UnReined

<b>(majestic music)</b> <b>(fireworks popping)</b> <b>(horse whinnying)</b> <b>- Thank God</b> <b>- There we go.</b> <b>We're in.</b> <b>- And as far as Israelis go,</b> <b>the terrifying moments</b> <b>should be starting now.</b> <b>- And I'm totally relaxed, yeah.</b> <b>- The checkpoints</b> <b>were a dangerous place</b> <b>to be for everybody.</b> <b>For 10 years, I lived in two</b> <b>completely different worlds,</b> <b>Israeli and Palestinian, daily</b> <b>going through checkpoints,</b> <b>never knowing what would happen</b> <b>or could happen on either side.</b> <b>(elegant music)</b> <b>- This is the dream room.</b> <b>This is where all</b> <b>the plans were made,</b> <b>that there was something</b> <b>about this place</b> <b>that made me feel that</b> <b>I could do anything.</b> <b>To get to the Olympics, to</b> <b>be the best rider possible.</b> <b>You know, you just imagine</b> <b>you're on your horse,</b> <b>bareback, 15, 16, 17 years old.</b> <b>It was like a holy spot,</b> <b>reap it all in and then go</b> <b>and try to put it into practice.</b> <b>(elegant music)</b> <b>Let me tell you a little</b> <b>bit about this horse.</b> <b>She's four and she's been</b> <b>under saddle for about a year.</b> <b>So basically she's still a baby,</b> <b>still working with</b> <b>her on basic stuff,</b> <b>but what we're trying to</b> <b>do is get her into balance,</b> <b>get her rhythm steady and even.</b> <b>(hooves clomping)</b> <b>So I started telling</b> <b>her, okay, sweetheart,</b> <b>this is what I want.</b> <b>I want you to move</b> <b>forwards when I use my leg,</b> <b>and then you have</b> <b>this conversation</b> <b>and this negotiation</b> <b>and you build a</b> <b>relationship of trust.</b> <b>Good girl.</b> <b>How I got to Israel.</b> <b>Okay, well, we were living</b> <b>in California at the time.</b> <b>I was born in La Jolla and</b> <b>we were living in San Diego,</b> <b>and when I was nine, my</b> <b>parents collected myself</b> <b>and my two brothers and</b> <b>sisters into the living room</b> <b>and told us that we</b> <b>were going to Israel,</b> <b>and I said, I'm not going</b> <b>unless you buy me a horse,</b> <b>and he did, he bought the horse.</b> <b>He couldn't afford it,</b> <b>but he bought the horse.</b> <b>(Nancy knocking on door)</b> <b>- Oh, hi there, Nancy.</b> <b>- Hi Dad.</b> <b>- Who's that</b> <b>knocking at my door?</b> <b>- It's your daughter.</b> <b>Hi Mom.</b> <b>- Hello.</b> <b>- How you doing?</b> <b>- I came to Israel</b> <b>because of my wife.</b> <b>We came in 1950 to Israel.</b> <b>We went up to the kibbutz</b> <b>Sassa up in the north.</b> <b>We spent a week or two there.</b> <b>Esther was the one that really</b> <b>wanted to stay in Israel.</b> <b>- I realized that I was at home</b> <b>in this kibbutz dining room.</b> <b>There was nothing to eat,</b> <b>hardly, but I felt I was</b> <b>in the family that</b> <b>I belonged to be in.</b> <b>- I promised her that we</b> <b>will come back someday,</b> <b>but I had to go back to</b> <b>America and go to work.</b> <b>That's what a nice</b> <b>Jewish boy does.</b> <b>Worked at atomic energy</b> <b>center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee</b> <b>for four years, became a</b> <b>nuclear engineer there,</b> <b>one of the first of 300 at</b> <b>that time, and then we moved</b> <b>to San Diego for the last</b> <b>10 years before immigrating.</b> <b>My identity as a Jew was one</b> <b>that I wanted to maintain</b> <b>that identity, and</b> <b>I want to assure</b> <b>that our children</b> <b>would not intermarry.</b> <b>Living in Israel seemed</b> <b>to be part of it.</b> <b>- I had friends in the States,</b> <b>I was riding regularly,</b> <b>swimming pool in the</b> <b>background, Christmas trees</b> <b>and Hannukah bushes and</b> <b>everything was perfect,</b> <b>and when we came here, it</b> <b>was, I hated it for two years.</b> <b>From day one, horses</b> <b>were my savior</b> <b>and it was just</b> <b>horses, horses, horses,</b> <b>and a lot of drawing American</b> <b>flags in notebooks at school,</b> <b>but with time you learn</b> <b>the language you learn</b> <b>what the country's about and</b> <b>you gradually adapt and adopt.</b> <b>- A horse is probably one of</b> <b>the most sensitive creatures</b> <b>on Earth, and because</b> <b>they're so, so sensitive,</b> <b>they can read you so well.</b> <b>When you just come and touch</b> <b>them, they can read you.</b> <b>They know who you are.</b> <b>The movement of your hips</b> <b>will determine the length</b> <b>of the stride and the speed.</b> <b>I train people to</b> <b>the highest levels</b> <b>in dressage and in jumping.</b> <b>Now, be very careful</b> <b>with your right leg.</b> <b>That's your bad leg so.</b> <b>I really enjoy working with</b> <b>people with disabilities.</b> <b>Good.</b> <b>- Dror and I have known each</b> <b>other since we were kids,</b> <b>since we were 12.</b> <b>We were both kids growing</b> <b>up in the horse world.</b> <b>- She at the time was</b> <b>riding in a big club,</b> <b>in a jockey club and I was</b> <b>from a kibbutz, you know,</b> <b>so we had the not so nice horses</b> <b>and not so nice equipment,</b> <b>and they had the fancy horses</b> <b>and the fancy equipment,</b> <b>and, you know, she</b> <b>was doing very well.</b> <b>- This is the building</b> <b>that we moved into in 1970.</b> <b>This is where most of</b> <b>our childhood was spent.</b> <b>Our next door neighbors</b> <b>were the Pereses,</b> <b>Shimon and Sonia Peres</b> <b>and their three children,</b> <b>Chemi, Yoni, and Tsvia.</b> <b>- Well, she was a very</b> <b>special person and I thought</b> <b>she'd be the world</b> <b>champion in horse riding.</b> <b>I liked her a lot and</b> <b>we were sort of close,</b> <b>I think, for a while.</b> <b>(men and women speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>When the family moved</b> <b>to Ramat Aviv, it was</b> <b>in the golden days</b> <b>between '67 and '73.</b> <b>We were riding the</b> <b>wave of euphoria after</b> <b>the Six Days' War.</b> <b>The Palestinian problem was</b> <b>not a big issue at the time.</b> <b>The generals were the heroes</b> <b>and we felt quite secure.