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 three heads. Each measured 20m high, 19m long and were 3m wide.
Al Laith had to ensure that they could safely be 'ridden' by up to 26 performers and driven for at least 1000m - 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.
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.
Al Laith Event Services director Jo Marshall comments: "This is without doubt one of the most interesting and rewarding projects on which we have worked in a year of many innovative and unusual challenges. Our thanks go to M-IS for putting their confidence in us, and to our fantastic team, their lateral thinking abilities, determination and ingenious engineering skills and talents - all of which combined to produce a truly memorable result."
John Young, M-IS creative director, concludes, "It was due to Al Laith's ingenious engineering skills and out-of-the-box thinking that the concepts for this year's theatrical spectacular at the Dubai World Cup could be realised. While M-IS continues to explore new and highly creative concepts, it is the ability of companies like Al Laith to innovate that helped us to deliver these. Many thanks go out to all the teams who helped produce an exceptional show again in 2011."
(Jim Evans)
