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Ammon News - The largest sports university in the world has bestowed its highest international honour on the International Equestrian Federation president, Princess Haya.

Princess Haya was the winner of the United States Sports Academy's 2010 Eagle Award for her contribution to equestrian sports and the Olympic Movement.

She was Jordan's first female professional athlete and the first female to represent her country internationally in sport, as a 13-year-old jumper.

She was the first woman to claim a medal in equestrian sports at the Pan-Arab Games, earning a bronze in jumping. She also competed in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

This year she became a member of the International Relations Committee for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after serving three years on the IOC.

In early November, she was re-elected to serve a second term as president of the FEI, having been first elected in 2006.

Princess Haya has been an IOC member since 2007 and has served on the IOC Athletes' Commission (2005-2010) and on the Commission for Culture and Olympic Education. She is also president and founder of the International Jordanian Athletes Cultural Association.

Princess Haya has a strong humanitarian presence both on local and international levels. Her work and interests focus on humanitarian issues and human development concentrated primarily on the areas of health, education, youth and sports.

She continues to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those of eliminating poverty and hunger. She was the first Arab and first woman to serve as World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador (2005-2007) and in September 2007, Princess Haya was selected by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, the highest honour bestowed on a global citizen by the United Nations Secretary-General to address pressing problems around the world.

Princess Haya is the daughter of the late King Hussein Bin Talal, of Jordan, and the late Queen Alia Al Hussein. She is the wife of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Eagle Award is the United States Sports Academy's highest international honour. It is presented to a world leader in sport to recognize that individual's contributions in promoting international harmony, peace and goodwill through the effective use of sport.

The Alabama-based United States Sports Academy is the largest sports university in the world.

* Horse Talk