Women Who Travel

At the UAE’s First Camel Riding School, Women Are Taking the Reins

Linda Krockenberger opened her Arabian Desert Camel Riding Center last year—and an increasing number of women are signing up for lessons.
camels walking in Dubai dessert
Dubai Tourism

Linda Krockenberger is in her element. At a sandy camel farm on the outskirts of Dubai, where the city fades into desert, she’s chatting with farmers in Arabic, adjusting a rope here, patting a hump there. It’s an unusual place to find a young, softly spoken German woman, but as co-founder of the United Arab Emirates' first officially licensed camel riding school, she’s very much at home.

Camels have long played an important role in the region’s history. The dromedary, the single-humped camel found across the Arabian Peninsula, is thought to have been domesticated here up to 5,000 years ago, used as a means of transport and to carry goods on trade routes, and as a source of wool, milk, meat, and leather. Nowadays, they’re most often spotted in the distance from a desert highway, or encountered at resorts and desert camps where a quick camel ride is high on many travelers’ must-do lists.

Linda Krockenberger welcoming riding students at her Arabian Desert Camel Riding Center (ADCRC)

ADCRC

Camels resting in the dunes

Nicola Chilton

I first came across Krockenberger and her Arabian Desert Camel Riding Center (ADCRC) on Instagram in early 2021. The opportunity to be able to interact with camels closely and on a personal level drew me in immediately, and I sent the school a message. A few days later, I found myself clambering onto Bouni, a retired racing camel, for my first riding session.

I’d heard that camels are prone to biting and spitting, and can be aggressive, but the camels at the ADCRC are anything but. Trix, a leggy blond with long eyelashes and thick curls on his neck, is endlessly patient. Handsome Fares, meanwhile, has a face of perfect proportions and a coat the color of the sand dunes. Their movement takes a bit of getting used to, but once you relax into it, it’s quite hypnotic. There are no saddles used here. Instead, you sit on a folded blanket in the traditional way, legs dangling, or, if you’re a pro like Saeed Al Muhairi, one of the school’s trainers, with your feet tucked tightly underneath you.

Launching a school was never part of Krockenberger’s plan. An experienced equestrian, she rode horses back in Germany as a means to get out into nature, and when she moved to the UAE, she was looking for ways to continue exploring the outdoors. Never comfortable riding horses in desert conditions—she felt that they weren't accustomed to the terrain or climate—Krockenberger decided to explore opportunities to experience the desert with camels, creatures that are historically much better adapted to the conditions. Yet when contacting camel farms in the area, her request proved unusual. “The tradition of women riding camels had kind of disappeared, and nobody knew what to think of it,” she says. “One place said yes, you can come, but you should train at night, and maybe you could dress as a boy so it’s less obvious.”

Soon after, she was introduced to Obaid Al Falasi, an Emirati man whose whole life has been spent around camels, and who owns Farm 130 in Lisaili, a farming settlement where it’s possible to see hundreds of camels being exercised in the early morning, including lots of fluffy babies. “Obaid understood very quickly what I was looking for,” says Krockenberger. “He suggested that if there were other people wanting to do the same thing, perhaps we should make it more formal and turn it into a school.”

In January 2021, the Arabian Desert Camel Riding Center (ADCRC) was born. “We started with just a few people and a lot of word-of-mouth,” she says. “We wanted to grow organically.”

Krockenberger participating in a race with camel Mashour  

Khalifa Qabeel

Al Falasi registered ADCRC with the Dubai Economic Department as a Camel Riding School, a category that had never previously existed. “We also registered with the Dubai Sports Council and became accredited by the Dubai Camel Racing Club, and we’re the first people in the country to hold Camel Jockey Trainer licenses,” says Krockenberger.

Currently the school has 11 camels and around 23 regular riders, with more coming on a less regular basis. The camels are all owned by Obaid, and most of them have raced at one point and are now either too old or were not the best performers.

“Animal welfare is important to us not only because of our values, but because in today's world, it's a requirement for doing such a project. I believe that's a good thing. We become part of something to also change something,” says Krockenberger.

Camels at the school are used in rotation to allow for breaks and rest time, and no back-to-back lessons are offered to ensure they are not overworked.

“We have weight restrictions for riders, and we never put two adults on one animal, which is common practice at some of the tourist attractions,” she continues. “In all aspects, it's in everyone's interest to maintain healthy, cared-for animals.”

Krockenberger also recently launched the UAE’s first women’s camel racing team, made up of riders from Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, and Russia, most of whom are experienced horse riders. It’s all a long way from her original goal of simply finding somewhere to train.

A small but growing number of Emirati women are also starting to make their way to her school, rediscovering the importance of camels in their own heritage. In the past, Bedouin women would ride and care for camels as everyone in the family would be responsible for looking after livestock. Camels were the main source of transportation, and as semi-nomads, men, women, and children would travel on camelback.

Salha Albasti, a Dubai-based lawyer, first encountered camels up close while running in a race through the seven emirates. “They thought I had food so kept following me while I was running. From that moment I was scared of them,” she says.

The ADCRC support team preparing for a race

ADCRC

ADCRC students learning to ride in the desert

ADCRC

Albasti learned about the school after seeing photos posted online by a friend. “To be honest, at first I was more curious about Linda than the camels. Who was this German woman teaching people to ride here?” she says with a laugh. She decided to try it, just once, to get over her fear. “For the first 15 minutes on the camel I kept thinking, why am I here? What am I doing?” she says. Now she rides twice a week.

“Learning to ride camels has changed me,” she says. “It’s hard to describe how, but I think that after all the difficulties we’ve been through in the past months, they’ve somehow healed me. I feel calmer now, I have more balance. And I don’t know why exactly, but I put it down to being with the camels.”

She also has a great appreciation for the opportunities that Krockenberger has created for people, especially women, to train in a friendly, welcoming environment. “Camels are part of our culture, and I’m proud of that. But I’m proud of Linda for what she’s done, creating a place where we can all learn,” she says.

Another young Emirati woman who recently discovered the school is Khadija Yousif Saeed.

“I was nervous at first because they’re so huge,” she says. “But when you’re on the camel and he’s walking so slowly, it’s like a kind of meditation. You’re not thinking about anything, just about the way he walks. It’s a good feeling.”

Both Albasti and Saeed hope to encourage more Emiratis, especially women, to join.

“Camels are part of our culture, but we don’t know enough about them. I would love for more people to come to the school, even if they don’t want to train or ride,” says Saeed. “It’s important that the new generation learns about camels and their place in our history.