1-)Princess Haya is a rider and the first Arab
Princess to reach International Sports arena’s, why equestrianism when there
are other more classy sports? And why show jumping not another kind of
equestrianism?
I believe that equestrianism is part of our heritage as Arabs, but more
importantly, it was the sport that my father God rest his soul, felt was the
most classy, and the most suitable for his daughter. He affected my life and
my future undeniably, when I was six years old, by giving me first two camels,
and then a filly on my birthday that was born and whose mother died in birth.
I called the filly, “Bint Al Reeh”. Bint Al Reeh’s mother had jumped for the
Royal Stables. At that time there were no horse shows like today. The Royal
Stables competed against the Police Stables for “The King’s Cup.” The
competition was not only jumping, it was horsemanship in total. There was tent
pegging, when horses gallop and the rider has to use a spear to get a paper
target on the ground. There was jumping, but high jumping; they jumped over
cars too sometimes. There was vaulting, when the rider would gallop and stand
up straight on their horse’s backs at full gallop. And working with the
falcons. No girls ever took part in this competition, and at the time, the
Police stables had won the King’s Cup for many years in succession from the
Royal stables. Throughout my life, I wished only to please my father; I loved
him more than anything in the world. So when he gave me Bint Al Reeh, I
decided that we would win the “Kings Cup” back for the Royal Stables. I could
not practice on her but that was the sole focus of my early experience with
horses. I practiced on other horses. The experience has helped me greatly in
my sporting career now. I learned to work the falcons; I learned to stand on a
horses back at a full gallop. I even can still do a handstand on a horse back
now when they are galloping. I learned to spear a target on the ground from
full gallop, but what was hardest thing for me was the jumping. My character
has always been to chase a challenge, never to accept what seems impossible,
no matter what. So I worked on the jumping. I kept working on it, finally when
I was 15, I jumped over a car.
Perhaps the fact that, jumping was hard made me pursue it. I found it
difficult, and what was easy to me became boring. So I kept jumping.
My first love in Sports was gymnastics, but my father preferred horses. From
the age of six, to twelve I trained three or four hours a day to be a gymnast.
What captured me about sports was the pursuit of excellence. I was fascinated
as a young child by the Olympic Games. I first noticed it when in 1980; my
father started talking about the American Boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games,
because of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. I watched those Games
because he spoke about them, but once I saw them I noticed something in the
athletes. They were heroes the best in the world; they all had a look in their
eyes that defied the limits of their bodies. After that, I was committed to
ride an Olympics myself. I did not choose jumping as my equestrian discipline,
it chose me. I did all the other disciplines as a child, and still do now. Any
involvement a rider has that sharpens his intuition to horses, helps at this
level. I ride racehorses, I vault still, I can play polo, and do dressage. But
I only wanted to do what was not easy for me. Jumping was hard, and I wanted
to find my limit, the difficulties made me think, and thinking made it
interesting.2-)Princess Haya raised the flag of Jordan in the
Olympics, and insisted on being treated like any other athlete and stayed in a
normal room in the Olympic village…Does the Princess carry burdens of her
title in competitions? And does the title occupy her thoughts and affect wins
and loses?
At first, my title affected me. I wanted to make friends and be part of a team
of people who could talk about horses. I wanted to share my love and my
interest in the sport with others. My title did not affect this, but the
entourage, the security and the protocol made people scared to approach me at
competitions when I was young. I thought about competing under another name.
but decided that running from a problem would not solve it, only postpone it.
You can run from many things in life, but you can’t run from yourself. I
learned to live with my title, to accept, and to be proud that I was my
parents’ daughter. What I wanted was to earn the title, in the sports field
though. So I fought to do it the hard way, my favorite word in life is, “why.”
That taught me many things.
