LEEHEE MINTZ | ליהיא מינץ

Rocking thick boots, building high confidence: That I’m bringing something unique.

My name is Leehee, I am 24 years old from Tel Aviv- Jaffa, but these last few years I lived in Warendorf, Germany. A small Olympic village where I study equestrian theory and practice from the perfect physics needed to make that jump to all the love and strength needed to power mammal bodies.

Slowly connecting the dots, by placing intent on how body and mind are one in the same. I've faced many challenges, broken bones, broken spirit, and the gripping grief of being far from home when things fall apart. Replaced  body breaking with growing and building.

Not hesitating to plunge towards crazy opportunities, knowing sanity is for those who do not have imagination.

Embrace change, the universe knows.

But for you to be able to embrace change you must first know yourself and where you are from.

My mother's parents are North African, from Fez and Tripoli, they met in the holy land and ignited each other's flame. My father's parents from Krakov and the old city of Jerusalem, they met as they both were studying law in Jerusalem whilst my grandmother was simultaneously getting a Visual Arts degree. 

Each ancestor so drastically different yet each holding passion and courage close to their hearts. There is a family history filled with entrepreneurship, rebellion, and moral clarity to know when to remain human when all obstacles tell you otherwise.

Having such a rich background makes me a sort of chameleon, and then came the perfect habitat, I went to an international french school from kindergarden until the beginning of high-school where each student was from a different corner of the globe. This habitat gave me the tools to become a mega chameleon, learning French, English, and Hebrew languages from a young age helped me master language learning capabilities that push me to not be afraid of my potential. Today I speak fluent German as well, but I always felt that Sports was the language that understood me the most.

In middle school, I was part of the volleyball team—we traveled to Brazil together to compete.

I took part of the Young Ambassadors organization that took me to China, opening my eyes even further to cross-cultural connection and diplomacy.

My passion for horses brought me to the Netherlands, when my peers were partying and studying in highschool I was happily sweeping stables and working on my dream.

Then I came back to serve as a combat soldier and all-around Leatherman knife. I was everywhere I was needed.

‏A Lesson I’ll Never Forget

Dollar

‏Was my young horse, still a bit disoriented and not fully respecting me yet… at the time.

‏Jumping lesson. My timing, my pressure—was triggering him to kick.

‏Instead of finding a way through to the jump, I got stuck in “I can’t.”

‏I kept saying it, hoping my trainer would stop and tell me how to fix it. Toon didn’t.

‏I provoked Dollar again—pressing the same button—just to show what I meant.

‏Because when the horse kicked the first time, Toon’s back was turned, and he didn’t see it.

‏I wanted him to see the problem.

‏I needed him to understand why I couldn’t do it.

‏But I was missing the point.

‏My task wasn’t to prove why I couldn’t jump.

‏My task was to jump.

‏It was never about that horse. Or that jump.

‏It was about life.

‏We spend so much energy explaining our blocks—why we can’t, why it’s hard, why we’re stuck.

‏When what we really need… is that same energy

‏To figure out solutions.

‏To jump.

‏It wasn’t just a riding lesson.

‏It was a life lesson I’ll carry forever.