VERSAILLES, France (AP) — Noor Slaoui hopes her performances in eventing at the Paris Olympics will resonate in Morocco and inspire others to take up the sport she loves.
The 29-year-old Slaoui broke new ground at the Paris Games as the first Arab to compete in Olympic eventing.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to bring more inclusivity in the sport, more nations,” Slaoui said Monday after finishing her Olympic experience with jumping, the final part of eventing. “It’s been amazing, being at the Olympics is a dream come true.”
After jumping under clear blue skies on her 11-year-old grey horse Cash In Hand, she waved a hand in appreciation of the cheering crowd at the Palace of Versailles.
“The atmosphere was electric,” said Slaoui, who is from Casablanca but lives in England.
Slaoui did not compete in team eventing for her nation. Instead, she joined a handful of early riders who were in the same position as her and bidding to qualify for the individual event later Monday.
While Slaoui was not among the leading 25 riders getting through to the final, she says her performances have been noticed back home over the past few days.
Does she think that will be enough to raise the profile of her sport in Morocco? It’s a tough challenge because soccer remains hugely popular in the country, which won the African Cup of Nations in 1976 and finished runner-up in 2004.
“Why not?” Slaoui said, breaking into a smile. “Moroccan people are crazy about all sports.”
Now that her Games are over, Slaoui will swap the regal gardens of Versailles for the rolling countryside of England. She is based near Cirencester, where she owns a yard with Deborah Fellous, her business partner and also her coach.
It was in England where Slaoui bought Cash In Hand, which was found by her friend, Jodie Amos, in Ireland.
“She brought him over to England and I bought him off her a couple of months later,” said Slaoui, who speaks English fluently having studied at university in England.
Her passion for horses started back home at a young age, and she moved to France in her late teens to attend the National Equestrian School in Saumur, France.
She developed her riding skills while training as a groom, understanding how to spot injuries and changes of behavior in horses as well as learning about the importance of a human-animal bond.
“You learn to trust the animal because we went through some very remote areas. So you had to trust that they were surefooted. It kind of put your life in their hands,” she said in previous comments made on the website of the sport’s governing body. “I always loved the animal. The sport only came second for me.”
It was at the University of Warwick, located in the west Midlands part of England, that her passion to succeed in eventing grew more and more. She said that during her university days she would often drive by Badminton, one of the most famed spots in England for eventing.
Now she’s heading back to England, but this time as a ground-breaking Olympian.
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