Equilife Issues 11

Equilife Living the Lifestyle

Issue 11

Showjumping ~ World Cup Qualifier â&#x20AC;¢ Gaited Traveller ~ Horses of the Camargue

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From the Publisher......

The Equilife Team

Marketing and Advertising Jacqueline Wood jacqui@equilife.co.za

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Photography

Jacqui S Photography jacqui@equilife.co.za

Contributors

Adrienne Weerheim Pony Club Ashleigh Hughes Turf Diaries Britta Dahms Wine Review Catherine Hartley Beyond Racing Hannah Botha Stable Views Leandri Joubert Endurance Lynne-Marie Eatwell Gaited Traveller Sam Heynes Polocrosse Sikhangele Mbambo A Grooms Insight Simone Howarth SA Young Horse Dressage Series Taneil Arkner The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite

“It’s not a Hobby, it’s a Lifestyle” In the horses eyes we are all equal, it takes a lot of hard work, hours in the saddle training, early mornings turning out for a show. For all of us regardless of talent or how much you bought your last horse for, horses don’t know and don’t care, they come into our lives and change it forever. We spend our lives dedicated to learning all we can to be better horseman. The way in which we connect might be different but that in itself helps us learn from each other and should be encouraged not scoffed at. The foundation of our life choices and passion are the same, horses bring us together: they connect us.

Photography

Adrienne Weerheim Pony Club Liesl King Beyond Racing White Lens Photography Endurance

The Equilife Team

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Contents 9. Beyond Racing ~ From winning the Durban July to winning rosettes at eventing. On the 6th of July 2013, Heavy Metal by Silvano out of Percussion by Baroon, bred by the Orfords at Bosworth Farm Stud made history when winning the Durban July. Partnered by S’Manga “Bling” Khumalo. 22 13 9

15. Turf Diaries ~ ‘The head of a Princess’ Her name Goddess Var is incredibly apt. Her conformation is impeccable and her pedigree is loaded with bold black type champions. 15

19. Young Horse Dressage Series 2017 In an effort to bring young horse classes in South Africa up to the level of the FEI young horse classes, H&R Dressage started the Young Horse Dressage Series in 2016. 19

26. Endurance ~ Colesburg to Klapmuts and a horse called Crypton This month two endurance events flooded me with joy akin to that same blissful warmth you get when, as a little girl on a cold winters morning, you snuggled your nose into the mane of your favourite riding school pony. That feeling that answers the age-old question “This is why I do it”. 37

EUROPE COMING TO SOUTH AFRICA Ever wished you could buy that European brand youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen online being worn by International riders? Ever wanted to buy top quality European equestrian apparel but frightened to buy on the internet in case it is the wrong size? Ever thought you would never have a stockist of top quality European brands nearby? We bring you EQUINEONLINE! High quality equestrian apparel from Europe. We currently have a showroom in Cape Town, a mobile show trailer in Joburg, a pop up gazebo which travels the country, and an online store which offers free returns*(www.shop. equineonline.co.za) We have new stock arriving every 6 months, and more often if required. Our main brands are Cavalleria Toscana, Vestrum, Dyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;on, Art Shoes, Casco, Waldhausen, Flex-on, Kevin Bacon and Equi-theme. *on orders over R1000

Content 30. Reonet World Cup Qualifier 1

30 37

35. The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite 37

43. Gaited Traveller ~ Wild Bliss Horses of the Camargue

Content The Sketch Pad ~ Lynne-Marie Eatwell

Beyond Racing ~ By Catherine Hartley

Saddle Fitting ~ Roberto Rasia

Stable Views ~ Achieving Weight Loss

Turf Diaries ~ â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Head of a Princessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Young Horse Dressage Series 2017

Endurance ~ Colesburg to Klapmuts and Horse called Crypton

Show Jumping ~ Reonet World Cup 1st Qualifier

Spotlight ~ The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite

A Grooms Insight ~ Ties That Bind...

SA Pony Club Team in Zambia

Gaited Traveller ~ Wild Bliss - Horses of Camargue

Wine Review ~ He Stole My Horse

Hillary Hoofpick

To be wild and free; feet caked in thick mud, hair knotted by the wind and slightly sunburnt on the tip of the nose. There is no binding rope, no fence barring the way and nothing demanded. There is the herd and there is me.

THE SKETCH PAD

Finding Flow

By Lynne-Marie Eatwell Since childhood, my great love of horses has been a saving grace for me. Every week I would look forward to my Saturday morning lesson at my aunt Ronel’s riding school in Muldersdrift. It was one of the things that I had always said “had got me through my childhood.” The other was my love for drawing and making art, which one would inevitably find me doing from the moment I could hold a pencil. Mirrored in both these disciplines is the emphasis on attention and practise, listening with focused sensitivity and finding the connection with what we are doing. In riding, it was the feeling of being completely one with the horse, moving in perfect unison with a clear mind. My aunt told me that in athletics these are called ‘white moments’ and that athletes were taught to remember the sensation in their bodies and to consciously try to come back to them when they trained. In psychology it is known as ‘flow’. As in riding and in making art, these moments of flow were very difficult to hold onto; it felt as if most of the time and effort was spent in frustration and difficulty, with only the hope of these experiences spurring me on.

I found was clogging the flow. As a good friend of mine often says, “We find only to lose and lose to find”. It is the paradox of letting go and surrendering that allows us to make connection.

I experimented by thoroughly listening to my thoughts and feelings while painting. I studied not only the ‘white moments’ but also the thoughts that were keeping me from them. What was it that stood in the way? In the paintings that seemed to just work, it often felt as though they were a gift or just created themselves; as if ‘I’ ultimately wasn’t in the way. In looking closer, I noticed that the main parts of me that were absent in these moments were my worries, fears and ambitions like ‘what if I can’t get it right? I’m not good enough’, or ‘how am I going to sell this painting and get through the month; what if I don’t make it?’ It was all this stress and ambition that I had attached to myself that

More and more I found myself wanting to break free from those thoughts that pinned me down in my life and kept me struggling through each day. I longed to express that freedom in my work and to connect with the raw creative energy that was begging to be released – something that we all have inside of us. Although I have always loved horses, as an artist I had done comparatively few paintings of them over the years. I mostly painted people’s children playing on the beach, portraits or everyday life

THE SKETCH PAD

scenes. I even studied classical drawing at the Florence Academy of Art, which taught me a great deal but ultimately didn’t free me from the fears of not being good enough. I started to escape into these ‘white moments’ or ‘flow’ paintings and found myself repeatedly choosing the image of the horse as the subject. My heart would swell every time a beautiful horse walked past my gate and I saw perfection pulse though its powerful muscles. I realized that the horse to me was the perfect embodiment of flow, rhythm and raw, uncomplicated energy. They expressed within themselves the very thing I was looking for and they became my symbol of inner freedom. It made sense to link the two.

sharpening my understanding to eventually be able to work from instinct rather than reference. I made a life-size sculpture of a scene I saw two years ago of a group of horses standing in a row watching the helicopters put fires out on Chapman’s Peak; two suddenly turned their heads together in what I can best describe as an embrace. I would like to cast this in bronze as well.

I started studying horses in great detail. I got a real skeleton from Dawn Jones, an equine chiropractor, and made a half-scale replica out of plaster of Paris, grinding and carving away for two-and-ahalf months. Then I made another quarter-scale ‘ecorche’ showing the bones and muscles, which I I would sketch them in their paddocks and do paintings of them as often as I could, but I kept seeing large paintings of white horse running through water in my mind and I remembered cutting out images from National Geographic as a child of similar scenes. It was only much later that I realized they were the semi-wild horses of the Camargue in France. I continued my mission of steadily overcoming those restricting thoughts and fears that kept me from experiencing flow in my life. I tried to look at everything that I had always wanted to do but thought too far out of my reach or too scary as, ‘Yes, I will do that, I will find my white horse!’ made a mould of and cast in bronze. I made these and other sculptures as realistically as I could so that I could slowly embed their form in my mind,

www.eatwellgallery.com

BEYOND RACING

From winning the Durban July to winning rosettes at eventing By Catherine Hartley On the 6th of July 2013, Heavy Metal by Silvano out of Percussion by Baroon, bred by the Orfords at Bosworth Farm Stud made history when winning the Durban July. Partnered by S’Manga “Bling” Khumalo, their win gave S’Manga the historical accolade of being the first black jockey to win South Africa’s most prestigious race.

Heavy Metal and S’Manga Khumalo - Durban July 2013 Photograph Courtesy Liesl King

In the same stable – yard is another successful racing son of Silvano, Ice Machine (Silvano out of the Elliodor mare, Skid Alley), also aged 8. Ice Machine was trained by Charles Laird for 10 wins (including the Grade 2 Drill Hall Stakes) and 11 places winning stakes money of R1,389,700.

