Morocco Royal Tour 2016 in Rabat | © Jessica Rodrigues
Abdelkebir Ouaddar - who everyone calls Kébir - was born in Aït Ourir, a small village near Marrakech. His father is a well-digger, and his mother Khadija takes care of her five children.
At the age of 8, he was playing street football when he caught the eye of princess Lalla Fatima-Zohra - a sister of King Hassan II - as she was passing through the village. In keeping with a Moroccan tradition in which the royal family can adopt ordinary children from the kingdom, the princess went to Kébir’s parents to offer them to raise him with her own children. Kébir’s mother first refused, but his father thought it was an unhoped-for opportunity.
At the royal court, Kébir was indeed raised as one of the royal family’s children, going back to his village to see his parents twice a month in a chauffeur-driven car.
Fascinated by horses since his youngest years, Kébir used to go around to see local fantasias, even though has was also terrified of horses. When he was 10, Lalla Amina, another of the king’s sisters, helped him overcome his fear of horses to allow him to start riding.
Kébir then discovered his passion for show jumping. As he demonstrated real talent for this sport, the royal family decided to sent him to France at the age of 12 so he could take clinics with Nelson Pessoa. For a decade, Kébir went back and forth between Morocco and France for his training sessions with the Brazilian icon.
His career progressively grew, as he started to compete internationally, notably in the 1997, 2005 and 2009 Mediterranean Games. But even with those achievements, he’s then still very far from show jumping’s top level. Aside from his professional career, he also taught riding to many Moroccan children - more by interest than necessity, as the royal family ensures him a comfortable position in any case.
During a competition in El Jedida, he’s spotted by the famous French trainer Marcel Rozier. Kébir joins him in his training facility in France. King Mohammed VI decides to fund their project, and buys for Kébir the selle français Porche du Fruitier. With the gelding, Kébir gets his first rankings in 5* competitions.
The King then bought him another selle français, Quickly de Kreisker. With that stallion, Kébir became the first Moroccan to win a 5* Grand Prix (the Saut Hermès in 2016), as well as the first Moroccan showjumper to compete in the World Championships (in 2014) and in the Olympic Games (in 2016). In Rio, he was the flag-holder for his country.
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