Patricia Keller Faustino Margoni
Photo: Personal archive
Patricia Keller Faustino Margoni, from São Paulo, has always had the horses as his life’s passion. At age 3, he got his father’s first animal and started to learn to ride. In Brazil, he had riding as a hobby and even participated in some competitions, but he had never thought of working with them. Until he moved to Qatar 14 years ago and worked at the biggest stable in the country of world Cup and one of the most modern in the world.
“In 2009, my husband Marcos received a job offer to come work here. We decided to drop everything and take a risk. I left the bank where I was working as a systems analyst and we moved”, says Patricia, who took a few months to adapt to a culture completely different from the Brazilian one.
As soon as she knew better how Qatar works, a friend suggested that she take some photos in a studio. It worked so well that she was invited to work as a model. But with an Arabic touch. “Since Qatari women cannot show themselves, they end up working as designers or behind the scenes in the fashion universe. That is why they invite foreigners to wear their creations, such as luxury abayas and jewelry”.
Patricia never imagined modeling, but she saw the period as a learning experience and says that, in the almost 15 years she has been here, she has never had a problem for being a foreign woman and has always been highly respected. “I was on the cover of magazines, I experienced things very different from my routine and even recorded commercials. But what I really wanted was to work professionally with horses and that’s why I spent a period in England and Ireland getting certifications in English riding and equine therapy, because I love children,” he recalls.
As soon as she returned from Britain, a sheikh invited her to be a teacher at a stable he was opening, in Doha, and where she worked from 2019 until June of this year, when she received an invitation to transfer to Al Shaqab.
animals that teach
In the largest stable in the country and one of the most modern in the world, the Brazilian dedicates eight hours a day. The site was founded in 1992 by the then emir of the country, Hamad bin Khalifa, to honor the tradition of Arabian horses in wars and in the development of the Arabian Peninsula. Built next to the City of Education Stadium, in Al-Rayyan, the complex has a heated indoor arena with 2,400 seats and an outdoor arena, with 2,100 seats, in addition to a gym for horses and training and competition centers for children, teenagers and adults.
As a teacher, Patricia works in the morning with autistic children. She explains that there are few vacancies available because there are few horses that can be used for equine therapy. “Here, I don’t teach children with disabilities riding techniques, but their therapeutic effect. The horse allows 3D movement on the body and generates benefits, such as encouraging the child to speak, exercising body and head, in addition to creating a bond with the animal, which is something healthy”.
In the afternoon, she dedicates herself to Al Shaqab Academy, aimed at children from three to six years old with a focus on recreational riding. As soon as they turn seven, they start to have other types of training so that they can learn to ride with a higher level of demand. Some end up becoming professionals. Classes are aimed at both Qataris and foreigners who are willing to pay 3,000 rials (R$4,418.00) for a monthly package of three times a week. Individual lessons cost, on average, 500 rials (R$736.00).
Real family
In addition to working at the stables, Patricia is a private riding tutor for members of the Qatari royal family. Twice a week, she sees the two daughters of Sheikh Khalifa, who is one of six brothers with the same father and mother as the emir of Qatar, Tamin. He has 18 more siblings from the two other wives Khalifa is married to in addition to Moza bin Nasser, Mariam and Noora.
She says she also teaches the daughters of another sheikh connected to the al-Thani family, on a farm outside Doha where racehorses are bred. “In these classes, you have to have the best animals available and make the members of the royal family happy. Not that here at Al Shaqab we don’t work with all the safety and comfort for the children, but the VIP classes even have a different dynamic”.
When she needs to take off to the sheikh’s farm, a secretary calls to set the day and time. “As soon as I arrive at the entrance to the property, some of the nannies come to meet me in golf carts and we get everything ready for the lesson. I teach each one separately and one of the staff accompanies me until I dismantle everything and leave.” The teacher explains that the Qatari royal family loves sports and the sheikh’s daughters for whom she provides services even have a coach who accompanies them whenever they go to practice the various sports they practice during the week full of activities, such as soccer.
