“My favourite show is the Nationals and Towerlands: I’ll let you know about Paris!” grinned a fifteen-year-old Miles Buckley when I first interviewed him in 2008. Fast-forward to the end of the Paris World Championships in 2024. Miles just looked at me and whispered: “Not bad”. Not bad indeed – Miles had just taken two Silver World Championship titles. And now, his sights are firmly set on the World Supreme Championships in Doha this December, especially with his heart horse, the dynamic yearling colt Al Fahad MAS.
There is little doubt that the last twelve months have been beyond even the wildest dreams of the fifteen-year-old boy I interviewed over seventeen years ago. In this time, Miles has won a host of Gold Championship titles across Europe and the Middle East, been undefeated in the highly competitive yearling colt championships this season, taken those two Silver World titles, and there is also the small matter of getting married to his beloved wife, Megan this summer. Yet behind all this, Miles remains as down to earth as ever, with his parents, Jacqueline and Edward, and younger brother, Connor, providing the day-to-day backup and support.
“Honestly, Samantha, this year has been amazing career wise!” says Miles. “It has been the best year of my life in so many ways. I have had some incredible moments over the years since we first met at the Midland Arabian Festival, but this year has topped them all.”
Before we talk about Miles’ achievements in the ring, and how he found Al Fahad MAS, a colt who has captivated all year, we need to look back. Miles’ parents owned Waltza Stud, breeding part-bred Arabians with great success. Having grown up around the horses, it was inevitable Miles would end up on the same path – he won his first class when he was just four years old, showing the family’s Shetland pony at a local show. It was while at a show that Miles saw his first purebred Arabian, falling in love with their beauty and temperament.
Obsession quickly set in, and when Miles was thirteen, he purchased his first purebred Arabians – EAS Kaabahla (Saaradik x Shahma) and EAS Aamelia (Shah el Zaaman x Saarida Bint Shaliah). A year later and he and Aamelia qualified for the UK International Arabian Horse Show at Towerlands, and Miles’ path as an Arabian horse trainer of the future was truly set.
From that moment, Miles followed his dreams, allowing them to grow and evolve. Now, he owns MBST – Miles Buckley Show Training – just outside of London in East Sussex, allowing direct access to the Continent. Now home to around seventy horses, including those there for breeding, MBST has become something much bigger than Miles ever dared to hope for.
Miles’ first golden moment was taking the inaugural Gelding Championship at the All Nations’ Cup in Aachen with Aja Adonis (WH Justice x Sanadina) in 2015, when Miles himself was just twenty-two. “That feeling of being pulled in Gold was just incredible,” recalls Miles. “Taking that title is still one of the standout moments of my career – and for me, it also marked the moment when my career really began to take off.”
Successes at the World Championships followed, with three Bronze titles, the first coming in 2018 with Duke Santonio ME (Santorini x Amaliaa), bred by Miles’ best friend, and part of the MBST team, Malik Emmanuel Morisson and Dawn Cascoe and now owned by Al Bateen Arabian Horse Stud from Kuwait. “Winning my first World Championships title with a horse bred by my best friend? Wow, that was everything!” laughs Miles. “Honestly, it was just such a special moment, standing there in the collecting ring and hearing his number called out.”
The following year, Miles took another World Championship Bronze title, this time with Adham Saqr (Imperial Madori x Ameera Saqr), a straight Egyptian stallion bred by Omar Sakr and owned by Al Farida Stud, both in Egypt. And then came the first of many titles with the incredibly feminine TM Bella (TM Itaipu x TM Fahdeelah), bred by Jose Orlando and Teixeira Junior and owned by Al Jumail Stud in Qatar.
“Al Jumail Stud is owned by Faisal al Kubaisi and was founded in 2019,” explains Miles. “We have a long history of working together, and Al Jumail Stud has gone from strength to strength in recent years. TM Bella is one of the superstars. Now a four-year-old mare, she has taken titles at all the major championships. She has a huge fan club, and when you see her show, it is easy to see why!”
With MBST growing ever bigger, and Miles showing regularly across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, Gregor Aymar joined the team in 2020. “I was very impressed with Miles and with not only what he had created, but in how he carried himself,” recalls Gregor. “I initially joined the team to support with the marketing, but Miles impressed me so much that I became a partner in MBST. Together, our aim was to see the training centre evolve and grow – and to see Miles here today, in Doha and ready to go for his first World Championship Gold, shows just how far he has come. I am very proud to be part of this.”