Having run 28 times for 6 wins, 12 places and earnings of R3 799 780 in prize money, Heavy Metal was retired from racing at the end of 2015. Owners Chris and Erich van Niekerk spent some time deciding where to retire him and their paths led to Sue Gilliatt of Global Herbs. Sue’s 15 year old twin daughters, Amy and Beth are both competitive junior riders currently competing on another Bosworth bred Thoroughbred Rieperbahn by Baroon, who is the current 1m KZN eventing Champ, and the mare Fairy Lane by Tamburlane. They have fallen in love with Heavy Metal and he has started his eventing career with some aplomb, winning rosettes at all his shows thus far. Although he is still learning about his new career, he is very keen in the country and his workmanlike nature and heart are evident in everything he does. Clearly a very special character, the Gilliatt girls adore him.

Heavy Metal with the Gilliatt twins Photograph Courtesy Candiese Marnewick

He was retired from racing in August 2016 and has started learning the basics to compete in dressage, show-jumping and cross-country with eventer Heike Harvey in KZN. These two former racing champs look to be continuing their winning ways in their new careers and we look forward to seeing them progress onwards and upwards. Not as successful on the racetrack, but also retired to KZN, is a four year old gelding who raced a handful of times only before being retired last year.

Heavy Metal competing Photograph Courtesy Candiese Marnewick

BEYOND RACING Ice Machine (L) and Heavy Metal with Heike Harvey Photograph courtesy Candiese Marnewick

develop a good firm foundation in all he does. We have entered 2 dressage shows, getting scores in the high 60’s and placing 1st and 2nd. We have done one cross country training day where he never put a foot wrong and exceeded my wildest expectations. Our next big challenge is the Royal Agricultural Show where we will enter a few showing classes.

Mayday is by Royal Air Force out of the Rakeen mare Ardent Lady and has started his new career with Maxine Spalding who tells us their story: “In July 2016, I was on the hunt to find the ‘next big thing’ after the unfortunate loss of my super star OTTB. I hunted high and low with the mind set of wanting a thoroughbred to mend my broken heart, then to school up and compete competitively in Eventing and Show Jumping within the next few years. I decided to message a few trainers I knew, one of them being Kuyan Kotzen, to see what his father, Glen, had coming off the track. He messaged to say he had a little gelding by Royal Air Force but he was unfortunately in Cape Town. Due to being in Durban, the hunt continued as I was not prepared to buy a horse I had never seen. I visited a few yards, tried a few horses and even had one vetted but nothing really caught my eye. After weeks of being unsuccessful and feeling hopelessly disappointed, my mom excitedly showed me a photo of a beautifully put together bay with a little white spot by Royal Air Force that Thoroughbred Rehoming Centre was trying to rehome. It was Mayday, the same horse Kuyan had! The response on his advert was overwhelming and my little green jealousy monster come out.

I would never recommend buying a horse unseen but Mayday is exactly what I’ve dreamed. From his floating trot, to his mature mannerisms, to his cute neigh and sometimes cheeky 4 year old personality, I think I struck gold with him! Maxine and Mayday

Keep sending us your Beyond Racing Thoroughbred stories to catherine@imagineracing.co.za or on Face Book at https://www.facebook.com/BeyondRacingSA/b

“Mom, let’s just buy him and if he’s not my type, I can school him up and sell him on!” Thank goodness I have a mom who supports my wild and sometimes stupid decisions because 3 weeks later and after a 36 hour trip from Phillipi to Durban Shongweni Club, my Mayday walked off the box. It was love at first sight! I hadn’t even ridden him yet but I knew he was the one. I have now owned him for 6 months and in this time we have mainly concentrated on dressage to

SADDLE FITTING

Your customized saddle, the greatest expression of dialogue between your horse and you. The improvements of the saddle made for the rider.

The Erreplus jumping and dressage saddles in particular were developed with Roberto and his team in cooperation with expert saddlers and European riders. By carefully analysing the technical and physical characteristics of several riders that they worked closely with to be able to differentiate the saddle trees, seat and wither in order to create ultimate comfort, support, contact, seat position during both flat work and jumping. These goals of Roberto along with his team were to create ultimate comfort and adjustability for the rider, which featured the new designs as well as to provide maximum freedom and support for the horse. In Particular the JD (deep seat) tree will allow the rider to have an advanced posture which has been found to be useful for ground work and allows better contact for the leg position whilst in the aerial phase of the jump. On the other hand the JF (Flat seat) tree offers an excellent seat which enhances the riders comfort during flat work and during the approaching phase of the jump.

try it both static and non-static as the feeling and comfort changes with the horses movements. The available jumping saddles from Erreplus are: • JF (Jumping Flat) - You will see that the tree

has a particular anatomy in the front part which allows more freedom of movement to the horse’s shoulders. The three holes created in the seat apply to the differences between male and female anatomy. The central front hole gives maximum comfort to the rider during pressure or backward bending of the pelvis.

“The experience buying my Erreplus saddle was an absolute breeze. I am amazed at the technology of the saddle itself. The impact it has had on my horses back as well as how quickly I got used to riding in it. Not to mention the fantastic service given by Claire and the stylish freebies. The brand definitely lives up to its international reputation.” Tyla Leyshon

• JD (Jumping Deep) - The tree has a particular

anatomy in the front part which allows more freedom of movement to the horse’s shoulders. The three holes created in the seat apply to the differences between male and female anatomy. The central front hole gives maximum comfort to the rider during pressure or backward bending of the pelvis

The wide range of saddles allow the rider to have options in how they feel in terms of seat, knee support, and comfort. When sitting and feeling the differences in the saddles, the rider should always

SADDLE FITTING The available dressage saddles from erreplus are: • Adelinde - This saddle demonstrates its excellence by improving the horse’s gait and the rider’s seat If you look closely at the front blocks, you will see they are attached with Velcro in order to respond to the needs of each client individually, one is free to choose a saddle with large or medium blocks, as well as the position of the blocks depending on his way of riding.In this model custom-tailoring is decidedly important: by moving the block by 2 cm upwards it is possible to increase contact in the higher part of the leg, creating a bulge on the saddle flap which increases the contact surface in the higher part of the saddle. ‘I compete on 8 horses. Two of the saddles I ride in areErreplus saddles. I honestly wish I could ride them all in Erreplus saddles. They really keep my position and stability on the horses better than any other saddle and give my horses complete freedom to jump at their best.” Bryce McCall • Erreplus - A saddle which respects the anatomy

of modern horses and which is capable of working with the upper thigh and knee with most possible synergy. If you look closely at the most innovative details: you will see that the block isn’t attached to the sweat flap, but directly on the saddle flap. The saddle’s dimensions also give it a very exclusive and decidedly innovative look.

• JPro (Jumping Pro) - This is a unique design of the

tree that allows the rider a more forward position while providing both excellent comfort during the jump and not allowing the knee to close too much. The rider will experience wonderful balance when compared to other jumping saddles making the JPro the most unique saddle of its kind.

• Elena/Vittoria - The Elena double flap and

the Vittoria Mono flap Dressage saddle’s both represent the perfect combination of tradition and technology. The saddle is designed for the modern dressage horses; the big movers with deep shoulders and short backs. This close contact saddle gives the rider the sensation of moving with the horse. The firm blocks on the saddle place the legs in a more forward position providing support without blocking the rider’s range of movement. These technical features, combined with a deeper and more open seat are providing maximum comfort and greater performance to their rider.

• CA

(Christian Ahlmann) - Christian’s first requirement was developing a larger seat, to guarantee better support to the ischial seat bones area of the rider. Our goal was, also, creating an innovative seat, very soft and comfortable for the rider and this has been possible by the use of a new exclusive double density rubber, soft and resistant. The same careful attention has been devoted to the horse as well, thanks to the application of a new generation flocked panels that are thin and compact and have a larger surface to guarantee uniform support of the rider’s weight on the horse back.

The ultimate experience is riding in an Erreplus saddle. This means that, you, the rider have chosen a saddle for your own personal comfort and feel and are fulfilling your goals and dreams through the saddle together with your horse, your best friend.

