Masa Adnan Tonbakji: From escaping war in Syria to endurance glory in UAE
In the nine years since Masa Adnan Tonbakji fled war-ravaged Syria, her world has changed dramatically. Now one of the UAE’s leading endurance horse riders, Tonbakji had never even been on a horse until she arrived in Dubai in 2014.
Having powered her way through conflict, school bullies, and self-doubt, she currently has her sights set on being Syria’s first endurance world champion.
Born in Kuwait to parents who separated early in her life, Tonbakji moved to Syria to live with her father and stepmother before the war turned her world upside down. After living through the conflict for several years, she left home for the UAE and joined her mom, whose friend introduced her to a local stable.
Tonbakji hasn’t looked back ever since.
“I am a positive person, and the way I look at it is that God had a plan for me. He gave me this talent because of what I had been through in Syria,” Tonbakji said. “This gives me so much motivation to improve myself all the time.”
Tonbakji has already won three of the UAE’s four major endurance races – the Dubai Crown Prince Cup, Mohammed bin Rashid Endurance Cup, and Sheikha Fatima Endurance Cup. Only the UAE National Day Endurance Cup is left to complete a quartet of trophies.
Caring for physical well-being
Endurance racing is an incredibly challenging sport, and in longer races, Tonbakji can ride for up to seven hours across 160km. An intense training schedule includes many hours per week out on horses while she also competes in Spartan races and practices pilates.
Tonbakji’s pre and post-race routines have been tweaked multiple times over the years, but what hasn’t changed is that she must spend a significant length of time caring for her physical well-being.
“There are special things I must do before the races – not everyone does those, but for me, these include meditation, physical workouts, and stretching,” Tonbakji explains. “Really, it’s not healthy to be on a horse for a long distance, but I try to support my body so that my body can support me in the race,” she said.
“Afterward, I try to do everything that I need to in order to ensure a recovery – with massage, stretching, and rest. But it’s tough. I have a problem with my joints – my hips and my back cause me pain – so I do regular physiotherapy and things such as needling to try to reduce strain.”
Tonbakji majored in Politics and International Relations, but the growth of her profile in endurance racing convinced her to take up a course in equine physiotherapy. The 24-year-old, a volunteer for the Emirates Red Crescent, admits that she still dreams of working for the United Nations at some point.
“Right now, with Emirates Red Crescent, we are preparing emergency aid for Palestine, and of course, I am inspired to help because of my own experiences in Syria,” she says.
The ultimate objective
Though she is not a diplomat, Tonbakji has often found herself close to influential leaders. Given the popularity of endurance racing among royals in the Gulf, an in-demand Tonbakji has found herself racing for the likes of Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and current world endurance champion Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain.
Despite these high-profile encounters, she is competing internationally for Syria, which is most special for Tonbakji, who has twice qualified for the Federation Equestre International (FEI) Endurance World Championship.
On both occasions, she was unfortunate as her horses suffered injuries, forcing her out of the competition. Winning this event remains her ultimate objective in endurance racing.
“Representing Syria makes me so proud,” Tonbakji said, smiling. “Actually, it makes me feel that I did not leave my country behind, even though my country did not provide anything for me. Syria has no power or money to sponsor, so I save up and rent horses and go and do it alone, so that I can compete for Syria,” she explained.
“I still have this feeling that I should make people see the positive side of Syria. Yes, we’re at war, and that’s why everyone is talking about us, but there is more to Syria and its people [than just the war]. There are a lot of Syrian athletes who are champions, and for me, the world championship is the big one that I would like to win one day,” Tonbakji said.
