By Chris Hoover/Doha

World renowned equestrian showman and movie stuntman Mario Luraschi and his team will be the star attraction during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Qatar International Equestrian Festival at the outdoor arena of the Qatar Equestrian Federation tomorrow. The eight-day festival will conclude with the running of HH The Emir’s Sword race on February 27. A whopping QR 25 million is on offer as prize money to the winners.
“It is a great pleasure to visit Qatar. It is absolutely fantastic. The condition for the show is perfect here and I am looking ahead to the performance. It is an enchanting place where there is a lot of love for horses. We are looking forward to the show on Thursday and hope to treat the audience to a great display,” Luraschi told the Gulf Times, while rehearsing for the show.
The Frenchman was amazed at the development in Qatar.
“Qatar has developed vastly since my last visit here in 2008. It is unbelievable to see top class buildings that have come up in this great country since the last five years.
“It is like a dream to see such wonderful structures. I am very pleased to see the vast improvement that has taken place here.”
Luraschi, who prefers real-life action to the routine of a movie set, will be showcasing the special training that goes into trick riding which is used during filmmaking.
“This show will give a glimpse to the people about how the horses perform during filmmaking.
“It will be an acrobatic and elegant display. I want to show the people of Qatar the relationship between a horse and man, the close co-operation between the two.”
QREC general manager Sami Jassim al-Boenain was looking ahead to the grand opening ceremony. “This will be one of the best ever opening ceremonies we have had. Luraschi is a well known personality in the Equestrian world. It will be a great to start the festival with his performance.”
Settled in an old farmhouse in the heart of the Ermenonville forest near Paris, Luraschi has tuned his life to movie productions, equestrian entertainment and the training of his horses.
For the past 30 years, he’s been the outstanding Master producing horses acting in movies and performing stunts, an expertise that has contributed to about 400 films in France, in the United States and in many European countries.
A wholehearted passion for the American Natives led him to the horse world. Undoubtedly naturally gifted, he quickly handles the horses with great ease and their schooling becomes another real passion. Pushed by an instinct, which rarely betrays him, he soon realised that his life will be led at the full gallop of the horses and it is far from the classical equestrian paths that he started his career as a horse trainer and gained the fame that honours him today.
Visiting stud farms and trainers’ barns, he showed interest for all forms of equitation and horse breeds. To improve his knowledge, he studied under the great Spanish and Portuguese Masters. He set off to discover the huge American land and regularly meets with the famous French horsemen.
Being a naturally gifted person, Luraschi knows how to promptly grip the horses with great ease. Unlike many trainers the success of the Frenchman relies on his true passion for horses and not just the way a trainer only learns how to manage a horse.
Individual stunts and scintillating horse riding culled from Luraschi’s involvement in films in France and the USA as well as his remarkable career in equestrian entertainment will be on offer for the horse-racing cognoscente. It is a show you would not like to miss. The show begins at 8pm tomorrow and entry is free.