“I could feel the difference in my mare the day we fitted the Erreplus saddle on her, the freedom it has given her over her back allows her to move freely and stay relaxed. It has allowed her to develop her muscles correctly and she has never felt better. I gives me peace of mind knowing my horse is comfortable and is able to perform at the best of her ability.” Holly Pope

Bibliography Roberto Rasia Erreplus Saddlery Kerry Hadfield Adelinde Cornelissen

d e d � n s d � No w f o y � t s e � to deﬁne e l d d a s t a e r g a Tel:(011)468-1824 or 0861 midfeeds Emergency: 082 499 8684, Fax:(011)252 5072 E-mail: midfeedspty@mweb.co.za Address: 63 Karee Rd, corner Main Rd, Blue Hills, Kyalami. PURVEYORS OF THE EQUESTRIAN LIFESTYLE

www.tackntogs.co.za

STABLE VIEWS

Achieving Weight Loss

By Hannah Botha - MSC Equine Science (Royal Agricultural College UK) What happens if your horse struggles to keep his weight down? Where do you start? Feeding for key nutrients, whilst maintaining digestive health, all without supplying excess calories can be quite tricky and requires commitment from all involved.

The best way for a horse to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than it uses. Therefore, the aim is for the horse to simply consume less calories, use more calories through exercise, or ideally, a combination of both.

as Laminitis, a feed like Equus Safe ‘n Lite is an excellent option as it offers a low NSC diet which is ideal for these horses.

Remember, that loss of weight will take time. Aim to have your horse lose weight over a 3 – 6 month period, even longer if it’s a large amount.

This is a must! While more hay can help a horse gain weight, hay cannot just be taken away to assist a horse in losing weight. Horses need at least 1% of their body weight in hay per day, (ideally 1.5%) to help care for the gut and ensure it functions properly. Feeding below this 1% mark can cause serious digestive problems, as well as boredom-related behaviours, such as wood chewing or pawing.

Keep the Hay

Consuming less calories For most horses, the first step for weight loss is to cut unnecessary calories from “bucket feed” and treats. This is often hard for many owners who feel ‘mean’.

What about Grazing?

The reason for cutting horses’ bucket feed is that most contain a high level of Non Structural Carbohydrates (NSC) which includes sugars and starches. These ingredients can be a problem for horses prone to weight gain and are especially important to avoid in overweight horses with laminitis, IR and even Cushing’s Disease. Further, concentrate feeds contain more calories per kg than hay and thus are calorie rich, an unnecessary option for horses needing to lose weight.

Pasture is often a diet issue for many horses. A grossly obese horse should not have access to any grazing, while a moderately fat horse should have only limited access. However turnout will help your horse to expend more energy so turnout in an arena, for example, is a good option. Remember that hay should still be provided, during this turnout time. Increase exercise

Cutting food altogether from the diet can leave the horse at risk of being slightly short of key nutrients. For those on a strict weight loss program, a small handful of chaff and a Vitamin and mineral powder will help to keep a horse covered in terms of the essentials.

Ideally, horses on a weight loss diet should also have their workload increased. Sometimes this is not possible due to conditions such as laminitis from being overweight but in most cases it is possible to include more work to boost the weight loss progress, even if its simply more walking than normal.

For those able to have a little more, a product such as a Balancer pellet is a good way of providing essentials without adding unnecessary calories. Bear in mind that not much is needed; around 100g per 100kg of body weight per day is more than sufficient.

Lazy Steeds A common problem for the owners of obese horses is that many of these horses are also lazy. This makes it particularly difficult to give them a hard workout. Many owners, therefore, look to food to give the horse more “oomph”. Unfortunately this doesn’t work, as more food means more calories. The best way to counteract a lazy horse is to get it fitter and leaner. As horses lose weight, they will be able put more effort into the exercise and less into carrying around their excess weight. Conclusion As with all changes to the horse’s diet and routine, weight loss should be done slowly. Some serious health issues can result if horses lose weight too quickly. The best advice for horse owners is to keep at it and to be tough.

Another option to help weight loss is to cut traditional concentrates but feed a super fibre alongside hay and grazing. Beet type products are ideal as they provide a lot of fibre in a small amount, thus allowing the horse’s gut to be kept happy without providing too many calories. These can also be fed alongside a Balancer or Vitamin powder. Feeding a super fibre before turnout can also help, as the bulk of the fibre will fill the horse, making him less likely to gorge on grass. If a horse is in good condition but of a breed prone to being overweight or with issues such

TURF DIARIES

“The Head Of A Princess” How to Buy A Racehorse In South Africa

By Ashleigh Hughes All photos by Candiese Marnewick, Courtesy of the TBA/Bloodstock SA. “And SOLD for R5 Million to Shadwell South Africa! Lot 395 from Varsfontein Stud.”

The auctioneer cracks his gavel down hard on the rostrum and the crowd starts buzzing with excitement as he announces further, “This is a new record ladies and gentleman - the highest price ever at the National Yearling Sales!” winners Yorker and Master Sabina, among many others, were all bred there. Their “Roll Of Honour” is really impressive - their track record in producing top horses is undisputed. Her sire is the impressive Var (USA), whose best son Variety Club was a Gr1 winner in Hong Kong. The dam of Goddess Var, Fidelity, is by the current reigning South African Champion Sire Captain Al. The purchaser of this fine filly was Shadwell South Africa, which is the racing operation of HH Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai. His famous blue and white silks have been carried to victory in many graded races here in South Africa and this filly will be trained by Mike de Kock. If she shows good form on the racetrack here, there is no doubt she will continue her campaign overseas at a later stage. Shadwell had an exceptional weekend’s racing here in South Africa immediately after the sales week, with two of their horses winning Gr1 races in Johannesburg, and a third winning horse winning a Gr2 in Durban. On Champions Day at Turffontein on Saturday 6 May, Mustaaqeem (Aus) carried HH Sheik

Goddess Var - the R5 Million NYS record breaker

Her name Goddess Var is incredibly apt. Her conformation is impeccable and her pedigree is loaded with bold black type champions. She was bred and raised at Varsfontein Stud in the Western Cape – where many champions have begun their lives. International winners Irridescence (QEII Cup in Hong Kong 2006), and Perfect Promise ( CF Orr Stakes in Australia 2006) and Gr1 Summer Cup

TURF DIARIES

the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of South Africa would only officially be formed in 1920. The auction was called the Annual Yearling Sale. It grew considerably under the guidance of a Mr H.J. Cook and in his last year at the helm, 1935, there were 67 lots on the sale. At the 2017 National Yearling Sales there were 492 lots offered.

Hamdanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blue and white to win the R1 Million 1200m Gr1 South African Nursery, with rising star jockey Callan Murray in the saddle, for trainer Mike de Kock. Barely four hours later, Rafeef (Aus) won the R1 Million 1000m Gr1 Computaform Sprint, again with Murray aboard. What made these two wins even more remarkable is the fact that these two colts are full brothers! The next day at Greyville down in KZN, Janoobi completed the Shadwell feature trifecta, winning the Gr2 KZN Guineas, masterfully ridden by Piere Strydom.

It was after the Second World War that the South African breeding industry got a major boost. The war had made the import of horses intended for racing very difficult. And in 1950, with pressure from the local breeders, the South African government banned the import of Thoroughbreds for racing purposes. Due to the post-war economic depression, importing livestock for breeding purposes was also curtailed. These restrictions continued well into the 1970s, then that was when the local breeding boom happened. In 1975 there were an astounding 712 lots sold on the National

Every year at the end of the Highveld Feature Race Season, the Bloodstock South Africa National Yearling Sales takes place at the TBA Complex in Germiston, South Africa. It is next to the site where the Gosforth Park Racecourse used to be. The very first issue of the South African Stud Book was published in 1906 but with livestock mostly being imported at that stage, the numbers were small. There was also a very low ratio of mares to stallions at that time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three mares to every stallion. (Our current statistics show that there were 2430 mares and 69 stallions registered for breeding for the 2015/16 season). The reason for that was because of the great distances between stud farms and so suitable transport between them was hard to come by. The first yearling sales took place at the showgrounds in Milner Park, which is plumb in the middle of the Johannesburg CBD, in 1905. There were only two lots on the auction. It was run by the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society back then as

International Bloodstock agent James Bester

TURF DIARIES

also various mixed bloodstock sales during the year, as the demand requires, where horses-intraining, broodmares and other young stock are sold. In 2011 a new independent sales company, Cape Thoroughbred Sales was founded. They hold the Cape Premier Yearling Sale in January every year. The graduates from that sale qualify for two races held at Kenilworth, one over 1200m and the other over 1600m. Each of these races has a stake of US$500 000!