</b> <b>So when you get a notion</b> <b>that you can, in six days,</b> <b>finish the job or complete the</b> <b>task, it gives you a notion</b> <b>that there's no limit</b> <b>to what you can do.</b> <b>- We didn't know</b> <b>it was arrogant.</b> <b>We just thought that</b> <b>we were invincible.</b> <b>- Nothing can stop you actually.</b> <b>- And the 1973 Yom</b> <b>Kippur War broke out</b> <b>when I was 15 and Chemi was 15.</b> <b>(gunfire ricocheting)</b> <b>At two o'clock, the siren went</b> <b>off and the Yom Kippur War</b> <b>had started as a surprise</b> <b>attack against Israel,</b> <b>and it was meant to</b> <b>annihilate Israel.</b> <b>It broke everything from a</b> <b>problem-free, happy childhood.</b> <b>You found yourself at the</b> <b>age of 15 going to funerals.</b> <b>There was a complete</b> <b>loss of confidence</b> <b>in the leadership</b> <b>of the country.</b> <b>- And you started</b> <b>to ask questions.</b> <b>Where is it heading, and</b> <b>how resilient are we?</b> <b>When are we going</b> <b>to be really safe?</b> <b>- And as every group of</b> <b>stable kids have their leader,</b> <b>the star was Arik Toren,</b> <b>who was killed in</b> <b>the Yom Kippur War.</b> <b>(eerie music)</b> <b>(children speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(somber music)</b> <b>I was drafted into</b> <b>the paratroopers,</b> <b>and in order to get your wings,</b> <b>you had to jump out three times.</b> <b>I never broke my leg on a horse.</b> <b>It was ironic that I broke my</b> <b>leg jumping out of a plane,</b> <b>and after my service</b> <b>was over, I left Israel</b> <b>and started my</b> <b>equestrian career.</b> <b>- And when I finished my</b> <b>Army service, three years,</b> <b>immediately, I went to England.</b> <b>- I met Nancy many years</b> <b>ago, I would say probably</b> <b>45 years ago in</b> <b>some of the stables</b> <b>to the north of Tel Aviv.</b> <b>We were both horse enthusiasts</b> <b>and the horse sport in Israel</b> <b>was not developed</b> <b>at all at that time.</b> <b>Nancy trained in Europe because</b> <b>there were no facilities</b> <b>in Israel at all, no trainers.</b> <b>- The period in Holland in,</b> <b>from 1982 to 1983 was the most</b> <b>intensive period as far</b> <b>as dressage training.</b> <b>I was shortlisted for</b> <b>the 1984 Olympics,</b> <b>but as with many other motivated</b> <b>riders, we ran out of money,</b> <b>but the period was during</b> <b>the first Lebanese War.</b> <b>It was in 1982.</b> <b>All of the individuals and</b> <b>the companies in Israel</b> <b>were busy with</b> <b>supporting hospitals.</b> <b>Nobody really had the</b> <b>time of day to listen to</b> <b>a story about a girl who</b> <b>wants to ride in the Olympics.</b> <b>Alisa Simon, who was in</b> <b>charge of this whole operation</b> <b>of getting me to the</b> <b>Olympics, and she told me</b> <b>I have to pack my bags,</b> <b>put the horse on the plane</b> <b>and come back home.</b> <b>Three weeks before</b> <b>I came back home,</b> <b>I met Frankie in Belgium.</b> <b>We fell in love.</b> <b>I came back to Israel</b> <b>and Frankie followed</b> <b>two weeks later.</b> <b>- Although I was successful</b> <b>in what I was doing in England</b> <b>and had a lot of friends, once</b> <b>in a while you go somewhere</b> <b>and somebody is saying</b> <b>something not so nice</b> <b>because you are an Israeli</b> <b>or a Jew or whatever,</b> <b>and then you think, yeah,</b> <b>I don't want to raise</b> <b>my kids here, and that</b> <b>was the reason, I believe.</b> <b>- We're the same age, Dror</b> <b>and I, when we both finished</b> <b>our years of training abroad</b> <b>and basically came back</b> <b>to Israel and that</b> <b>was the beginning</b> <b>of 10 very intensive years of</b> <b>being part of the horse world</b> <b>in Israel, building it,</b> <b>setting up infrastructures,</b> <b>writing a rule book, applying</b> <b>for membership in the FEI.</b> <b>The bond that we have with</b> <b>horses is just magical.</b> <b>It's inexplicable.</b> <b>(elegant music)</b> <b>(Yael speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>Yael for me is</b> <b>the whole package.</b> <b>She's professional, she's</b> <b>honest, she's hard working.</b> <b>From the beginning, you could</b> <b>see how talented she was.</b> <b>She would prove herself</b> <b>over the years to become</b> <b>one of the best</b> <b>riders in Israel.</b> <b>(Yael speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>What a person would be seeing</b> <b>when they see a good rider</b> <b>ride is the unity, and</b> <b>hopefully the invisibility</b> <b>of the riders aids</b> <b>their actions.</b> <b>You want to see the horse.</b> <b>So your challenge as a rider</b> <b>is to bond with the horse</b> <b>in such a way that</b> <b>they want to cooperate.</b> <b>They allow themselves to</b> <b>submit, and there's that ability</b> <b>to form a partnership</b> <b>with them as athletes.</b> <b>- Nancy and I competed in</b> <b>the high jump competition</b> <b>in the south of Israel</b> <b>in the mid-'80s.</b> <b>It's one of the only</b> <b>freestance competitions</b> <b>that we had at the time.</b> <b>- You could have three</b> <b>attempts at this jump.</b> <b>I approached it the first</b> <b>time, totally chickened out.</b> <b>Just turned the horse away.</b> <b>I was so terrified.</b> <b>One meter 75 looked like the</b> <b>Empire State Building to me.</b> <b>It was huge, and the second</b> <b>time I approached the jump,</b> <b>I had a misunderstanding,</b> <b>a miscalculation.</b> <b>Came around the third time,</b> <b>said, it's now or never.</b> <b>I got the striding right,</b> <b>I got the energy right,</b> <b>got the balance right,</b> <b>and we cleared it.</b> <b>When you clear a jump like</b> <b>that, and you've never</b> <b>jumped that high, it feels</b> <b>like you just touched heaven,</b> <b>and I held that high</b> <b>jump, this Israeli</b> <b>high jump record for 20 years.</b> <b>My professional life and</b> <b>career over the years</b> <b>has been fascinating</b> <b>and highly successful.</b> <b>My personal life,</b> <b>on the other hand,</b> <b>has been somewhat of</b> <b>an obstacle course.</b> <b>So these are some of my</b> <b>clothes over the years.</b> <b>I'm gonna start</b> <b>out by showing you</b> <b>this beautiful designer dress.