Creative Director | The Royal Stables – FBMA Competition & The Royal Stables Indoor Arena Launch
Client: The Royal Stables
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 2026
Role: Creative Director & Experience Designer
Agency : Black Orange Live, Dubai
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 2026
Role: Creative Director & Experience Designer
Agency : Black Orange Live, Dubai
SITUATION
The Royal Stables launched a new, state-of-the-art indoor arena dedicated primarily to female riders, families and people of determination.
They needed more than an opening event – they needed a founding chapter:
• A 10-minute reveal show that felt as prestigious as a world-class equestrian production,
• A guest journey that extended across the outdoor plaza, lawn, livery and terraces,
• And a tone that blended Emirati heritage, femininity and modern visual innovation with the quiet luxury.
• A 10-minute reveal show that felt as prestigious as a world-class equestrian production,
• A guest journey that extended across the outdoor plaza, lawn, livery and terraces,
• And a tone that blended Emirati heritage, femininity and modern visual innovation with the quiet luxury.
All experiences had to respect the existing architecture, keep a regal, feminine aesthetic and be technically feasible within an arena environment with live horses.
TASK
Design a cohesive creative narrative and experience masterplan for:
• The Launch Ceremony & Theatrical Show inside the indoor arena (max 10 minutes),
• A Royal Stables Village outdoors (market, F&B and activation zones),
• A gala dinner in the new livery space with horses present,
• VIP touchpoints such as invitations, judges’ gifts and press kit,
• The Launch Ceremony & Theatrical Show inside the indoor arena (max 10 minutes),
• A Royal Stables Village outdoors (market, F&B and activation zones),
• A gala dinner in the new livery space with horses present,
• VIP touchpoints such as invitations, judges’ gifts and press kit,
…so that every moment – from invitation to final hoofstep – tells one story: A celebration the bond between woman, horse and homeland.
ACTION & KEY CREATIVE ELEMENTS
I led the creative direction and experience design across all layers of the project – from narrative and arena show to outdoor journey, gala dinner and VIP touchpoints. I defined the story spine with “The Heartbeat of the Hoofstep”, a feminine, Emirati-led narrative that unifies the entire experience, and designed a 10-minute reveal show combining projection mapping on the internal façades, female-led equestrian choreography, a silk aerialist and horse-safe holographic and light treatments around a symbolic opening ritual.
Beyond the arena, I conceived the Royal Stables Village with a unified visual language of arches, sand tones, leather details and scarf-inspired borders, expressed through Stable Arcade Stalls for market retail, Saddle Bars for F&B, and a suite of immersive activations: the Jewelled Studio & Personalisation Hubs for luxury customisation of leather, silk and riding accessories, the Racewood simulator pavilion, taking guests “from stands to saddle” and Ride the Estate signature trails, offering poetic, inclusive riding routes across the property. I reimagined the livery as a Riders Gala Dinner, majlis-style arena-inspired tablescapes and a modern Emirati gourmet menu with non-alcoholic pairings. To complete the ecosystem, I designed premium VIP and media moments, including the Equestrian Elegance Kit and press touchpoints, and advised on technical partners and show delivery models, balancing mapping-heavy and holistic live-show options to de-risk performance with live horses while protecting the creative vision.
RESULT
Delivered a holistic experience masterplan and creative pitch that:
• Translated The Royal Stables’ brand guidelines and architectural language into every touchpoint, from the arena reveal to the smallest activation kiosk.
• Provided the client and agency with a clear 10-minute show script, visual direction for mapping, and detailed zoning for outdoor F&B and activations.
• Offered production-ready concepts that could be handed to technical and operational partners with minimal translation.
• Translated The Royal Stables’ brand guidelines and architectural language into every touchpoint, from the arena reveal to the smallest activation kiosk.
• Provided the client and agency with a clear 10-minute show script, visual direction for mapping, and detailed zoning for outdoor F&B and activations.
• Offered production-ready concepts that could be handed to technical and operational partners with minimal translation.
IMPACT & TAKEAWAYS
• Demonstrated how heritage, femininity and innovation can coexist in an equestrian context without feeling cliché or over-produced.
• Proved the value of treating an opening not as a single show, but as a continuous story that starts in the invitation, flows through architecture and culminates in one defining moment in the arena.
• Strengthened my methodology for destination-scale experience design: integrating show design, spatial layout, F&B, activations, VIP journeys and brand objects into one coherent narrative.
• Demonstrated how heritage, femininity and innovation can coexist in an equestrian context without feeling cliché or over-produced.
• Proved the value of treating an opening not as a single show, but as a continuous story that starts in the invitation, flows through architecture and culminates in one defining moment in the arena.
• Strengthened my methodology for destination-scale experience design: integrating show design, spatial layout, F&B, activations, VIP journeys and brand objects into one coherent narrative.