Yearling sales sold for a total of R3 433 050! In 1977 there were some big changes to the format of the sales. The very first “Select Day” was held at Milner Park, and the following day, the “Select Sale” was held at the brand new sales complex at Gosforth Park. Days 3 and 4 reverted back to the Milner Park venue, and it was complete chaos as buyers were rushing between the two venues to view and bid on their fancies. This was far from ideal. However the following year the new sales complex at Gosforth Park was completed - all 843 yearlings were in one place, and were fully under the auspices of the TBA. There are several bloodstock sales every year, all over South Africa. The sales are scheduled to coincide with the feature seasons of the various regions. The Cape Sales are held in January, around the time of the Gr1 Sun Met. Next up is the National Yearling Sales, held in the last week of the Highveld Autumn Feature Race Season. During the KZN Champions Season, in the week leading up to the Vodacom Durban July, the KZN Yearling Sales are held. At the start of the Highveld Spring Feature Season, we are back at the TBA Complex in Johannesburg for the National Two Year Old Sale. It is the same generation of horses as the yearling sales but they all turn a year older on the 1 August. The last major sale of the year is the Ready-To-Run Sale, which is always held in the same week as the Emperor’s Palace Ready-To-Run Cup in early November. Only graduates from that particular sale qualify for that race, which currently has a stake of R2.5 million - a rather appealing incentive to buy a horse off that sale. There are

Hong Kong-based Tony Millard searching for his next champion

Selling a horse on a select sale is not as easy as it sounds. Their pedigrees need to be strong and their conformations need to be good. There is a team of experts which travels from stud farm to stud farm each year, to inspect the sales prospects and check that they are well conformed enough to be on the sale. It is a mammoth task but very

TURF DIARIES purchases in South Africa in the last 2 years. The general trend is to start their racing careers off here in South Africa and if they show any promise, they will be exported to race overseas. South African bred horses are winning Gr1 races all over the world which has driven the price increases each year, in spite of the global economic downturn. In this instance the poor exchange rate works in our favour! There are concerted efforts from all stakeholders to change the movement restrictions, due to African Horse Sickness, to make exporting horses a more viable process.

Goddess Var - the R5 Million NYS record breaker

necessary. What every breeder and buyer is looking for is a pedigree filled with “black type”. When a horse wins a feature, or stakes race (Gr1, Gr2, Gr3 and Listed races), their names will be typed in bold capital letters. This is the “holy grail” which we all aspire to. A “bold black type” mare’s progeny will sell for so much more, as in most cases - racing talent is passed on from mother to foal. If a horse is only placed in a stakes race, their name will be in bold type, but not capital letters – this is referred to as “semi black type”. The more black type you see on a pedigree page, the more valuable the horse will be. In South Africa we have a tradition of naming our yearlings before they are sold, whereas overseas most yearlings are sold unnamed.

As a prospective buyer, if you are not handing over the responsibility of selections and inspections of potential purchases over to a professional bloodstock agent, you should always have an experienced racing person to guide and advise you. It’s a serious business with so much money involved. You will find that the majority of successful owners like Shadwell have a whole network of experts on pedigrees, conformation and veterinary matters, who they rely on to make their selections and purchases at sales on their behalf. I think the best formula, which I have ever heard, on how to pick a top racehorse at the sales, comes from US Hall Of Fame trainer D Wayne Lukas,

To buy a horse at one of these sales, one must apply to the sales company for a Buyer’s Card, which must be applied for before the start of the sale. Overseas most horses are bought by bloodstock agents, who specialise in pedigree research, and have a good eye for conformation. Here in South Africa we have a few top bloodstock agents, but many of the yearlings are selected and purchased by the trainers themselves. Sometimes a trainer will buy a yearling “on spec”, and sell shares in the horse at a later stage. Most yearlings bought before 1 August are then sent to pre-training farms to mature, and eventually be backed in the latter half of the year. The Ready-To-Run sales horses follow the same schedule. They must be able to give a breeze up gallop in the week leading up to that sale. Ready to run is not necessarily “ready to race” though, but the sale still gives excellent value to buyers, who will save a fair amount of “keep” by buying these horses in November, as opposed to the Yearling Sales in the first part of the year.

“They should have a head like a princess, a butt like a washerwoman, and a walk like a hooker”.

With South African-bred horses campaigning very successfully internationally, in spite of the arduous 147 day exit quarantine via Mauritius, there has been significant interest from overseas buyers. Irish-based Coolmore Stud, China Horse Club and various bloodstock agents from Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong have all made

STABLE VIEWS

SA Young Dressage Horse Series 2017

DRESSAGE

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DRESSAGE

SA Young Dressage Horse Series 2017 Lisa Williams and Discovery Campbell

Mission Statement In an effort to bring young horse classes in South Africa up to the level of the FEI young horse classes, H&R Dressage started the Young Horse Dressage Series in 2016. We recognise that the current FEI Young Horse tests are a level above the average young horse in this country. Through the exposure of horses and the education of riders by our local and international judges, we aim to uplift the standard of South Africa’s young horses parallel to that of the FEI standard. We further hope that this series will encourage greater participation in dressage and grow the sport as a whole. Following on from the success of the 2016 series, the following format for 2017 has been adopted.

Format Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal and Western Cape are hosting qualifiers for the 2017 series. H&R Dressage (Simone Howarth and Mickey Vermeulen) will run the Gauteng Series and be responsible for the National Series. Leonie Botha has kindly offered to run the Kwazulu Natal Series and Linda Mohr has kindly offered to run the Western Cape Series. Each province will organise 3 qualifying shows throughout the calendar year, except for KwaZulu Natal who are running 6 to accommodate for the geographics of the province. This cumulates in a Provincial Championship show as well as National Championship. As a requirement for the Provincial Championship show, horse and rider combinations must compete in at least 2 of the qualifying shows. The top 5 horse and rider combinations of each age group at the Provincial Championships will be filmed. The top three of these will go forward to the National Championship. This series, recognised and approved by DSA as a National Series, will be run as affiliated classes, where points gained will be added to the horse’s current grade’s grading points. Horses and riders competing in the series must be fully registered with DSA, with the exception of the 4 year old classes that will be open to recreational riders as well. There are 4 different age categories: 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old and 7 – 9 year old classes. Frequently at CDI shows overseas there is a Small Tour for 7 – 9 year olds. We appreciate that in South Africa, as with all the other age categories, PSG and Inter I is a level or two above what the

average horse here, of that age, is capable of. We recognise that the FEI has added a 7 year old class for young horses in 2016, but we still feel that, in order to encourage progression of the horses that have entered the series, we will still offer the 7 – 9 year old class as it stood in 2016. The 4, 5 and 6 year old classes will be judged like the FEI Young Horse classes, with marks being given for walk, trot, canter, submission and general impression. The 7 – 9 year olds will be judged and scored as a normal, complete test, as they are in the 7 – 9 year olds at CDI shows. In the past, DSA only had one young horse test. For 2017, a test has been written for each of the four age groups have been written and are being used in all qualifiers as well as all championship shows. Due to some confusion with regards to the age of horses eligible for the young horse classes at the 2015 South African Dressage Championships, the format used by the Jumping Young Horse Performance Series will be followed. Each series will follow a Calendar year. The horse must be the required age on 30th June for the year of the series and will remain in that age category for the remainder of that calendar year. (i.e. a horse born any time from 1st July 2010 until 30th June 2011 will be eligible for the 6 year old series this year (2017). This will mean for the 2017 series: Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013: 4 year old Between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012: 5 year old Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011: 6 year old Between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2010: 7 – 9 year old

Sponsorship and Prizes Western Shoppe, as the main sponsor for the 2017 series, is very generously sponsoring all the rosettes for the series, Provincial and National Championship, including medals, sashes and blankets for the National Championship. Each province is responsible for seeking trophies, prizes, etc. for their Provincial Championships.

DRESSAGE

SA Young Dressage Horse Series 2017

2017 Results:

Tied 4th place

Gauteng First qualifier held on 10 April at Kyalami Equestrian Park

Callaho Bendino with 66,0% Owned and Ridden by Ingeborg Sanne 5 year old Hanoverian Gelding By Benicia out of a Weltmeyer mare Cu Chullain Quaiken with 66,0% Owned and Ridden by Ancois Delport 5 year old South African bred mare By Quarts D’Eclipse out of a Cellehof Thaddeus mare

4 year olds:

1st place Adelprag Maximus with 82,4% owned by Niekie Pienaar and ridden by Wium van Huyssteen 2nd place Adelprag Midas-Touch Everest with 79.2% owned by Niekie Pienaar and ridden by Wium van Huyssteen 3rd place Adelprag Mieka Van Benmar-Black with 76.4% owned by Niekie Pienaar and ridden by Wium van Huyssteen 4th place Tannenhof Bardos with 75.8% Owned and ridden by Helene Pieterse 4 year old South African bred gelding By Connoisseur out of a Clarinius mare

1st Place Adelprag Laes Fan’t Alddjip with 79.2% Owned and Ridden by Chere Burger 6 year old imported Friesian stallion By JIsse 433 out of a Jasper 366 mare 2nd Place Adelprag Hilton with 76.2% Owned and Ridden by Andri du Plessis 6 year old South African bred Friesian stallion By Haye Fan Fallingasate out of a Winkke 404 mare Bred by Adelprag stud

