DUBAI, UAE – Al Laith Event Services constructed three massive mobile scenic horses' heads, which were an integral part of the closing parade of the 2011 Dubai World Cup horseracing event at Meydan Racecourse, Dubai. Working for the show's producers and designers M-IS, Al Laith was commissioned to engineer and develop the superstructures and movement systems for the 3 heads. Each measured 20 metres high, 19 metres long and were 3 metres wide. Al Laith had to ensure that they could safely be 'ridden' by up to 26 performers and driven for at least 1000 metres – in potentially seasonal windy conditions – for the celebrations following the conclusion of the 2011 Dubai World Cup.
The heads represented the three legendary equestrian bloodlines – the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerly Turk – from which all modern thoroughbred racehorses are descended.
The Horse Head project was managed for Al Laith by Ross Cameron. He led their team of 60 expert scaffolders including site supervisor Suresh Thapa and foreman Ram Rawal, and worked closely with Al Laith's former neighbours Mammoet Industries who supplied the heavy-duty self drive trailers that were utilised as bases for the heads. Kenny Falconer from the UK assisted in the structural and mechanical engineering, and Nick White, contract scaffolding manager for Al Laith, oversaw all the bracing and ensured that the strength and structural integrity of the Heads met the health & safety requirements.
The trailers each weighed 50 tonnes to start with and had 14 axel lines, each with 4 wheels. Al Laith added about 25 tonnes of scaff and 48 tonnes of ballast to each, so each trailer when fully laden with the completed Horses Head weighed about 125 tons.
On site at Meydan, the Al Laith crew built a 75 metre long, 25 metre high by 15 metre wide garage, so the head structures could be constructed inside sheltered from the wind and dust storms that are so prevalent in Dubai at this time of year.
I-beam cradles were built on top of the trailer bases, forming a basic architectural superstructure, then the Horses' Heads were shaped out of standard cup-lock scaffolding, and secure performer platforms were integrated into the structures etc.,
Once this stage was finished, scenic builders Electra came in and provided all the cladding and fine tuned the shapes. They were followed by Showtex, who added the draping and finishing touches. Technical rigging points were installed by Al Laith's Neil Hobbs, then Protec added a lighting system to each Head and Delta Sound finished off with about a tonne of PA in each.
