King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, greatly prized his Arabian horses, and would surely be proud that their valuable heritage is being preserved at the King Abdul Aziz Arabian Horse Center, named in his honor.

Rows of date palms and fields of berseem grace the 750-acre facility which is located in Dirab, an agricultural valley thirty-five kilometers outside the capital of Riyadh. Surrounded by dramatic mountains and stone monoliths, the Center produces much of the fodder for the horses, as well as the dates, figs, citrus fruit, and grapes whose greenery provides a welcome respite from surrounding desert. Home to over 200 purebred Arabian horses, the Center operates under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture, and became home to the government stud of the Kingdom in 1964.

In addition to maintaining a significant herd of breeding horses, the Center serves as the Kingdom's official authority for registration of Arabian horses and issued its inaugural stud book in December of 1991. A beautiful show arena graces the Center, and a nearby museum and gallery devoted to the history of the Arabian horse in the Kingdom features numerous works of art, reference books, and photographs. The King Abdul Aziz Arabian Horse Center maintains several families of pure Saudi desertbred Arabians and also features an outstanding group of Arabians representing the finest bloodlines in the world, including Polish, Russian, Egyptian, Spanish, and American.