</b> <b>I wore this to Frankie and</b> <b>mine beautiful wedding party</b> <b>that we had with the</b> <b>horse drawn carriage</b> <b>and the summer hat.</b> <b>Here, Frankie and I</b> <b>are getting married,</b> <b>and it was a civil wedding</b> <b>in the townhouse of Bemmel.</b> <b>When we came back</b> <b>home to Israel,</b> <b>we had a wonderful</b> <b>garden party reception.</b> <b>My mother came</b> <b>and my sister came</b> <b>and my father and my</b> <b>brother and my sister,</b> <b>the religious members of</b> <b>my family did not come.</b> <b>- After a year, I must say I</b> <b>was thankful she divorced him,</b> <b>and there were no</b> <b>children involved.</b> <b>How I would've reacted to,</b> <b>had there been children,</b> <b>and she stayed, I don't know.</b> <b>I don't know.</b> <b>That was the end of</b> <b>that pasuk (verse).</b> <b>- That was marriage number one,</b> <b>which didn't last for long.</b> <b>Quite soon after that, I was</b> <b>in a relationship at the,</b> <b>the result of that new</b> <b>relationship was a pregnancy.</b> <b>The pregnancy lasted and</b> <b>the relationship didn't.</b> <b>After Eden was born, it was</b> <b>a struggle to keep on working</b> <b>because before he was</b> <b>born, I had been riding</b> <b>seven or eight horses a day</b> <b>and teaching five, six hours</b> <b>a day and competing five,</b> <b>six horses every weekend,</b> <b>and when you become a single</b> <b>mother, all of that changes.</b> <b>I was exhausted physically</b> <b>and money was short</b> <b>and I was looking for a</b> <b>better place to be in my life,</b> <b>and my brother asked me if</b> <b>I wanted to be introduced</b> <b>to a member of his</b> <b>Orthodox community.</b> <b>My brother was the culmination</b> <b>or the epitome of all things</b> <b>successful in this country.</b> <b>He was an excellent, straight A</b> <b>valedictorian in high school.</b> <b>In the army, he was an</b> <b>outstanding officer.</b> <b>Then he went straight into</b> <b>medical school for one year,</b> <b>and at the end of his first</b> <b>year at medical school,</b> <b>he went for his big trip abroad.</b> <b>- Came back, came to my</b> <b>office wearing beads.</b> <b>So I said, what are</b> <b>you doing with beads?</b> <b>He says, I'm going</b> <b>back to India.</b> <b>Something about Hare Krishna,</b> <b>I don't remember what it was.</b> <b>Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.</b> <b>(tambourines jingling)</b> <b>(Krishnas singing)</b> <b>- And then slowly but</b> <b>surely, he said, okay,</b> <b>but before I become Hare</b> <b>Krishna, I want to go check out</b> <b>what Judaism has to give</b> <b>me, and slowly but surely,</b> <b>he started becoming</b> <b>more and more religious.</b> <b>- And then there's a</b> <b>process of radicalization.</b> <b>It usually starts with</b> <b>posing questions, which is,</b> <b>are you happy with your life?</b> <b>Are you looking</b> <b>for more in life?</b> <b>Why are we alive?</b> <b>And then they come up with all</b> <b>the answers and many people,</b> <b>and not only in Judaism,</b> <b>in Islam, in Christianity,</b> <b>and in many different religions,</b> <b>find the answers to</b> <b>their questions there.</b> <b>- So Roger started coming home</b> <b>in jeans and with the kippah,</b> <b>and then the jeans became</b> <b>black pants and the kippah</b> <b>became a black kippah,</b> <b>and then the tzitziyot</b> <b>and the white shirt, and</b> <b>our younger sister Dina</b> <b>was in the army with Roger's</b> <b>wife and Dina's boyfriend</b> <b>from San Diego, from nursery</b> <b>school, was in the university</b> <b>here in Jerusalem on</b> <b>an overseas program,</b> <b>and Roger just said,</b> <b>instead of you, Ross,</b> <b>going to the university,</b> <b>come to the Yeshiva.</b> <b>- When I first started</b> <b>learning in Yeshiva,</b> <b>it was very attractive</b> <b>because I felt that</b> <b>I was seeing something that</b> <b>I'd never really seen before.</b> <b>I'd lost out on a few</b> <b>generations of having</b> <b>that relationship</b> <b>with our creator and</b> <b>the daily observance.</b> <b>- My dad's a nuclear</b> <b>engineer and he wasn't happy,</b> <b>and Roger persuaded him that</b> <b>instead of going to work,</b> <b>he should come with</b> <b>him to Jerusalem</b> <b>and start hearing lectures</b> <b>about Judaism, and he,</b> <b>my dad started</b> <b>going to Jerusalem.</b> <b>(man chanting in Hebrew)</b> <b>(intense music)</b> <b>- I just felt I had to do it,</b> <b>and I have to live</b> <b>the life of a Jew.</b> <b>- It was very difficult</b> <b>for my mother.</b> <b>We didn't, we weren't brought</b> <b>up in a religious house.</b> <b>We were Reform in San Diego.</b> <b>- Or why he needs the</b> <b>strictures of Bratslav Hassidut?</b> <b>I can't understand this.</b> <b>It tells you when to</b> <b>go to the bathroom,</b> <b>it tells you when to eat, it</b> <b>tells you when to say this,</b> <b>when to not say that.</b> <b>I don't understand that.</b> <b>- Being Orthodox really</b> <b>means a full time observance,</b> <b>lots of laws, lots of,</b> <b>but it's like learning</b> <b>the rules to a great game.</b> <b>- They tried to get me into</b> <b>it, but was never in it</b> <b>and I'll never be in it.</b> <b>As we all know, all these</b> <b>religious Yeshiva boys</b> <b>only take, they don't give.</b> <b>It makes us very angry,</b> <b>very, very upset.</b> <b>They have their reasons</b> <b>for not going in the army.</b> <b>Their reasons are not</b> <b>the right reasons.</b> <b>- It was like that there</b> <b>is a knife that is cutting</b> <b>in through the</b> <b>family splitting and</b> <b>splitting the members</b> <b>into two different worlds.</b> <b>One part is going to</b> <b>the ultra Orthodox side,</b> <b>which is so to speak a dark</b> <b>side, disconnected from</b> <b>the bright side of the seculars.</b> <b>(lively music)</b> <b>The ultra Orthodox see us as</b> <b>people that have no morality</b> <b>or ideology or</b> <b>philosophy or not,</b> <b>many of them think</b> <b>we're not Jewish.</b> <b>It's like going into</b> <b>a different country,</b> <b>a different place, a</b> <b>different continent.