People may feel that staying in a normal room in Sydney, and asking to be
treated like any other athlete is strange for a Princess, but that is not my
problem, it’s the problem of those who have formed a preconceived idea about
the institution of monarchy. The material facets of the institution are not
what matters, the real issues count. I wanted to go to an Olympic games, I
fought hard to get there, because I thought the spirit and philosophy of the
games was beautiful. I wanted to live it, I wanted to taste it, and I earned
my right to that. I wanted to be an Olympic Athlete, and I looked forward to
doing all that they did. The Village and the dorms were wonderful. I got to
spend 16 days with people who love sports like I do, I learned from them, I
made friends for life. Most of all, I realized that all my life people have
thought I was/strange, in the Arab world, I have felt that my passion for
sports, my determination has been misunderstood because its different. I spoke
to other people in the village, and for the first time I felt comfortable, I
did not need to explain anything. They did not care if I was a Princess or
not, what they cared about was simple, was I a winner? Did I have that fire in
my soul that could push me past the limits of my own body? Was I determined
enough to fight without reserve? They looked at me, and asked me questions
that counted, real questions, they respected me, without ever asking about
palaces or rooms or protocol. I loved it.
3-)How does the Princess choose her horses? Is there
a special bond with her horses?
I do not choose my horses, they choose me. I see thousands of horses every
year competing and training. Some are great, and some are more than that. They
may not be horses that are great at the time, but they have something special
to them. The flash of an eye, a presence, a wild character that refuses to be
tamed, its not always positive, but its just a thing that makes me know I am
drawn to them. Makes me believe that they have a special magic that will be a
winning streak if I can make it turn my way. I relied on that instinct all my
life, it never gave me a had horse. But many, many people on the circuit have
said I am crazy many times when I brought a horse. They have said time after
time, I can never manage them that they are too difficult, but I always found
a way. One little positive trait in the horses character to believe in, and
that glimmer of hope I can use to make the horse turn all that’s negative my
way. Of course, I have a special bond with them, we are a team. I do not
“ride” horses, when I sit on a horse's back; we are one, one heart, one mind,
one aim. Hours of training goes into to refining that.
4-)Princess Anne wrote a book about her life and
Equestrianism and said she was looking for a way to live in peace with herself
and found that equestrianism gave her psychological balance and control over
oneself in hard times…Did the Princess find this psychological balance?
No I did not. I never needed to find it. I was brought up in strong family
full of love. I am secure with myself, and when times were hard I only had to
think of my parents and my roots to know I could overcome whatever stood in my
way. I have a peaceful place inside my heart all the time. When I feel like
times are hard I only have to close my eyes and take a deep breath, I say a
prayer, and the world feels good again. No, horses are not my source of
balance, horses are my source of expression, they are the vehicles that allow
me to express my soul by just being a part of them. when I am sitting on a
horse, that’s who I am. It’s my soul in the clear light of day.
5-)Princess does numerous strange things activities
like getting a truck-driving license and is now President of the truck drivers
union and also played football in Jordan…What was the Princess looking for?
And what is she looking for in her life?
I did not do numerous strange activities. I lost my mother when I was young. I
was brought up by my father, I wanted to be a boy. I was brought up like a
boy, my father brought me up the best way. Arab women throughout history were
integral part of society. They went to war, and rode horses, and stood strong
and active behind their men. They were admired for their strength and for
their ability, not deemed as strange. I got a truck driving license because I
wanted to learn to drive my horses. I became President of the union because
the truck drivers adopted me, and they cared about me. They may be deemed as
simple people, but they are not, they are the blood of our country, they ship
our water and import the oil and fuel that makes Jordan self sufficient. They
work harder and longer than most people, and they invite me to their homes,
and feed me when their own children are hungry. I am honored that they chose
me to be their President, and if I can give them one quarter of the love, and
support that they have given me, protect them in their work place, then I am
proud. I play football, because if eleven men can chase a leather ball then so
can I, is there a rule against it? And just for the record, I am a good
football player. My favorite position is left wing, and I am very fast.
6-)Psychiatrists say when a girl is famous in her
early days make her feel lonely in crowds…She doesn’t see except smiles and
hears people talk in a nice way… she looses her freedom…except training and
being professional in sports…Was this the reason behind moving abroad to
escape from fame and traditions?
Many people close to me, whom I care about have died in my life. Too many, not
only my parents. I have noticed one thing that death does to Arabs. Those
people were people who strived all their lives to try and be their dreams, and
others never accepted it in their lifetime. But death does a strange thing in
our culture. It strips the person of the thing they fought for others to
accept in life, and all of a sudden in death, they are placed on a pedestal.
