Princess Haya began horse riding internationally when she was 13. In 1992, she took the bronze medal in individual Jumping at the seventh Pan Arab Games in Damascus, Syria, and in 1993 was named Jordan's athlete of the year. Princess Haya was the first woman to represent her native Jordan in international equestrian sport and the only woman to win a medal in the Pan-Arab Equestrian Games. Having trained for several years in Ireland and Germany, she qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia representing Jordan in show jumping, where she was also her country's flag bearer.