Egyptian boy trains donkey to jump hurdles

In a small village of Belqas in Egypt’s fertile Nile Delta, a 14-year-old boy and his pet donkey are causing quite a stir.

Ahmed Ayman has been training his donkey nicknamed Rihanna to jump hurdles.

Every day after school, Ahmed trains with Rihanna for about 30 minutes, where he slowly raises the obstacle higher to test her limits.

He trains his donkey to jump obstacles like many have done over the years with Equestrian jumping.

Amid cheering spectators, his riding skills are displayed.

“Ahmed is extremely smart, but our resources are very limited. For example we do not have any scouts around who can assist him get into this field. We want officials in this field to get him involved,” said Ahmed’s uncle.

Ahmed and his family say they dream one day he will eventually work professionally with horses.

Horseback riding is among Egypt’s touristic activities with a number of companies offering excursions into the desert to see the pyramids and trips to other famous Egyptian tourist attractions.