</b> <b>So when you see that happening</b> <b>in a family from the father</b> <b>to the last child,</b> <b>maybe generations later,</b> <b>that's a, it's not a</b> <b>simple thing to deal with.</b> <b>- This is my wedding dress</b> <b>for the second marriage,</b> <b>for the religious marriage.</b> <b>I joined into the religious</b> <b>way of life and community,</b> <b>but it was about 15 years or</b> <b>so of being under tremendous</b> <b>pressure from the religious</b> <b>members of my family,</b> <b>and I was craving for a</b> <b>quiet, normal, more spiritual</b> <b>family life, and my</b> <b>religious brother offered</b> <b>to introduce me to a man</b> <b>who was looking for a wife,</b> <b>and for some reason</b> <b>I agreed to meet him,</b> <b>and one thing led to</b> <b>another and we got married.</b> <b>I must say in all honesty,</b> <b>that that wedding night</b> <b>was one of the happiest</b> <b>moments of my life.</b> <b>I was very much in love and</b> <b>I felt that I was entering</b> <b>this hall of spirituality</b> <b>and beauty and purity.</b> <b>Two weeks later, it</b> <b>started falling apart.</b> <b>I never fit in.</b> <b>I never, to the</b> <b>religious families there,</b> <b>especially the religious women.</b> <b>Maybe it was because</b> <b>my face was sunburnt</b> <b>from all the years,</b> <b>and maybe because of an</b> <b>athletic way of moving,</b> <b>or maybe the skirt</b> <b>just wasn't the</b> <b>right Orthodox skirt.</b> <b>I don't know, or the</b> <b>stockings were wrong,</b> <b>full length stockings.</b> <b>So these are thick</b> <b>ones for the winter.</b> <b>Some are a little bit more</b> <b>sheer, but I never got it right.</b> <b>I kept on riding.</b> <b>I had said to my future</b> <b>husband that the one thing</b> <b>I will not stop doing is riding.</b> <b>I would leave the house</b> <b>with my riding clothes</b> <b>and then the religious</b> <b>clothes on top,</b> <b>peeling off the layers as</b> <b>I'm driving to Tel Aviv</b> <b>and then riding, and</b> <b>then on the way back,</b> <b>getting dressed again and</b> <b>getting out of the car</b> <b>in the religious neighborhood,</b> <b>fully dressed again.</b> <b>Within a month into</b> <b>the marriage, I</b> <b>started hearing him say</b> <b>that things are a little</b> <b>bit down financially,</b> <b>and I'll have to go back to</b> <b>work as a riding instructor.</b> <b>This came as a shock to me</b> <b>because before the marriage,</b> <b>I was assured that I would</b> <b>never have to work again.</b> <b>I made a few friends and</b> <b>one of them, she told me</b> <b>that the women that</b> <b>are belittling me and</b> <b>gossiping about me</b> <b>behind my back, they're</b> <b>actually jealous of you,</b> <b>and I couldn't believe that.</b> <b>I said, what do you mean?</b> <b>And she said, believe</b> <b>me, most of us would love</b> <b>to be in your place,</b> <b>having been outside</b> <b>in the outside world.</b> <b>We have kid after kid after kid.</b> <b>We work outside the home.</b> <b>We have to fit into this very</b> <b>strict, Orthodox community,</b> <b>which we do, and most of us</b> <b>don't want to be anywhere else,</b> <b>and she was one of the</b> <b>few totally honest women</b> <b>that I met and realized</b> <b>then the community is rife</b> <b>with everything</b> <b>that they ridicule,</b> <b>which is family violence,</b> <b>child abuse, hypocrisy,</b> <b>racism, racism par</b> <b>excellence, and it was just</b> <b>a terrible, terrible, terrible,</b> <b>traumatic shock for me.</b> <b>I understood that this is</b> <b>not the life that I wanted</b> <b>and that we had to get</b> <b>divorced, and I definitely</b> <b>did not want to raise my</b> <b>kids in this community.</b> <b>I got pregnant immediately</b> <b>as soon as we got married.</b> <b>I left Israel when I</b> <b>was six months pregnant.</b> <b>I flew to the States</b> <b>to my brother.</b> <b>It was a trans-Atlantic divorce.</b> <b>If I hadn't gotten the divorce</b> <b>before the baby was born,</b> <b>then the baby could have</b> <b>been used as ammunition</b> <b>in order to not</b> <b>give me a divorce,</b> <b>and according to Jewish</b> <b>law, as long as the baby</b> <b>is not born, he's not</b> <b>yet an entity on his own.</b> <b>I prevailed, and then</b> <b>I found myself to be</b> <b>a single mother</b> <b>of two young boys.</b> <b>In 1999, I was invited</b> <b>to be the announcer</b> <b>at a show jumping competition,</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>and I was already a</b> <b>judge and so on by then,</b> <b>but at that show,</b> <b>I was an announcer,</b> <b>and she came running up to me</b> <b>and she said I have to welcome</b> <b>the delegation of the Palestine</b> <b>Equestrian Federation,</b> <b>and I come from a very</b> <b>right wing family,</b> <b>and we have had nothing</b> <b>to do with Arabs.</b> <b>We were pretty much</b> <b>mainstream Israelis in as much</b> <b>as all Arabs are murderers,</b> <b>all Arabs are terrorists.</b> <b>This was mainstream.</b> <b>There was nothing</b> <b>unusual about this.</b> <b>You didn't have to</b> <b>be very right wing,</b> <b>but we were a right wing family.</b> <b>She said, you have to.</b> <b>You're the only one whose</b> <b>English is good enough</b> <b>who can speak politely,</b> <b>even though you might not</b> <b>believe what you're saying.</b> <b>So I looked to the right</b> <b>and I saw three men.</b> <b>They didn't have horns</b> <b>and they didn't have smoke</b> <b>coming out of their nostrils</b> <b>or anything and I said, okay.</b> <b>So I extended a</b> <b>very warm welcome.</b> <b>At that time, I was</b> <b>working at a stables</b> <b>a little bit north of</b> <b>Tel Aviv, and with over</b> <b>the next few weeks, the</b> <b>tall, dark, handsome one</b> <b>started showing up at the</b> <b>stables and he convinced me</b> <b>to maybe, maybe start</b> <b>working part-time in Jericho.</b> <b>Behind that last ridge of</b> <b>hills, the road leads down</b> <b>to Jericho, the Dead Sea,</b> <b>and the Jordan Valley.</b> <b>As a result of the Oslo</b> <b>Accords it was an era of peace.</b> <b>There had been built a</b> <b>beautiful five-star hotel,</b> <b>and the famous Jericho</b> <b>Casino had been built there.</b> <b>I think five or six</b> <b>thousand Israelis were down</b> <b>in Jericho every day,</b> <b>gambling their money away.