With Gregor at Miles’ side, the number of horses at MBST grew. With Connor showing horses in the UK as well as in Europe and the Middle East, and Miles showing across the world, Miles and Gregor looked for another trainer to join them. In 2022, Thierry Oldenburg joined, and MBST as we know it was set.
“Honestly, we have had so many highlights, but Paris last year was amazing,” explains Miles. “To take two Silver World Championships for Al Jumail Stud was everything we ever could have wished for. Nesj el Jameel (EKS Farajj x Nesj el Yuliah) is a fantastic three-year-old grey colt bred by Nesj Arabians in Belgium. He was Silver Yearling Colt Champion at the 2023 All Nations’ Cup, then Gold Junior Male Champion at the Souq Waqif International Arabian Horse Show. We were thrilled when he won his class in Paris, and to take Silver behind Baz Aljassimya (Exxalt x MD Mirka) was incredible!
“Then, Bint Hazy al Khalediah (El Palacio VO x Hazy al Khalediah) also placed Silver in the Mare Championship! This was totally unexpected as she had not been with Al Jumail Stud for long, and I was so pleased for Faisal that he had these results.”
Other astute additions to Al Jumail Stud include the yearling filly Delayel Alsayed (Alexxanderr x Delights Divah RB), bred by Al Sayed Stud in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With Miles at her side, this classy grey was Gold Yearling Filly Champion at Global Champions Arabians Tour (GCAT) Prague and Silver at GCAT Doha, and she will be looking to shine under the spotlight once more come the Supreme World Championships.
However, all eyes will undoubtedly be on one yearling colt who has been undefeated in the show-ring this year – Al Fahad MAS. “I first saw him in Saudi last year, when I was showing there,” explains Miles. “He was bred by Fahad Abed n al Boainain and as soon as I saw Al Fahad MAS, I knew he was exactly what we needed for Al Jumail Stud. He is sired by Alexxanderr (Excalibur EA x AR Most Irresistible) and out of Al Bandary MAS (Eden C x Absolut Candy), lines that we admire very much, and Al Fahad MAS just oozes quality.
“Honestly, Samantha, there is just something about this colt. I just love him! He is a super character and does not have one bad bone in his body. I haven’t felt like this about a horse since Aja Adonis, and he, too, was incredibly special. For sure, Al Fahad MAS and I have enjoyed wonderful success in the show-ring together this year, but it is the quiet time at home or in the stables together that I truly cherish.”
This “wonderful success” includes no less than five Gold Yearling Male titles – at Souq Waqif, GCAT Doha, the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships, GCAT Cannes, and a unanimous title at the All Nations’ Cup in Aachen. There is little doubt that all eyes will be on him in Doha this first weekend of December.
“It is a big thing for sure, Al Fahad MAS competing there,” says Miles. “I know he will give everything he has, as he is just that kind of colt. He is always a pleasure to show, and I cannot wait to be in the ring with him once more.”
There is no doubt that Miles is riding high after an incredible year, the highlight of which was marrying his sweetheart, Megan McArthur, in Scotland in July. “It was a special weekend, and Megan looked so beautiful,” smiles Miles. “To celebrate that day with my closest family and friends was everything. For me, it is always about the relationships.”
Underlining this, Miles mentions one of his highlights of the year, seeing sixteen-year-old Leighton Curtis show at the HoCon Show; Leighton would later win the Ryan Byrn Jones Young Handlers Trophy at this year’s British Nationals. “We had a long chat afterwards, and I was really impressed by him and his brother, Reece. They remind me of me and Connor at the same age! It was important for me to talk to him, as I was lucky enough to have Ryan as a mentor when I was Leighton’s age. It was really Ryan who fully introduced me to this amazing world, taking me to Arabian horse shows and sharing his knowledge. There is no doubt that Ryan’s help, so early in my desire to be a trainer, helped me to get me where I am now. I owe him so much, and I will always be grateful for all that he did for me. And if I can help Leighton, or other young handlers, and keep that chain of support going, then all the better.”
With the grounding of his family and the solid MBST team, plus new wife Megan, there is no doubt Miles has come an incredibly long way since we first spoke. “I am excited for the Supreme World Championships, and then I look forward to having a rest, spending some time at home and with my family.
“As a team, we are excited for 2026, and for taking all that we have achieved this year and building on it. I can honestly say that since we first spoke in 2008, I have never stopped dreaming and never stopped believing. Samantha, I know you understand the power of those dreams, and I know that the best is yet to come.”
