USA/FILE: POLO: The world's first black female polo player talks about the sport and how she is directly affected by the Ebola outbreak

Record ID: 236849

  • Title: USA/FILE: POLO: The world's first black female polo player talks about the sport and how she is directly affected by the Ebola outbreak
  • Date: 20th August 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 20, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEKU ATAWODI, POLO PLAYER, SAYING: "For a long time it was just like a big struggle in a struggle really. Because you'd expect that you'd get a lot of the difficulties from the polo world but actually it wasn't, it was more from like family and friends and Nigerians. And it took them a bit of time to all come around when - yeah, it took a really, really long time."
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health,People,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA5XM2Q06R33K82FJR4EQKSKR62
  • Story Text: Neku Atawodi may be known for her polo playing but she is hoping to make a name for herself off the field as well.
    The 26-year-old said she fell in love with horses because of her attraction to the sport that began as a nine-year-old. However, for a long time she said she struggled to be accepted as a true player.
    "You'd expect that you'd get a lot of the difficulties from the polo world but actually it wasn't it was more from like family and friends and Nigerians. And it took them a bit of time to all come around when - yeah, it took a really, really long time."
    Atawodi explained her love for the game, which she likened to the board game chess.
    "It's very thought out which makes it really fascinating when you like play - like when you come up with a game play and you execute it properly. Feel like amazing because to do that with the horses working in tandem with the players it's just - you feel very, just like God almost."
    During Atawodi's first U.S. appearance she was dubbed the first black female polo player, which was a moniker she at first was uncomfortable with, until she met Rwandan president Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
    "I feel like it's a bit too much on me for something I really wasn't prepared for. Because I haven't really had like racial struggles. And he said to me, 'no it's your story, it's the fact that your story can get other children, women, little boys, girls to watch you and be like, maybe I can do whatever it is that I want to do.' And he's like, 'it's your story that's really inspiring.' So I think he helped me. I hope he somehow watches this or something. He helped me sort of like take on the role."
    As a public figure Atawodi is using her star power to bring attention to some of the issues in her country, including the missing girls and the Ebola outbreak.
    Atawodi said her friend's mother treated Ebola patient Patrick Sawyer, who flew into Nigeria from Liberia.
    "We don't have it in Nigeria until about three weeks ago. And he flew to Nigeria and when they told him he had Ebola, even though he knew, he tired to leave the hospital and she actually like physically said no. And the Liberian government was like, 'no, he has to leave,' like, 'he's allowed to leave.' And she didn't let him leave. So now we've had four people pass away and she passed away this morning. And if not for her we would have had so many other people possibly be having to like grieve also. So it's like to read about a modern day hero, it's really quite impressive,"
    Known as Nigeria's polo queen, now Atawodi is hoping to create polo princesses and princes with her charity Ride to Shine and has been building an equestrian center for the past three years. Kids from her charity will play in a exhibition tournament in Lagos, Nigeria later this year.
    "I hope that when I'm 40 I hope that I would have been able to have Nigerians, just the world really, just somehow change the perception of equestrian sports. Because back home at the moment it's not acknowledge. Like if you're a kid that's really good in equestrian sport you're not going to get a grant from the government or anything. And so I've been fighting to push that."
    One of her goals is to make sure every Nigerian child under 12 has the chance to have riding lessons.
    In October Atawodi will play at the Ibiza Beach Polo tournament in Spain.
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