</b> <b>At the time I was</b> <b>living in Jerusalem</b> <b>and traveling on</b> <b>buses to Tel Aviv.</b> <b>I was hoping to find a place</b> <b>that was easier logistically,</b> <b>and of course there was</b> <b>the developing relationship</b> <b>with my co-director at</b> <b>the club, and I thought</b> <b>I would give it a try,</b> <b>and he took me to meet</b> <b>Dr. Sami Mussalam,</b> <b>who was the head</b> <b>of Yasir Arafat's</b> <b>office in Jericho.</b> <b>When Arafat had come back</b> <b>with his men in 1994,</b> <b>he had set up presidential</b> <b>offices in each of the main</b> <b>cities, which was Jericho,</b> <b>Gaza, I think Ramallah as well.</b> <b>Hello, Dr. Sami.</b> <b>Can I hug you?</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>So Dr. Sami was</b> <b>the, the big boss.</b> <b>He was the head of the</b> <b>whole thing in Jericho,</b> <b>but he was the boss of</b> <b>everything, of the whole city.</b> <b>Dr.

Sami always called me</b> <b>the boss, but he's the boss.</b> <b>From day one, there was</b> <b>so much work to be done</b> <b>because they had so much to</b> <b>learn about basic horse care,</b> <b>training methods, horse</b> <b>welfare, stable management,</b> <b>but they were, they</b> <b>wanted to learn so much,</b> <b>and I just felt</b> <b>that I got there,</b> <b>and just take everything I know.</b> <b>It's yours.</b> <b>(upbeat music)</b> <b>Fine, thank you.</b> <b>Can I help you with?</b> <b>- Sure.</b> <b>- In our mentality, if</b> <b>somebody, he knows something</b> <b>to teach, he doesn't like</b> <b>to give it to somebody else</b> <b>and he wants to keep it for</b> <b>himself, to not to let any</b> <b>trainer around the country.</b> <b>For Nancy, she</b> <b>gave me everything.</b> <b>Yeah, you know, without</b> <b>hiding anything from me now,</b> <b>thank God, this is</b> <b>thanks, after God, Nancy,</b> <b>I'm the best rider and</b> <b>trainer in Palestine.</b> <b>You know, I follow her.</b> <b>(laughing)</b> <b>- Okay, so tell us, show us.</b> <b>How long have you been</b> <b>here, eight months?</b> <b>- Yeah, it's already</b> <b>eight months.</b> <b>- And what do we see around?</b> <b>- This is Ramallah.</b> <b>- Ramallah, okay.</b> <b>Atarot, Beit Hanina</b> <b>- French Hill, you can see</b> <b>it from big, big building.</b> <b>- That's French Hill.</b> <b>I see my house.</b> <b>Yeah, okay.</b> <b>- It's all close to us, yeah,</b> <b>and from here you</b> <b>can see everything.</b> <b>Khaled, and he asked me,</b> <b>- His name is</b> <b>Abrame,and he said,</b> <b>I want to try this boy with you.</b> <b>He lives in the refugee</b> <b>camp and I mean, they,</b> <b>they need, they need</b> <b>help, and I said, okay.</b> <b>We asked him, did you</b> <b>ever ride a horse?</b> <b>He said, he said, no.</b> <b>Did you ever touch a horse?</b> <b>He said, no.</b> <b>Did you ever feed the horse?</b> <b>He said, no.</b> <b>Okay.</b> <b>- Good, you're hired.</b> <b>You're hired.</b> <b>- The first year, he never</b> <b>looked into Nancy by the eyes.</b> <b>- Because he was so shy.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- He always talked with</b> <b>her, head dropping down</b> <b>and now look what he is.</b> <b>- Now he looks me</b> <b>in the eye, yeah.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- (speaking softly)</b> <b>- Everybody they know, and</b> <b>why you following Nancy</b> <b>and taking order from Nancy?</b> <b>What do you think?</b> <b>I said, I don't care.</b> <b>I want to be like her.</b> <b>(speaking Arabic)</b> <b>- Khaled from the beginning</b> <b>was a talented rider,</b> <b>and within no time at</b> <b>all, within a year or so,</b> <b>he became one of my</b> <b>best students there.</b> <b>- But now she is</b> <b>already okay, and before</b> <b>it was very, very, very....</b> <b>- She was probably dying before.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- It's already here two weeks.</b> <b>- But Khaled, these</b> <b>are the best horses.</b> <b>You buy these horses,</b> <b>you do two things, okay.</b> <b>You save their life, you save</b> <b>their life and you take them</b> <b>out of the cruel</b> <b>place that they were.</b> <b>- She's happy, yeah.</b> <b>- No, and you give</b> <b>them a new life.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- You were just little</b> <b>kids in the stable,</b> <b>and now you're all</b> <b>grown up and married.</b> <b>I can't believe you two.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- You were just little</b> <b>kids in the stable,</b> <b>and now you're all</b> <b>grown up and married.</b> <b>No, I remember, I</b> <b>remember other things.</b> <b>I remember the back</b> <b>where the hay barn was,</b> <b>and people are saying where</b> <b>Khaled, where Sonabal,</b> <b>and nobody could find you.</b> <b>- You are sitting.</b> <b>- You met in the tack room.</b> <b>- Yes.</b> <b>- Yes.</b> <b>- I was in the tack room</b> <b>all the time cleaning.</b> <b>- Sometimes it's like,</b> <b>we cleaned the reins,</b> <b>and like, sometimes</b> <b>me and Sanaben.</b> <b>- And I would come</b> <b>and distribute?</b> <b>- Yeah, no, sometime you</b> <b>come and say, ah, Naben,</b> <b>what you are doing?</b> <b>I'm teaching her how to clean.</b> <b>- Oh, you kept cleaning.</b> <b>(Khaled laughing)</b> <b>Jumping position</b> <b>(Khaled speaking Arabic)</b> <b>I sat next to him and I</b> <b>just quietly said to him,</b> <b>When I saw him crying in his</b> <b>mother's arms, I walked over.</b> <b>I sat next to him and I</b> <b>just quietly said to him,</b> <b>the jump didn't work out,</b> <b>right, and he said, no,</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Arabic)</b> <b>that I think he</b> <b>needs a little bit</b> <b>of help with this student.</b> <b>and I told Khaled that</b> <b>we have to do well now,</b> <b>that I think he</b> <b>needs a little bit</b> <b>of help with this student.</b> <b>(upbeat music)</b> <b>The lessons that the</b> <b>kids had from day one</b> <b>were professional and demanding.</b> <b>I set high standards for</b> <b>them, and within one year,</b> <b>we had our first</b> <b>Palestinian equestrian team,</b> <b>and our first competition</b> <b>was in Jordan.</b> <b>- You want to know.