5 year olds 1st place Adelprag Orlando Van Doorndraai with 83.2% Owned and ridden by Chere Burger 5 year old South African bred Friesan Stallion By Tjalf 443 Sport out of a Friso Fan Sport mare Bred by the Doorndraai stud

3rd place

2nd place T.I. Spartacus with 77.2% Owned by Ina Kruger and ridden by Carl Boonzaaier 5 year old South African bred gelding By Sir Oldenburg out of a Harvard mare 3rd place Advance’s Berghof Fahrenheit with 68,0% Owned by Lisa Tait and ridden by Andrea Harrison

6 Year old Results:

Callaho Grandeur B with 74.2% Owned by Sue McCall and ridden by Kyla Griffin 6 year old South African bred By Granulit out of a Land Earl mare

7-9 year old 1st place: Adelprag Quick Silver with an average of 67.90% Owned and Ridden by Chere Burger Imported Oldenburg gelding By Quaterback out a Stedinger mare 2nd place: Adelprag Alwin with an average of 63,02% Owned by Niekie Pienaar and ridden by Wium Van Huyssteen Imported Friesan Stallion By Tsjerk 328 out of a Teunis 332 mare

DRESSAGE

SA Young Dressage Horse Series 2017 3rd place: Kuda Insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Callaho Ludanos with an average of 61,43% Owned by Susan Berry and ridden by Ian Van Schalkwyk Imported Oldenburg gelding By Luwigs AS out of a Lordanos mare

2nd place: Furst Fidelius with 64.11% Ridden by Suzie Michaelides

4th place: Devondale Cameo with an average of 50.2% Owned and ridden by Aleksandra Weidhase South African bred Boerperd mare By Lang Carel Tiptol out of a Carel Hanke Fleur II mare

Kwa-Zulu Natal First qualifier held on 5 March at Shongweni

3rd place: Stratford Dunsinaie with 63.22% Ridden by Carsten Peeters

4 year old 1st place: Midas Touch Bravado with 81% Ridden by Catherine Berning

Western Cape first qualifier held on 19 March 2017 at VRC

2nd place: Bon Ghako Waldo with 71% Ridden by Carey Grey

4 year old: 1st place: Balerian with 68.6% Ridden by Madelaine Davis

3rd place: Aramis wih 66% Ridden by Tracey de Kock

5 year old: 1st place: Herdeiro with 70.6% Owned by Carlos Raposo and ridden Patricia Robertson

1st place: Mossandi Nutcracker with 78% Ridden by Calet de Vos

2nd place: Flicker with 68.4% Ridden by Tracy Coilli 3rd place: Hortela with 67.2% Owned by Carlos Raposo and ridden Patricia Robertson 6 year old: 1st place: Sommelier with 71.4% Owned by Haidee Marklew and ridden by Carsten Peeters 7-9 year old: 1st place: Louis Crusador with 66.51% Ridden by Carsten Peeters

5 year old:

2nd place: Compton House Fanfare with 73% Ridden by Calet de Vos 3rd place: Jason van Doorndraai with 72% Owned and ridden by Mariska Botha 6 year old: 1st place: Damascus van der Cumul with 72% Owned and ridden by Jocelyn Constant 7-9 year old: 1st place: Kuda Insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Compton House Quantico with 65.44% Ridden by Catherine Berning

DRESSAGE

SA Young Dressage Horse Series 2017 2nd place: Mossandi Noctus with 65% Ridden by Calet de Vos

Kwa-Zulu Natal second qualifier held on 26 March at Shongweni 4 year old: 1st place: Von Ghaku Waldo with 72% Ridden by Carey Grey

5 year old: Jason van Doorndraai with 73% Owned and ridden by Mariska Botha 7-9 year old: Kuda Insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Compton House Quantico with 63.8% Ridden by Catherine Berning Kwa-Zulu Natal third qualifier held on 26 March at Shongweni 4 year old: 1st place: Mossandi Night of Jazz with 86% Ridden by Calet de Vos 5 year old: 1st place: Mossandi Nutcracker with 77% Ridden by Calet de Vos 6 year old: 1st place: Damascus van der Cumul with 73% Owned and ridden by Jocelyn Constant 7-9 year old: 1st place: Mossandi Noctus with 59.58% Ridden by Calet de Vos

ENDURANCE

Colesberg to Klapmuts and a horse called Crypton

Photography Courtesy: White Lens Photography

By Leandri Joubert This month two endurance events flooded me with joy akin to that same blissful warmth you get when, as a little girl on a cold winters morning, you snuggled your nose into the mane of your favourite riding school pony. That feeling that answers the age-old question “This is why I do it”. The first is related to my ongoing obsession with Gordon Date’s photography and the other, watching a very special horse cross the finish line for the last endurance ride of his career. On the first weekend in April I found myself in the Garden Route for a friend’s wedding. The beautiful location begged to be explored, but I hosted a thriving pity party for one, as work commitments afforded no such luxury. To make matters worse, a few 100km west from me, the Colesberg endurance ride was in full swing, and my phone was peeping with screens shots of photos of riders gracefully making their way across the scenic Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve. Naturally, I had to share the pictures and find out a bit more about the ride.

PC and Marica Ferreira rose to the challenge by opening their magnificent Karoo Gariep Guest Farm to the club and the new venue has gone down a hit with all riders! This year the club faced another challenge when they had to move the date of the event, this resulted in it being very close to the South African International Challenge and so fewer riders entered. Despite this, Trevor explains, they still had 68 competitors and it was an exceptionally relaxed and enjoyable event. The truth of this being evident when you look at the selection of images we decided to feature here.

I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the Colesberg Endurance Club’s members, Trevor Rous. He explained to me that this ride is the annual ride hosted by the club and it was a result of wonderful team work from both the committee as well as gracious sponsorships from the community. These included Equifeeds and Colesberg OVK. This ride usually attracts large numbers and has established itself over the years, but last year it became necessary to relocate the event to a new venue. Now such a change strikes both fear and excitement into any committee’s hearts, as finding a venue with suitable accommodation and camping space, that can accommodate 100 odd horses and provide 120 kilometres worth of suitable riding terrain, is no small feat.

Photography Courtesy: White Lens Photography

ENDURANCE

Fast forward a few weeks, the Swartland Endurance Club also took on the challenge of putting on a brand-new ride in the picturesque Boland region of Klapmuts. It presented its own challenges with the recent drought leaving the usually breath-taking scenery wanting, the dust ample and the trusty South Easter testing the sense of humour. Despite uncanny heat, and witnessing both horses and riders taking a dip in the dam, it was smiles all round. The biggest smile of the day however had to belong to Gillese De Villiers, as she crossed the finished line on board her beloved Crypton - the final lap of more than a decade of competitive riding and 5000 official kilometres together.

so did not complete his novice phase herself, but soon after an opportunity presented itself for Gillese to travel and compete at the 2008 World Endurance Championships in Malaysia. There was however the slight challenge of qualifying and she decided to take this gutsy young horse and take the leap straight into attempting the FEI*** 160km ride in Albertinia. Crypton delivered and soon they found themselves on the long quarantine journey to their destination. After a cold European winter and many months, the pair found themselves on the start line of World Champs and completed the ride in 42nd place in a field of 126 riders. After this once in a lifetime experience, the long journey home followed, and it was not without mishap where some administration issues resulted in Gillese having to buy her horse from herself to get him back into the country. But home she got her feisty bay gelding, a bay gelding that drew

This is not the first horse of Gillese to have achieved this milestone, but anybody that knows her will tell you that this is definitely her favourite and his 5000km achievement is even more spectacular when you hear his story. Gillese first got Traka Crypton as a 6-month-old foal, and she admits that he is definitely not her most talented horse, but that they have such a bond where â&#x20AC;&#x153;he is my horse and I am his personâ&#x20AC;?. Crypton started his endurance career under the old novice rules that required only three slow 80km rides to be out of novice, after which the competitive options were wide open. Gillese was pregnant at the time,

ENDURANCE

such she opted for the longer, but calmer 160km races of which he has completed 12 competitive rides in his decade long career. Gillese considered retiring him on numerous occasions, but Crypton did not agree. So, she steadily kept him going with small rides here and there, with the final milestone being 5000 official kilometres. At the 80km to go mark, Gillese entered him into his final 80, but in the week before the ride he somehow managed to step on a roof nail that perforated into his deep flexor tendon. Gillese was devastated and realised that she very likely had to make peace with falling short of their goal. Three weeks later, in true Crypton style, he showed that he had other plans and I was there to witness the 17-year-old gelding’s final canter across the finish line.

attention of many big players offering her several blank cheques. “I have sold and exported many horses, but with Crypton I knew that we had something special and I couldn’t sell him for all the money in the world.” A year later she noticed that he showed some signs of joint trouble, but Cipla Pharmaceuticals came on board and has sponsored him a supply of GCS MAX ever since. “People come to me and say ‘He looks so beautiful!’ and I tell them, ‘No, he is beautifully looked after’. Gillese continued to carefully compete him, but in 2012 disaster struck when Crypton was diagnosed with an Ethmoid Haematoma. He received an initial course of treatment, but after a year the nose bleeds returned and Gillese was left heartbroken knowing that they were essentially sitting on a time bomb. Surgery was an option, but most horses died on the operating table. After vigorous research, she found an alternative approach to the surgery and her vet agreed to give it a go. The surgery was conducted on 30 October 2013 and Crypton made a full recovery. Within 4 months he was ready to go and placed 4th in the prestigious Louis Botha 160km ride. “There is just something about this horse, he just won’t give up, he won’t back down”.

