All month long we will be featuring speaker’s abstracts for the upcoming Equine History Conference: Why Equine History Matters.

The Dark Horses of the Moroccan Tbourida: The Rise of Women in Equestrian Tradition
Gwyneth Talley, University of California, Los Angeles

           In January 2016 at a festival in Zagora, Morocco, a single female group in red and green traditional clothing stands out among the white-clad men on horseback. They are the “dark horses” of the traditional, predominantly male, Moroccan equestrian display–tbourida, rising to prominence in the past 15 years. From the pre-colonial era (prior to 1912) to Independence (post-1956), men were the keepers of this tradition, riding horses at local and national festivals, and competitions. Encouraged by the late Princess Lalla Amina, aunt of the current King Mohammed VI, young women began taking part in tbourida in 2004. Over the course of the next seven years, women participated in local festivals, and competed in their own division for the top trophy in tbourida. Before Princess Lalla Amina died in 2012, she and King Mohammed VI revoked the women’s class for the Hassan II Trophy. This setback has not hindered young women from riding with their fathers and brothers, continuing to ride with pride, and start their own groups. Women riding in these equestrian displays reveal a pushback against traditional gender norms in Morocco. Within Moroccan culture, “horse craziness” or “addiction” is relegated to male participants. Unlike the West, there is no stereotype in Morocco of “horse crazy” girls or middle-aged women picking up horseback riding. This paper will discuss the recent phenomenon of women participating in Moroccan tbourida, how they interpret their relationships with their horses, and their growing presence in the horse industry. 

Find Gwyneth Talley here.