</b> <b>- This was in Jordan,</b> <b>and this is Dr. Sami.</b> <b>- Dr. Sami.</b> <b>- Princess Alia, the</b> <b>daughter of King Hussein.</b> <b>- Prince Hussein.</b> <b>- And the sister of Princess</b> <b>Haya.</b> <b>- Haya, yeah,</b> <b>and we have also from Gaza.</b> <b>- The first Palestinian</b> <b>team riding abroad.</b> <b>This is in Algeria.</b> <b>- In Algeria.</b> <b>It's made, it's</b> <b>like the million...</b> <b>- In the different countries</b> <b>we went to, Jordan, Algeria,</b> <b>As we all know, the Gulf</b> <b>states are extremely wealthy,</b> <b>and later, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.</b> <b>As we all know, the Gulf</b> <b>states are extremely wealthy,</b> <b>and the riders there were</b> <b>wearing riding clothes and boots</b> <b>and helmets that cost thousands</b> <b>and thousands of dollars.</b> <b>So Khaled felt very</b> <b>awkward about it.</b> <b>and helmets that cost thousands</b> <b>and thousands of dollars.</b> <b>So Khaled felt very</b> <b>awkward about it.</b> <b>He arrived with the best</b> <b>we could come up with,</b> <b>rubber boots and a plastic</b> <b>helmet, and I just told him,</b> <b>pull yourself up, sit up</b> <b>straight, keep your heels down,</b> <b>pull yourself up, sit up</b> <b>straight, keep your heels down,</b> <b>and he really, really made</b> <b>me proud because I think</b> <b>and get out there</b> <b>and ride, and he did,</b> <b>and he really, really made</b> <b>me proud because I think</b> <b>that to be there</b> <b>amongst all that wealth,</b> <b>representing his country,</b> <b>I think also knowing</b> <b>that to be there</b> <b>amongst all that wealth,</b> <b>representing his country,</b> <b>I think also knowing</b> <b>that he's there with</b> <b>an Israeli trainer,</b> <b>even though it wasn't official,</b> <b>and he was so proud of me,</b> <b>he just didn't</b> <b>look left or right.</b> <b>- But nobody will</b> <b>accept this thing.</b> <b>Even when I say my teacher,</b> <b>she's Israeli, she said, what?</b> <b>Khaled, are you crazy?</b> <b>I said, that's okay</b> <b>because we are in sport,</b> <b>but when we talk with</b> <b>the people and Nancy,</b> <b>how she go in the</b> <b>people, she is the same</b> <b>like she's dealing</b> <b>with like, the family,</b> <b>talking, eating, and</b> <b>they start knowing Nancy</b> <b>more and more and more,</b> <b>she's okay Israeli,</b> <b>But she's good,</b> <b>she's Palestinian.</b> <b>- I think two days after I</b> <b>made a decision to move there</b> <b>full time, the</b> <b>Intifada broke out,</b> <b>- I think two days after I</b> <b>made a decision to move there</b> <b>full time, the</b> <b>Intifada broke out,</b> <b>(crowds yelling)</b> <b>and I was teaching and</b> <b>everything was normal,</b> <b>and then just</b> <b>pandemonium broke loose.</b> <b>Went home, turned on the news.</b> <b>Went home, turned on the news.</b> <b>(newscaster speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>All hell was breaking</b> <b>loose all over,</b> <b>all over the West Bank,</b> <b>I think in Gaza as well,</b> <b>and at that moment</b> <b>started my double life</b> <b>for the next nine years.</b> <b>The next day I</b> <b>had to go to work,</b> <b>but my work within one day</b> <b>became enemy territory.</b> <b>I knew that if I didn't</b> <b>come back the next day</b> <b>that I would never come back.</b> <b>So I came back the next</b> <b>day, and parked the car here</b> <b>in the church and</b> <b>walked over the field.</b> <b>When you came into the club</b> <b>that morning, there was nobody.</b> <b>You basically said,</b> <b>what are you doing here?</b> <b>And I looked at you</b> <b>and I started laughing,</b> <b>and I said, I came to work.</b> <b>after the second Intifada</b> <b>started because within</b> <b>It was life threatening</b> <b>to go to Jericho</b> <b>after the second Intifada</b> <b>started because within</b> <b>two or three days, Jericho</b> <b>was hermetically sealed off,</b> <b>physically sealed off.</b> <b>- Go away!</b> <b>What are you doing here?</b> <b>- The whole area, the fields</b> <b>and the desert around Jericho</b> <b>was patrolled 24/7 by the</b> <b>Israeli army, tanks and Jeeps</b> <b>- The whole area, the fields</b> <b>and the desert around Jericho</b> <b>was patrolled 24/7 by the</b> <b>Israeli army, tanks and Jeeps</b> <b>So I would park my car in</b> <b>the church and make my way</b> <b>and patrols and the works.</b> <b>So I would park my car in</b> <b>the church and make my way</b> <b>to the little highway there.</b> <b>That would be the</b> <b>no man's land part,</b> <b>because there I was still</b> <b>Israeli, but as soon as</b> <b>I crossed over the barrier</b> <b>there and walk 10 meters in,</b> <b>I was breaking the law.</b> <b>Because of the Intifada,</b> <b>there was a law</b> <b>that Jewish Israelis are</b> <b>not allowed into Area A.</b> <b>As the Intifada</b> <b>unfolded, the army dug</b> <b>a bigger and bigger ditch,</b> <b>which was almost impassable,</b> <b>it became so deep and so wide.</b> <b>I would walk another</b> <b>kilometer or so into</b> <b>the Palestinian territory and</b> <b>then the director of the club</b> <b>would pick me up and turn around</b> <b>and just race back to the club.</b> <b>I just had this conviction</b> <b>that I would never, ever</b> <b>be shot at by an</b> <b>Israeli soldier, and</b> <b>the Israeli soldiers</b> <b>were basically literally my</b> <b>nephews, sons of my friends</b> <b>and it was family, and as</b> <b>far as the Palestinians</b> <b>shooting me or trying to</b> <b>hurt me, it was theoretical.</b> <b>I never ever felt in danger.</b> <b>I received threatening phone</b> <b>calls and letters in the mail</b> <b>from different organizations</b> <b>and different people</b> <b>from different organizations</b> <b>and different people</b> <b>that I didn't know where they</b> <b>came from, threatening me.</b> <b>There was one of my family</b> <b>members, I think about two years</b> <b>into Jericho that actually</b> <b>called me on the phone</b> <b>and said that, threatened</b> <b>me and said, if I don't stop</b> <b>taking my kids down to</b> <b>Jericho, that they would</b> <b>report me to the police.</b> <b>My answer was basically</b> <b>in polite English,</b> <b>mind your own business.