What are the plans for him now? “Well he is not that happy hack type horse, and if you leave him for long you have to start the backing process

Ever since then Gillese has been OCD (her own words) about how she rides him and what rides she competes him in. He is not an easy ride and as all over again! We are letting him think he is still a competition horse, getting some token concentrates with his oat hay! Going forward I want him to enjoy his well-earned rest and I look forward to everyday kissing his nose over my morning coffee. He is my once in a lifetime horse and has given me more than any horse I have ever worked with.” So, I guess for this month, the moral of the story is – no matter what discipline we do, we all just want to end the day with that warm horsey breath and velvety nose letting us know that everything is going to be ok. We see it in the smiles of the Colesberg riders, and one sees it in the heart of the Courageous Crypton.

TURF DIARIES

REONET WORLD CUP QUALIFIER 1 2017

2017 Reonet World Cup Qualifier 1 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

Samantha McIntosh ~ Let’s Win Lisa Williams ~ Discovery Campbell Bronwyn Meredith Short ~ Fountain of Love Rainer Korber ~ Clouny 3 Nicole Horwood ~ Mark White Nissan Capital Hitoshi Cayleigh Triggol ~ Callaho’s Louisa Dominey Alexander ~Armageddon Tara Louw ~ Kuda Insurance’s Foreigner

1.40 Riders Grand Prix 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th

Mandy Johnstone ~ Lambus Jeanne Korber ~ Style Fragrances Callaho Fiorella James White ~ Callao Confidor Leona van der Merwe ~Erreplus Zazou Tracy Davids ~ Franlaren Lord Larrymore Lorette Knowles Taylor ~ Catwalk 22 Laurence Mowatt ~ Tack n Togs Hillview Paddy Jonathan Clarke ~ Data Sciences Hummer vh Bevrijdthof Jonathan Clarke ~ Data Sciences Enouche RK Chris Van der Merwe ~ Capital Castigo Jonathan Clarke ~ Data Sciences Southern Comfort

REONET WORLD CUP QUALIFIER 1 2017 Reonet 1.35 Riders Championship 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th

Grant Langley ~ Foresyte Bengston Stacey Lee Weston ~ Weston Farriers Frischgewagd Billabong Tamara Rueda ~ Quantas 18 Lara Neill ~ Opium de Sauge Hayley Preen ~ Voigskirch Dunmore Barry Taylor ~ Cody Island Lauren Smorenburg ~ Adawnments Capital Uzzi Ronnie Healy ~ FFH Callaho Floyd Erin dos Santos ~ Cincinati Tamara Rueda ~ Baly 2 Mandy Johnstone ~ Douglas M Nicola Sime Riley ~ Sunny Park Crispin Leona van der Merwe ~ Capital Cavalier Carl Boonzaaier ~ Callaho Casperon Bronwyn Meredith Short ~ Quidchin Bellignies Z

Reonet 1.30 Championships 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 15th

Lorette Knowles Taylor ~ Callaho Cento’s Boy Cailin Fensham ~ Saturne du Pachis Jason Phillips ~ Voigtskirch Orrinoco Thomas Triggol ~ Callaho’s Charlien 7 Laurence Mowatt ~ Evergreen M Liam Stevens ~ Nissan Calina Laurin Mclaren ~ Locarno Nandi Chatan Hendricks ~ Biogens Greta G Samira Rexrodt ~ Gipsy Robyn Shaw ~ Novastud Neuland Nitelife Colin Ferreira ~ Arden Valeva Charley Ann Crockart ~ Fantastic Flight Ivana Callender - Easby ~ Callaho’s Carnaval La Silla Tracy Davids ~ Callaho For Rain Simon Hendry ~ Guanna van HD Gail Foxcroft ~ Equifox Sting

SADDLE FITTING

SPOTLIGHT

The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite

By Taneil Shani Arkner The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite, a dual education system, offering both academic and equestrian tuition opened its doors in January 2014. academic tuition as well as a thorough equine education for learners from Grade R to Matric. The maximum class size of 15 learners allows educators to focus and provide individual attention for each and every learner. Equine Studies are offered as an optional examination subject. Horse riding lessons are taught daily between academic periods throughout the day. Our dedicated equestrian coaches and facilitators help learners prepare and study for their EQASA exams and accompany learners to shows where our learners and coaches compete nationally, learners participate in SANESA school league competitions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;.

Together Taneil Shani Arkner and Melissa Jeanne Arkner founded The IEA Elite Academic and Equestrian academy, in 2014. This venture was brought about when the Racing and Equestrian academy closed their equestrian section. Taneil having been home schooled by Melissa completed Gr 10-12 at the Racing and Equestrian academy, saw the need for an equestrian academy in the South of Johannesburg. Taneil spent 3 years at Summerveld where she matriculated. She was also able to achieve her SANEF qualifications (now know as EQASA) during the same 3 years, thus giving her the following qualifications along with her matric certificate. Horse Riding Instructor, Stud Manager, Stable Yard Manager, Vets assistant and Racing Assistant trainer.

We heard about Impaq towards the end of 2014 and decided that this was the curriculum for our academy, we immediately recognize the benefits of the Caps + system. In 2015 with only 20 children enrolled, Taneil employed more teachers on the academic side and more coaches on the equestrian side. She enrolled all our riding learners at (South African National Equestrian Schools Association) SANESA and she is happy to say the results have been phenomenal. The IEA Elite are currently sitting 2nd in our category in the SANESA schools league ratings.

Being passionate about horses and having seen how interacting with horses benefited herself and her peers, she decided she wanted to share this experience with as many other children as possible. The Immaculate Equestrian Academy (IEA) Elite, based in Golfview, Walkerville, South of JHB and is a co-ed, English medium, non-denominational primary and high tutor centre. The IEA Elite offers a dual schooling experience: full day Impaq

SPOTLIGHT Because our academy is so unique and there are so few like this in the country, we do offer boarding and livery facilities.

The Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite

Learners are expected to excel in both academic and equestrian studies although not all The IEA Elite learners participate in the sport of horse riding. The tuition hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00pm with our dedicated teaching and admin staff on duty all day. We provide a full lunch between 12.30pm to 1pm this is included in the tuition fees.

Taneil and fellow equestrians, Meggan, Diane, Tina and Candice, are keen and eager to share their knowledge and love of horses. “We are very excited to be able to provide children with the opportunity to learn to ride and educate them in the peaceful environment. It is always captivating to see how quickly children fall in love with horses,” said Taneil. “Furthermore, Mr Phillip, who is our principal & maths teacher, has a passion for helping children learn and is always whiling to assist with the daily academic needs.”

Our Vision is to be the academy of choice for equestrians and aspiring entrepreneurs alike. Our mission and values are in an environment of integrity, hard work and responsibility we aim to provide the best of both worlds. Academic skills and equestrian skills of an international standard. The IEA Elite hold a 1 week pony camp every school holiday. The camp is a 5 night sleep over where children of all ages are exposed to the horses everyday. Some children already love horses and some have never interacted with a horse before. At the end of one week all children are comfortable with the horses and are even riding them. Kidz Club monthly rallies are held at The IEA Elite to allow children from all walks of life to mingle, network and socialise. The annual membership fee is only R350.00 and activities include team building, arts and crafts, mounted and unmounted activities and the list goes on.

The equestrian sport being notoriously expensive, Taneil has manage to keep the costs to a minimum, however as learners progress it is impossible to avoid the rising cost of being a rising equestrian. Success always has a price. Our motto is ‘Inspiring Entrepreneurs’ and we start this process from grade R. Each year The IEA Elite have a market day held especially for our learners to produce, market and sell their wares. Encouraging learning through practise. This year market day will be held on the 27th of August 2017, please come an support our future entrepreneurs, gates open at 9am find us on google maps THE IEA ELITE. Follow our news on facebook.

