assembly
On Saturday, December 13, 2008, in the Galatea Hall of the Expo Conference Center, inside the Port of Naples, the equestrian delegations of 12 countries – Algeria, Croatia, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Tunisia, and Turkey – gathered to sign the statute of the Mediterranean Equestrian Union. The foreign delegations were welcomed by the sports councilors of the Municipality and Province of Naples, Alfredo Ponticelli and Maria Falbo, who conveyed greetings from Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino and the President of the Province Dino Di Palma.
Around the table sat the equestrian delegations of 12 countries from the Mediterranean and Black Sea area who signed the agreement in the presence of notary Dr. Nicola Capuano: Algeria (Fayçal Cherik, Director of the race organization Société des Courses Hippiques et du Pari Mutuel), Croatia (Zoran Gaspar, President of the Croatian Gallop Association and the Croatian Trotting Association), Italy (Filiberto Cecchi, Vice President of Unire and Concetto Mazzarella, President of Marconi Italia SpA Ippodromo del Mediterraneo), Malta (Matthew Brincat, President of the Malta Racing Club), Morocco (Ahmed Slimani, Delegate Director of Pari Mutuel Urbain - Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval), Portugal (Ricardo Carvalho, President of the Liga Portuguesa de Criadores e Proprietarios de Cavalos de Corrida), Russia (Nikolay Isakov, President of the Commonwealth Trotting Association of Russia and Eugenie Kappushev, Member of the Jockey Club of Russia), Serbia (Aleksander Djordjevic, President of the Serbian Trotting Association and Representative of the Serbian Equestrian Association), Slovenia (Ciril Smrkolj, President of the Zveza Drustev Kasaske Centrale Slovenije), Tunisia (Dhaou Maiz, President and General Director of the Société des Courses Hippiques), Turkey (Sinan Kalpakcioglu, General Manager Jockey Club of Turkey), Ukraine (Volodymyr Kushtal, Vice President of the Ukrainian Association Owners Trotters Horses).
Chilivani, 31/8/14. Second edition of the Mediterranean Purebred Arabian Championship.
Chilivani, 31/8/14. Second edition of the Mediterranean Championship for Purebred Arabians.
Tunis, 25/10/15. 3rd edition of the PSA Championship. Olga Mantorova, 2015 Champion.
Tunis, 25/10/15. 3rd edition of the PSA Championship. Olga Mantorova, 2015 Champion.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 20/8/16. Animations from Tunisia for the Purebred Arabian Championship.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 20/8/16. Animations from Tunisia for the Purebred Arabian Championship.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 20/8/16. Trad Ben Gobrane awards the winner of the Prix de la Promenade des Anglais.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, 20/8/16. Trad Ben Gobrane awards the winner of the Prix de la Promenade des Anglais.
The realization of a dream: the Purebred Arabian Championship
In the summer of 2013, the Union therefore achieved a truly ambitious goal: to organize the first race in the Euro-Mediterranean area in which nations are represented not only by their men, but by their pairs: horses and jockeys. A race that is an exceptional opportunity for comparison between the equestrian cultures of the participating countries, starting from their oldest and deepest roots, which are still vital today. At the Cagnes-sur-Mer racecourse in Nice, on July 26, the first Mediterranean Championship of the Arabian horse took place, the equine that is the progenitor of all racehorses in the world, to which the best products of the breeding of racing Arabians from the countries belonging to the Union and from nations that have started the process of joining it were invited to participate. France, Italy, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia took part in the event with their best horses.
This is a traveling event among the countries belonging to the Association. In 2014, the Mediterranean Championship of the Purebred Arabian was in fact organized in Sardinia, at the Chilivani Racecourse with the participation of Algerian, French, and Italian horses. In 2015, the baton for this exceptional event was taken up by the Société des Courses de Tunis, which staged the third edition of the competition in Tunis with the presence of Libyan and Tunisian representatives.
Since 2016, the Cagnes-sur-Mer racecourse has been chosen as the ideal venue for the Championship, as it is more easily accessible from the countries in the area.
For the 2019 edition, it will once again be Italy's turn to step up and stage this unique event on the world scene.
Moscow, 7/8/16. Nikolay Isakov awards the winner of the Fantini Championship stage.
Moscow, 7/8/16. Nikolay Isakov awards the winner of the Fantini Championship stage.
Tiaret, Algeria, 20/9/16. The Fantini stage on the occasion of the Salon International du Cheval.
Tiaret, Algeria, 20/9/16. The Fantini stage on the occasion of the Salon International du Cheval.
Anthony Demanuele, Malta, Mediterranean Champion 2016. Sara Callac, second among the jockeys.
Anthony Demanuele, Malta, Mediterranean Champion 2016. Sara Callac, second among the jockeys.
Abdelkader Aida, Algeria, Fantini del Mediterraneo Champion 2017.
Abdelkader Aida, Algeria, Fantini del Mediterraneo Champion 2017.
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