Turmus Aya Equestrian Club

The Turmus Ayya Equestrian Club is an equestrian club in the town of Turmus Ayya, between Ramallah and Nablus in the Palestinian territories.

The club was founded by Ashraf Rabi in 2007.[1] Rabi, 44, was born in Turmus Ayya but emigrated to Panama as a youth of 16, and from there to the United States, where he dreamed of returning one day to his home town and "building a house with a stable full of horses."[1] The Turmus Aya Equestrian Club is the fulfillment of that dream.[1]

Rabi built his dream house and stable, but he notices that many children would come to his stable to watch the horses. That was what led him to build an Equestrian Club with a mission making horseback riding accessible for all Palestinians. Rabi is aware that “This sport is recognized as the most expensive sport worldwide," His dream is to change that, and to make horseback riding "available for everybody.”[1] Rabi has his principal horse farm in the United States; he breeds Arabian horses for sale.[1][2]

The Turmus Ayya Club offers stabling and care for private horse owners and trains riders in jumping and dressage.[1]

Al-Frangi, had been riding at the Club for ten years when he spoke to a reporter in 2007 and who and has ridden for the Palestinian National Jumping Team explained the difficulty of competing internationally with inadequate funding. “When we are competing at any place outside of the country, when they see us riding they are impressed that we really know how to ride,” he said “They ask how we can ride the way we do without having anything in Palestine.”[1]

References
  1. "Equestrian club caters to all," Omar Rahman, April 29, 2010, Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre.
  2. انجاز فلسطيني: أول مهرة فلسطينية تتوج ببطلة الإبطال في امريكا Palestine News Network, 09/06/09.

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