A few of you have asked about the camel races and no riders on the camels..Well, they used to tie young children to the camels as the jockeys. Why not? They are light weight and love a good ride, huh? The UN decided maybe the kids weren't having as much fun as everyone assumed they were so they outlawed anyone under the age of 15yrs to ride the camels during the races.
These resourceful Arabs didn't let the new law discourage them. Now the camel jockeys are robots. That's one reason for all the 4x4's racing around the track with the camels. The whips on the robots are controlled by remote which is controlled by a man in the white 4x4. These robot jockeys are well cared for and dressed very nicely..Emirates would have it no other way. They even have visors on their hats to keep the desert sun out of their little robot eyes.
After seeing an actual race and the mass of camels and trucks racing around the track, it became clear to us why the robots are dressed in such bright, unique jerseys. There is almost no way for the owners to find their camel during the race.
These last two photos were taken at the big camel track during a training day.
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