The IEA are currently accepted applications for 2017 and 2018. For further information contact: Taneil Arkner cell: 082 449 6663 email: taneilimmaculate@gmail.com or Marica Grobler cell: 082 087 3538 email: info@iea-elite.co.za

Taneil’s vision is to produce learners who will not only fit into the corporate world and equestrian circles but will also have the confidence to start their own business ventures. We are not a therapeutic or special needs school. However we have been able to help the odd learners with behavioural difficulties because of the small number of learners per teacher ratio.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF SPOTLIGHT

The

Immaculate Equestrian Academy Elite ? Contact US today: Email: info@iea-elite.co.za Tel: 016 065 0080 google maps THE IEA ELITE

ALLOW US TO TELL YOU A LITTLE (BIT) ABOUT OURSELVES.

WE ARE THE BEST of both worlds, an academic and equestrian academy

www.iea-elite.co.za Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s app 072 338 8041 and we will call you.

Termly and weekly boarding facilities with optional private rooms available 37

A GROOMS INSIGHT

Ties that Bind...

By Sikhangele Mbambo

I heard about Warren long before I met him and have to say that when I did finally meet him, he didn't disappoint at all. He is an awesome gentleman, loves his job, loves his horses and totally adores his talented boss Charley Crockart. Our visit to their yard was a memorable experience as the camaraderie among the grooms is amazing, we were literally smiling for the rest of that day. The dogs cavorting in and out of the arena , the grooms going about their business, the horses looking on and munching away, the professional and talented rider taking her horse through its paces while chasing dogs out of the arena .........a beautiful charming scene. Everyone looks up to Warren and no matter what he is doing, he accommodates them without missing a beat in his own routine. Because he is so involved with everything and everyone, I literally had to follow him around the stables to get answers from him, I wasn’t the only one either, Charley stopped in to say she wanted to try a new bit on Derby, his answer was a loaded look and she nodded back and said, okay maybe not. The other grooms were in and out, instructions were given and all the while Warren was busy shoeing a horse, talking to me, teaching one of the guys who is learning to shoe and occasionally patting one of the dogs. Please tell me about yourself My name is Warren Makoto, I am 37 years of age, married with 4 children, the oldest is 17 and currently doing his O levels at Face to Face Academy in Harare. My youngest Tawananyasha is

A GROOMS INSIGHT only 16 months old, 3 of my children are boys and Noreen their sister is 12 years of age and in grade 6. My wife also works for Charley, as her housekeeper. How did you get into horses? I initially worked for Charley’s aunt, Anne Shepherd way back in 2000. She was a showjumper based in Chisipite, and I looked after 5 of her 10 horses. She taught me all the basics of grooming and how to live with horses. When she left for South Africa, I started working for Charlie who taught me even more about horses. Charlie is an amazing showjumper who also teaches children and her work involves quite a lot. I have been fortunate in working with her as I have learnt so much more than most grooms learn in their lifetime. What is a typical day in your life?:

I normally take the horses for an outride, to keep them exercised.

I wake up at 6 am, have a quick bath and a cup of tea then I go and check on the horses at 6:30 am. I feed them breakfast, 14% Pro-feed as well as Lucerne Chaff when we are in Zimbabwe and, Epol 14% together with Spurwing Lucerne when we are in South Africa. Part of the daily routine is making sure that the animals are watered and drinking from clean buckets. My breakfast is at 8:00 - 8:30 am. When I get back, I note down the temperatures of each individual horse and do an overall check on them. At the moment, I have 2 horses that I am in charge of that we brought over from Zimbabwe, Derby is a stallion currently jumping 1.10m but about to go into the 1.20m. My other horse is Gangster, a gelding, doing well at 1.30m.

Evening feed is 4:30 pm, same food and portions as breakfast. This is the time that the horses get their supplements, MSM, Limestone Flour, and Vegetable oil in their food. My last check of the horses is at 8 pm, when I am satisfied that they are all well then my day is done . What other skills do you have? Complete farrier work - there are so few good farriers in Zimbabwe that Charley taught me the basics and then I had proper lessons from some qualified farriers that came to Zimbabwe from Switzerland in 2004. They taught me how to trim horses’ hooves, shape the shoe and everything involved in shoeing a horse. I shoe the horses every four weeks and afterwards I use a moisturizing hoof cream to keep the hooves healthy. Every time that there is a qualified farrier in the country, Charley and I have refresher courses just to keep ourselves up to date.

9:00 am, the horses all go out, and the stables are mucked-out. We have a few guys at the moment learning to be grooms and part of my job is checking on their progress and showing them the ropes. I check on the water, refill teff nets with grass and lucerne in the paddocks. At 11:30 the horses come in for lunch which is half a portion of what they had at breakfast. My lunch break is from 12 pm - 2 pm, and when I get back I start general grooming. If Charley is not around to ride,

As the head groom, I train new grooms and at the moment I am also training one of our guys, Mubaiwa Chizuma, to shoe horses as well. I know how to ride horses and Charley has taught me the basic veterinary.

A GROOMS INSIGHT What do you think is important in setting up a yard? Efficiency and special attention to detail. Grooms that are treated well, treat their employer well too. We all love Charley and we will do anything for her. Grooms quarters should be close to the horses and grooms should be taught the proper way to treat horses What is your favorite show venue? Maple Ridge Equestrian Farm, the place is beautiful and peaceful. They have great amenities, great staff who always welcome us and look after us well. My other favorite venue is Exhibition Park in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is always beautifully kept, we have lots of fun there and it is one place that is still thriving despite the downfall in the economy.

What advice would you give a budding farrier? It is very important to understand where the hoof ends and the nerves begin. If you make a mistake, you cause the horse a lot of discomfort and set the horse’s hoof growth back. What do you say to Charlie before she goes into competition? Not a lot, she knows what she is doing, as long as she warms up properly. Sometimes when she makes mistakes in the arena, like pulling the bit, we will talk about it but she always knows too. (Such faith and pride......)

PONY CLUB

The South African Pony Club Team in Zambia 2017

By Adrienne Weerheim Photography Couresty: Adrienne Weerheim The first thing you notice about Zambia is the clean, fresh air that is so easy to breathe, and the second thing you notice is how relaxed and friendly the people are. From the locals riding bicycles packed with sacks of coal, who smile and greet you with the happiest of good mornings, to the ex-pats who arrive in their smart 4x4s and who argue with each other over who gets to host the South African Pony Club Team. Right from the start we knew that this was going to be a weekend to remember. The team of four, chosen to represent their country in Zambia for a weekend of Dressage and horse jumping, were from Cape Town, Holly Robinson, from Johannesburg, Alex Cromme and from KZN, Ashley Markham and Tyler Olivier. Four teenagers were chosen from a pool of horse riders around the country, who had outshone the rest. These accomplished riders were given a choice of six horses, owned by various people in the surrounding Leopard Hill neighborhood, a small country town, just outside of Lusaka. The unknown horses were tried out on the afternoon before the event began, and rider was matched to horse, by the South African Chef Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;equipe, Adi Weerheim. And with each rider happy with their selected steed, South Africa was ready for the Zambian Pony Club Event which took place over the next three days.

competitors, grooming, plaiting and cleaning tack to be ready for the following day. Friday morning kicked off with Dressage, where our SA riders showed off their skills in the ring and were placed 2nd, Holly Robinson, 3rd, Ashley Markham, 5th Alex Cromme and 6th Tyler Olivier out of a pool of 18 riders, resulting in victory for South Africa in the Team Dressage Event. Later that afternoon, all competitors competed in a clear round show jumping class which allowed SA to practice on their allocated horses over a 90cm track. All four went clear! So far so good.

The show is held annually at Kiara Farm outside Lusaka and hosted by Zara and Chris Nicolle and their two teenagers, Madelaine and Nicolas who have inherited their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; superb riding skills. Teams from local riding schools started arriving with their horses, as well as a team of riders from Zimbabwe, and soon the farm was alive with excited

PONY CLUB Saturday started with the Precision and Speed classes. Holly picked up a ride in the 80cm on a horse called Red Royal and placed 3rd. She went clear in the 90cm on her team horse, Millennium Rouge but unfortunately was a tad slow and just out the placings. Alex was given a second horse to ride in the 90cm called Jetta and went clear and placed 3rd on her team horse called De La Grey. Tyler competed on her team horse, Dutchess, and had a fantastic round but unfortunately clipped the last pole on the course. Ashley had a good clear in the 90cm on her horse, Jack Sparrow, and then went on to win the 1m class on a second horse that was lent to her called Grand Kahir.

and scrambled over the first jump knocking the poles to the floor. She then woke up her steed and rode the rest of the course beautifully. Last to go was Holly on Millennium Rouge who jumped a glorious round and placed second. The afternoon saw the final and most anticipated event – the Team Show Jumping Event. Four teams were entered, each with their eye on the prize. South Africa and 4 Zambian Teams. Unfortunately disaster struck for South Africa as they waited outside ready to go into the arena for the parade. Tyler’s Duchess was kicked in the leg, rendering her lame and unable to compete. This was followed by a mad, unsettling scramble to find her another horse. She was luckily lent Ashley’s second ride, Grand Kahir and went off to tack up and quickly get to know him in the warm up arena. The teams all gathered for the parade before the event and South Africa looked very smart in their brightly coloured shirts and SA flags flying high as they rode around the ring, proud to be representing their country.

