Rima, an American, was meeting her father in Amman to attend a wedding later that week. She was in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt with family and friends when a suicide bomber entered and detonated explosives. Rima was killed instantly and her father died from his injuries two days later. The attack was among three simultaneous bombings in the city.
“Rima is a totally American girl,” Patty Akkad said of her daughter, “who was killed for no reason.”

Rima was an avid polo player, achieving a 1-goal rating, and started playing when she was 8 years old. She was a “junior” member of the Santa Barbara Polo Club, member of the El Dorado Polo Club, had played at various clubs around the United States and even abroad in Argentina, France and Dubai, where the Dubai players had never seen a woman play before.

“Rima loved polo so much,” said Patty Akkad, surveying the crowd seated on the grass burm fronting the field. “It was part of our family for so many years. When Rima played, I was never worried…polo gave us so much.”
Rima received many honors for her polo, including Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Women’s Open. She played for the University of Southern California Trojans Women’s Polo Team, where she was attending and earned a Bachelors degree in International Studies in 1995.

"Rima was like a sister to me when we were growing up in Southern California," commented Sunny Hale who was unable to attend. "We traveled all over California playing polo after school and on weekends,Rima was always one of the most fun people to be with,especially on a road trip.She lived life with a smile and loved her family,animals,horses and playing polo.Rima was not only a great person but an absolute one-of-a-kind treasure that is going to be missed by everyone".
After graduating from USC, she pursued a master’s degree in Middle East Studies at the American University in Beirut, where she met her husband, Ziad Monla. She made her home in Beirut where they were raising their two young boys. Rima enjoyed traveling and made frequent visits back to the United States, where she shared her love of horses with her children.

 “When she sat them on these two ponies, she said, ‘Look at that, they have such a natural seat.’ She really wanted her kids to be athletic,” reflected Patty Akkad.
Rima will be remembered at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame with a commemorative permanent brick at the entrance, and USC Polo Alumni have announced an annual sportsmanship award in her name.

Polo America’s three-day event benefited the Armed Services YMCA of Twentynine Palms, which provides program assistance to families of Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.