Its one of the few things in life that make me sad. It makes me so sad to
think of the people that were dear to me, that had to die, to be accepted, and
in their lifetimes, they could never really enjoy the acceptance and the
appreciation for what they strive for in their living days. We who are left
behind make peace with them because perhaps they had ideas that were
different, or they had ideas, or ways of doing things that were out of the
ordinary, and that scares others. Change is a hard thing for people to accept.
Most extraordinary people are opposed, because they are not conventional.
Those who are left behind regret their judgmental attitude, they regret the
fragility of life, and they regret not real sing that people who have passed
would not be there forever. They get over their guilt by championing the
causes of the people who they have opposed after they die.
I have a question…Do I have to bear this thing that I have recognized in my
life, as my own fate? I may seem strange, I understand that, everyday when
people talk to me they ask me questions that make me realize they don’t
understand me, I realize they don’t see my soul, and they look for reasons for
my motivation, my work, my sport. You ask me if I am escaping, by going to
Europe, others ask me that every day. Am I running away form fame and
traditions? I am in a public arena, unprotected by the institutions of
monarchy, and fame is my companion. My work is a spectator sport!! And
traditions? I break bones, and cry and sweat every single day to see me flag
go up in arena’s all over the world, I take risks in the ring knowing the pain
a fall will cause, only to hear the national anthem of my country, “Long live
the King..” What traditions am I running from? Life is wonderful in Jordan. I
can live in a palace, I can have what I want, I am surrounded by a family who
love me, people who love me, I love the food and the weather. And yet I choose
to go to a cold climate, a city where I know nobody, and spend 7 hours a day
with horses. Escaping would not be a good enough reason to do that. I grew up
loving my father and understanding even more now, what an honor it was
carrying the flag in the Sydney Olympics. Nobody will ever know how heavy that
flag was for me, I looked at it before the opening ceremony, we flag bearers
were separated from our delegations. I looked at it and I asked myself, “Is
this the symbol my parents lived for, or the symbol I should blame for their
deaths.” I know that both my parents loved their country they would have died
a million deaths for their people, but I saw this flag age them, and tire
them, and take them away form me. I felt that both my parents were there with
me then, and I understood that I would die for that flag as they did. A
million deaths if I could. It was a light easy to carry around the track after
that.
Can’t people finally understand that, all my life I have understood my parents
true spirits, I know with all my heart what they scarified and why. I have
found a way with my horses to raise the flag they died for, them and many
others. I have found a reason to keep living myself, and to keep them alive in
my heart. That’s through my sport. It keeps their dreams alive in my heart; I
can serve them in my own way as I am. Its not just about a sport and horses,
it’s a service to my country, its one I love, and one I can do.
People think I am strong because I lived through a lot in my life. But I lived
because I found reasons to live, and reasons to thank god for the gift of
life. I live to protect my sister Abir and my brother Ali. I live to watch my
mother’s family, recover from their loss, and I live to see Jordan continue to
grow under King Abdullah in a way that would make my father so proud of him.
But I have one thing left for myself, one personal private passion, and that’s
horses and the pursuit of excellence, and seeing my flag go up. It makes me
feel worthy. Its my way to thank the people of Jordan for giving to me all
that they have. Why do you make that ugly? Why do people try and explain that
by saying I am escaping form all I hold dear? Why can’t that simple concept be
understood for the pure thing it is, instead you and other’s make it into a
sophisticated psychiatric concept? Do you want me to sit at home and wait for
a husband to claim me? I am my father’s daughter, he told me when God chose
fate, no matter what I was doing my life would stop. I believe that. I don not
have to wait at home for that. I can serve my flag at the same time.
Do I need to die too before people understand that what I do is what I love to
do? If I had the facilities, and the chance to be an Olympic athlete based in
Jordan, I would do it in the blink of an eye. But tell me what Arab country
produced an Olympic show jumper nationally? None. I am running from nothing.
I pray people will let me know they understood during my lifetime, that I have
chosen this as my work, not my hobby, that I have chosen to learn all I can
about it, and that I have accepted every day will be yet more learning. That I
love this sport, and that when I am finished I want to help people in my
reason learn from my mistakes. Only other’s can choose to give me that chance.
I will keep going, I believe in what I do, I will smile and look at my flag if
I am ever in doubt, I know how heavy that flag is, and the blood that made the
red as deep as it is.
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