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>You learned how to swim</b> <b>there, learned how to ride</b> <b>a bike there, how</b> <b>to ride a horse.</b> <b>- How to ditch the Israeli army.</b> <b>In the beginning,</b> <b>it was a secret.</b> <b>- Taking me to Jericho</b> <b>once a week, twice a week,</b> <b>and lying to my friends</b> <b>that I'm going to my father,</b> <b>but the truth, I was</b> <b>going to Jericho.</b> <b>- Even now, even today,</b> <b>just few of my friends know.</b> <b>- They still don't believe</b> <b>that you participated</b> <b>in the reception which,</b> <b>the meeting with Arafat.</b> <b>- He's the first famous</b> <b>guy I ever met, Arafat.</b> <b>So it was pretty cool when</b> <b>you are seven years old,</b> <b>and once I took it to school,</b> <b>the picture and I showed</b> <b>and I, we took the picture</b> <b>and I still got it to today,</b> <b>and once I took it to school,</b> <b>the picture and I showed</b> <b>my friends, look me and</b> <b>Arafat in one picture,</b> <b>my friends, look me and</b> <b>Arafat in one picture,</b> <b>and they told me it's fake.</b> <b>No way that it's</b> <b>you with Arafat.</b> <b>- They were given the gift of</b> <b>a new language, a new culture,</b> <b>- They were given the gift of</b> <b>a new language, a new culture,</b> <b>a new way of looking at</b> <b>things, and an awareness</b> <b>of what racism is within a</b> <b>society, between societies,</b> <b>between cultures, between</b> <b>individuals, and I think that</b> <b>that enriched them</b> <b>in the long run.</b> <b>(wind chimes ringing)</b> <b>Liel loved horses and</b> <b>became a top rider.</b> <b>He also won the Israeli</b> <b>championships at the age of 14,</b> <b>and Liel rode 'til</b> <b>he was about 16,</b> <b>and Liel was actually accepted</b> <b>into one of the top units</b> <b>in the intelligence corps.</b> <b>He speaks fluent Arabic.</b> <b>I was delighted about it</b> <b>because on the one hand,</b> <b>he's very helpful to</b> <b>his country, Israel,</b> <b>but at the same time, also</b> <b>very fair to the Palestinians,</b> <b>but he had decided to defer</b> <b>the draft by one year,</b> <b>Because I'm going</b> <b>to study the Gemara,</b> <b>and why are you deferring</b> <b>the draft by one year?</b> <b>Because I'm going</b> <b>to study the Gemara,</b> <b>which is part of the</b> <b>Torah, part of the Bible.</b> <b>There is a law in Israel that</b> <b>you can receive exemption</b> <b>from the army if you are</b> <b>studying in a Yeshiva</b> <b>if you are ultraorthodox.</b> <b>So eventually he obviously</b> <b>didn't go to the army.</b> <b>- The problem of seeing</b> <b>Liel is like seeing someone</b> <b>I'm not recognizing anymore.</b> <b>I don't think it's the real him.</b> <b>- This is the dress that I</b> <b>wore at the Pan-Arab Games</b> <b>in Algeria together with the</b> <b>Palestinian equestrian team.</b> <b>Okay, this was in the stadium.</b> <b>I'm wearing the</b> <b>Palestinian dress.</b> <b>- Yeah, we.</b> <b>- That was in the stadium</b> <b>getting ready for the opening.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- 2004, and that's</b> <b>like the Arab Olympics.</b> <b>- Olympics.</b> <b>- And as I walked in with</b> <b>the Palestinian team,</b> <b>I think the stadium had</b> <b>about 50,000 people in it.</b> <b>As I walked in, it was</b> <b>the evening of Yom Kippur.</b> <b>So I was a little bit emotional,</b> <b>thinking of my family</b> <b>back in Israel,</b> <b>getting ready for the</b> <b>fast on Yom Kippur</b> <b>and all of Israel shutting</b> <b>down for Yom Kippur,</b> <b>which is our holiest and</b> <b>most solemn and saddest day</b> <b>of the year, and just</b> <b>as the sun was setting,</b> <b>the Palestinian team</b> <b>entered the stadium</b> <b>and 50,000 people started</b> <b>roaring and chanting.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Arabic)</b> <b>Which basically means with</b> <b>blood and with our spirit,</b> <b>we will redeem you, Palestine,</b> <b>(crowd cheering)</b> <b>and I felt quite alone in</b> <b>that stadium, but I did it.</b> <b>I walked in with my head</b> <b>high and I was the trainer</b> <b>of the Palestinian equestrian</b> <b>team and fasted the next day.</b> <b>- Okay.</b> <b>- Here we go.</b> <b>Beautiful, beautiful pictures.</b> <b>(music)</b> <b>Remember there were</b> <b>many, many situations</b> <b>and things that just came up.</b> <b>Something would happen</b> <b>that really, really touched</b> <b>the deep, deep, deep issues.</b> <b>You remember one time with</b> <b>Hamudi, how old was he?</b> <b>- He was, I think six, or</b> <b>like five to six, I think.</b> <b>He's telling his father in front</b> <b>of everybody, I would kill.</b> <b>- In front of everybody, right.</b> <b>- I will kill all the Jewish.</b> <b>- He was seven.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Arabic)</b> <b>- He's gonna kill all</b> <b>the Jews, yeah, okay.</b> <b>- And then we said why?</b> <b>He said no.</b> <b>(Khaled speaking Arabic)</b> <b>You will kill Nancy?</b> <b>He said Nancy no, I don't.</b> <b>(Khaled speaking Arabic)</b> <b>Eden, no, Liel, no,</b> <b>only the other Jews.</b> <b>- But that was the feeling,</b> <b>that was this general,</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Arabic)</b> <b>and they're all enemies.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- And then when it</b> <b>became personal but,</b> <b>no, Nancy, we're not gonna</b> <b>kill, and Eden is my brother</b> <b>and Liel is my brother.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- And then we asked, I</b> <b>think at that moment,</b> <b>I think I asked, I don't</b> <b>know if it was Liel or Eden,</b> <b>and I said, should we</b> <b>kill all the Arabs?</b> <b>And maybe, should</b> <b>we kill Khaled?</b> <b>La la la la la.</b> <b>- The only things he said</b> <b>that, and if anybody teases</b> <b>or let's say, say</b> <b>some bad word for him,</b> <b>be careful because if he's</b> <b>standing next to Liel,</b> <b>he would be working at</b> <b>the checkpoint when he.</b> <b>- When my kids grew up,</b> <b>they would be soldiers</b> <b>at the checkpoint and we</b> <b>would joke about that.