Dana Al-Gosaibi By Amer Hilabi
“You need to establish a certain relationship and understanding because the horse needs to trust you.” This is Dana Al-Gosaibi’s somewhat unorthodox approach in a field currently dominated by men in Saudi Arabia, where force is often the go-to method when training horses.
Al-Gosaibi is one of the first Saudi women to work in the field of taming, training, and raising horses in the Kingdom. Having learned to ride in the United States and the United Kingdom, this 35-year-old trainer returned to Jeddah five years ago with a dream of setting up her own unique riding school, and encouraging more Saudi women to take up the sport.
Horses have been a central part of Saudi Arabia’s history, traditions, and culture for centuries. In fact, the Kingdom is famed for its strong desert-bred Arabians, one of the world’s oldest breeds of horses, from which racing thoroughbreds are descended. Horse riding has, however, been a male-centric activity in the Kingdom, something Al-Gosaibi is working on changing.
Speaking to AFP last year, Al-Gosaibi explained that although there has been an increase in the number of Saudi women taking riding lessons, “it’s so much more difficult for a woman” with social norms seeking to keep them out of the public eye.
“There is this very weird belief that a woman shouldn’t ride a horse” especially if she is not yet married as “she might lose her virginity [but] Women rode during the time of the Muslim Prophet Mohammad (PBUH),” she explained.
Although she has been exposed to resistance from conservatives regarding women’s involvement in horse riding, Al-Gosaibi is now optimistic that the Kingdom’s current Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, will change things, especially with the appointment of women in key roles, such as that Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud as head of a Saudi federation for sports.
In fact, more and more women like something Al-Gosaibi have moved back to Saudi Arabia in recent years following economic and social changes under the Kingdom’s Vision that peaked last year due to a wave of key reforms. As women receive more impetus to join the workforce, partake in sports, and participate in the overall growth of the Kingdom, many are coming back to contribute to its transformation.
Photography: Courtesy of Amer Hilabi
