Hala Batrawi: Youngest Equestrian in Gaza

Did you know that even children can master the art of horse-riding? It’s common knowledge that many adults fear horses due to their size and, well, their enormous hooves, but one girl is challenging this fear.

Meet Hala Batrawi, a 7-year old girl from Gaza. She is the youngest horse-rider in Palestine who began horse-riding ever since the tender age of 5! Her family owns horses and this is where her love for horses stemmed from.

This brave young girl shows no fear in the face of monstrous horses (compared to her size) and first started jumping with obstacles 50cm high. Now, she is able to jump 150 cm high obstacles and that’s pretty high for a child!

Hala dreams of setting a new Guinness World Record as the first youngest female obstacle-jumping equestrian in the world and she has set her heart out on achieving this goal. She is already the youngest horse-rider in all of Palestine and has recently joined Aljawad Equestrian Club in western Gaza.

Batrawi rides with no fear or tension and this a skill that is hard to come by in this field. She astounds many judges with her skillful control of the horses and she even came in second place in a Gaza Strip competition in which all the other riders were older than her.

As a person living in Gaza, it may be somewhat difficult for her to expand her equestrian horizons but Hala is not the type of girl to give up on her dreams and she is continuously practicing to become better and better.

Don’t forget to give Hala a smile of encouragement!