</b> <b>We would say, if you</b> <b>don't behave well,</b> <b>Eden and Liel are gonna grow up</b> <b>and they're gonna be soldiers,</b> <b>and they're not gonna let</b> <b>you through the checkpoint.</b> <b>- And they are so young</b> <b>when they're talking.</b> <b>You know, they're teasing</b> <b>against each other, talking.</b> <b>- I know, I know, but</b> <b>the thing is that this is</b> <b>what they hear</b> <b>from the grownups.</b> <b>This is what the little</b> <b>kids hear in their schools.</b> <b>- Yeah.</b> <b>- In the Arab schools and</b> <b>this is what my kids hear</b> <b>in the Israeli schools, and</b> <b>this is what they grow up with.</b> <b>- But you know, if you are</b> <b>close, then you can see</b> <b>there's many people</b> <b>that are nice here,</b> <b>nice to each, the Palestinian</b> <b>and also the opposite.</b> <b>- My son.</b> <b>I felt that the</b> <b>world was my oyster,</b> <b>that together with Shimon Peres,</b> <b>I was going to bring</b> <b>in the new Middle East.</b> <b>For me, this was</b> <b>also good for Israel,</b> <b>anything in any community.</b> <b>So for me, it was the</b> <b>equestrian community.</b> <b>Anything that could lower</b> <b>the level of hatred,</b> <b>anything that could lower</b> <b>the level of violence</b> <b>and build any kind of</b> <b>bridge was a blessing,</b> <b>and after the Intifada started,</b> <b>it was viewed as a betrayal,</b> <b>just working with</b> <b>the Palestinians.</b> <b>For them, it was</b> <b>extremely difficult to</b> <b>keep working with me</b> <b>because they had to deal with</b> <b>Israel and the Israeli army</b> <b>as an enemy, but working</b> <b>with them in their midst,</b> <b>a Jewish Israeli</b> <b>woman who they loved</b> <b>and admired and respected.</b> <b>So this tension, this</b> <b>kind of tension between</b> <b>the larger political or security</b> <b>aspect of the whole thing,</b> <b>it was always there and</b> <b>living right next to it</b> <b>was the personal side of,</b> <b>this is what I wanna do.</b> <b>You can tell how happy I look,</b> <b>excited, in love, the works.</b> <b>(haunting flute music)</b> <b>I totally lost my</b> <b>trust in my partner,</b> <b>Things started all falling</b> <b>apart around 2005, 2006.</b> <b>I totally lost my</b> <b>trust in my partner,</b> <b>the director of the club.</b> <b>Our relationship became</b> <b>a little bit crowded.</b> <b>I was not the only</b> <b>woman in his life.</b> <b>So that was a very, very,</b> <b>very painful period,</b> <b>and it was in sync with the</b> <b>club also tapering off, money</b> <b>that was raised for beautiful</b> <b>projects that we had there,</b> <b>the therapeutic riding program.</b> <b>All these monies</b> <b>that were coming in</b> <b>were not arriving at</b> <b>their correct destination,</b> <b>(ambulance siren wailing)</b> <b>but I think by 2005, 2006, after</b> <b>a few years of the Intifada</b> <b>and the total breakdown of</b> <b>trust between Palestinians</b> <b>and Israelis and the bottomless</b> <b>pit of hatred on both sides,</b> <b>and the total breakdown of</b> <b>trust between Palestinians</b> <b>and Israelis and the bottomless</b> <b>pit of hatred on both sides,</b> <b>I think I was getting</b> <b>a little bit tired.</b> <b>Being so heartbroken and</b> <b>so devastated and so tired,</b> <b>at that moment I understood</b> <b>why people kill themselves,</b> <b>and I also understood why people</b> <b>don't kill themselves,</b> <b>and I didn't.</b> <b>When I came back to the</b> <b>job market in Israel,</b> <b>I think I was 52 at the time,</b> <b>and I had to find my way</b> <b>back into the working place</b> <b>as a full-time trainer,</b> <b>and I became the</b> <b>trainer of this group</b> <b>that was comprised</b> <b>mostly of Ethiopians.</b> <b>I had the amazing luck</b> <b>to train a young boy</b> <b>named Oded, Oded Itzhak.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(Oded speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>We started out with a small</b> <b>group of kids and within a year,</b> <b>we had 20 of these</b> <b>kids in competitions,</b> <b>and I think that the 10</b> <b>years in Jericho opened up</b> <b>a whole new world to</b> <b>me of what it's like</b> <b>to be disadvantaged</b> <b>with a lot of racism.</b> <b>(Oded speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(Oded speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>From there, I went back</b> <b>into my job as a trainer.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>Gadol.</b> <b>Easy, easy.</b> <b>Don't canter.</b> <b>Good girl, no energy.</b> <b>Go, go.</b> <b>Good.</b> <b>I got involved more</b> <b>and more in judging.</b> <b>Jumping, judging</b> <b>internationally,</b> <b>dressage judging in Israel,</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>and recently we started</b> <b>a wonderful project</b> <b>in the Israeli</b> <b>Equestrian Federation.</b> <b>Call it the Little League</b> <b>and it's a dressage</b> <b>and now an equitation</b> <b>league where the judge comes</b> <b>to the club, and this</b> <b>enables hundreds of riders</b> <b>that might not be able</b> <b>to afford to come to</b> <b>the national shows, it</b> <b>enables all of these kids</b> <b>and families to take part</b> <b>of the competition world.</b> <b>(Nancy speaking Arabic)</b> <b>(Children speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(Yael speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>(horse whinnying)</b> <b>(Yael speaking Hebrew)</b> <b>I finally fulfilled</b> <b>my 30 year long dream</b> <b>or ambition of</b> <b>going to law school.</b> <b>I had to decide between law</b> <b>and the equestrian world</b> <b>as a profession,</b> <b>and now I'm just</b> <b>finishing up this</b> <b>unfinished business.</b> <b>(peaceful music)</b> <b>So if I have to compare</b> <b>who I trust more,</b> <b>people or horses,</b> <b>horses win, hands down</b> <b>because they will</b> <b>always tell the truth.</b> <b>It's been an amazing,</b> <b>incredible journey so far,</b> <b>and I've gone to all</b> <b>kinds of places that</b> <b>a nice Jewish girl</b> <b>shouldn't have gone to.</b> <b>If the past is</b> <b>anything to go by,</b> <b>I believe the future is</b> <b>going to be equally unreined.</b> <b>(magnificent music)</b> <b>(upbeat music)</b> <b>(elegant music)</b>