The Arena Eventing followed in the afternoon and South Africa went to sleep! Holly and Millennium Rouge cleared the show jumping half and then had a refusal at the first eventing jump, the smallest on the course. Ashley went zooming around on Jack Sparrow and looked like she would win it until she forgot her course and cantered straight past jump number eight. Alex jumped beautifully around most of the course until De La Grey spooked at the brush fence resulting in a graceful dismount from Alex and elimination. Tyler and Dutchess also started off well, jumping all the jumps that she was worried about and then fell asleep at the second to last jump which Dutchess refused, resulting in 28 penalties and a Chef D’equipe pulling her hair out on the side of the arena.

Ashley and Alex went in to jump skillfully ridden, clear rounds and then Tyler was up. Her team held their breath as the unsettled rider went in on her new ride to jump her 90cm round. After three wobbly fences they got into their stride and flew around the rest of the course, bravely clearing it. Everyone breathed. Last to go was Holly, our cool cat rider, who proved to be great under pressure and went on to ride a clear. 4 Clears!! We were through to the jump off. Alex and De La Grey were chosen to go in as the jump off representative for the team because they had been the most consistent but unfortunately it was not to be as they smashed through the second jump before clearing the rest of the course, leaving SA in 3rd place. All was not lost however as SA stood on the podium as overall winners with their combined dressage and jumping scores. Our riders were great representatives for their country. They were helpful, polite and real team players. They made many friends and had a weekend that they will never forget. SA Pony Club provided a wonderful experience for these four riders who used this opportunity to its maximum and came out winners, not only of rosettes but of fun and friendship which is the essence of Pony Club.

After a brief team talk and a kick up the bum on Sunday morning, the South African team were ready for the final day, which began with the Individual Championship Show Jumping classes. Alex was first up in the 90cm and wiped the floor with the competition, winning the class on De La Grey. Her second round on Jetta proved hilarious where she jumped clear until number 8, where she had a stop and fell down the side of her horse. Hanging on for dear life and to the shouts of the crowd, she managed to scramble back into the saddle and finish her round much to the delight and laughter of everyone. Next up was Ashley on Jack Sparrow who jumped an almost perfect round, unfortunately clipping a pole on the second to last jump. Tyler came into the ring on a sleepy Dutchess

GAITED TRAVELLER

Wild Bliss Horses of the Camargue By Lynne-Marie Eatwell Battus de soleil et de vent, Perdus au milieu des étangs, On vivra bien contents, Mon cheval, ma Camargue et moi, Mon Cheval, ma Camargue et moi. Lyrics from a song by Georges Brassens To be wild and free; feet caked in thick mud, hair knotted by the wind and slightly sunburnt on the tip of the nose. There is no binding rope, no fence barring the way and nothing demanded. There is the herd and there is me.

I rented a small apartment for the month in the town of Saintes-Maries-de- la-Mer, the sort of ‘capital of the Camargue’, a popular holiday destination among the French and full of restaurants, hotels and curio shops. There are plenty of farms offering accommodation where you can get the full farm life experience. The tallest building is an ancient church called Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer dedicated to Saints Mary Jacobea and Mary Salome, to which the gypsies in Europe make a world-famous pilgrimage in May. On the edge of town, along the beach, there is a massive arena where they have spectacles showing off the local traditions and games where young men bravely

What is it to be wild? Words like unrestrained, uncontrolled, undomesticated come to mind, everything that has ‘un’ attached. We think of phrases like, ‘Not in your wildest dreams, running wild or wild horses couldn’t keep me away.’ To be wild is an undoing, an unravelling to the essence of things. It is to be true to who we really are and brave enough to accept it. My search for ‘flow’ has lead me to follow those wild dreams and add a new personal meaning to what it is to be wild and free. I had to find my way to the Camargue no matter what; whether or not I would find what I was looking for once I got there was a mystery, but I had to try anyway. The Camargue is situated just south of Arles in France between the two branches of the Rhône River delta and the Mediterranean Sea. It is essentially a wetland teaming with amazing birdlife – flamingos by the hundreds walk through the shallow waters on their stilted legs. But I wasn’t there for the birds.

GAITED TRAVELLER

Far in the distance, I could just make out the shape of horses; they were in the national park and free to roam as they pleased, probably owned by someone but left out to raise their young in the wild; they were as authentically wild as I was going to get. I pulled out my camera to try and take pictures, but my zoom lens just didn’t give me any satisfaction. Right where I had stopped my bike, there was a path accessing the wetlands; it was begging me to take it. As I set foot on the path, my feet sank into 6 inches of grey, slushy clay. I stood still for a second and said to myself, ‘These are waterproof shoes, they are made for this, just go and worry later!’ About 600 metres later and ankle deep in mud, I was right by the herd, mostly mares with year-old foals. There was only a little fence separating them from me, which I was grateful for as they were fighting each other to

chance their luck at retrieving a piece of string tied to the horns of fierce bulls. There is so much to do in the area – cycling, hiking, riding, riverboat trips, bird watching and more – that it is difficult to get bored. In November they have the festival of Abrivado, when hundreds of Guardians and over a thousand horses are gathered from all over Provence to participate and show off their skills and traditions. They escort the local black bulls from the beach for six kilometres to the Arena on the edge of town. Abrivados follow behind and try to release the bulls, allowing them to run loose and spreading havoc as they go. The Guardians are the ‘Brotherhood of the Camargue Horsemen.’ They have been tending to the herds of white horses and black bulls dating back to the 1500s. In a sense, they are the Camargue. Check out “Les Gardians: Stewards of the Camargue” from Bob Krist on Vimeo. The video is available at https://vimeo. com/100430762 Learn as much French as possible before you go, but as a horse lover, GO! With my beginner’s French, I bought myself a cheap old bicycle and got a map of the area. I would go out every morning before sunrise in the ice-cold weather to explore and look for horses. There are bicycle routes that take one all around the wetlands. I cycled right past all those amazing birds: flamingos, wild duck and even the occasional swan, but I had only one thing on my mind.

get a better look at me with their sharp, intelligent stares. I wish I could have stayed longer, but we had met and that was enough. I cycled hard and made it just in time for my ride. I never saw that group again despite having gone back many times hoping to find them. Instead, I found farms that keep herds of 30 horses in large paddocks and, if you catch them at sunrise, they all start to play games and chase each other in horseplay. Fifteen minutes later, it would all be over and they would settle down into the lazy pace of the day ahead.

One morning I decided to go for an outride on a farm I had found 15km. I could have gone to any one of the many ‘Promenades à cheval’ right outside of town, but somehow thought it would be a good idea to get up before sunrise and cycle like a demon along a dirt road to get there before nine. Almost halfway there, the sun was just above the bushes on the horizon and out of the corner of my eye I saw a speck of white. I couldn’t believe my luck!

When I was planning my trip, I realised that the best way for me to get the references that I needed would be to join a photography workshop. I found

GAITED TRAVELLER

a French photographer, Patrice Aguilar (www. patriceaguilar.com), who organises workshops with the horses. He does two workshops a year, one in April and one in September, and the rest of the time he facilitates workshops for other international photographers. Besides being the authority in the area when it comes to photographing the horses, he is also one of the most reasonably priced and thankfully speaks English.

kind and gave me loads of tips on where to go. I am happy to call these ladies my French friends and if you ever meet them, tell them where you come from. Though the horses are only semi-wild, the Camargue itself is a wild place; the people are steeped in tradition with white horses and black bulls. It is like stepping into the Wild West, only with French subtitles, where anything goes.

We had a total of eight sessions, at both sunrise and sunset, at different locations and with different situations. He would get the ‘Guardians’ to chase 15 galloping horses straight at us while we sat with waders in the water, ready with our cameras. It was one of the most incredible feelings to have all that energy aiming straight at us, trusting that they wouldn’t run us over, often dodging at the last moment. We spent time with mothers and their new-born foals, had two young stallions mock fight for us and saw some beautiful farms showing real French country living where families had been ‘Guardians’ for generations. At the end of each day, we would all go to a nice restaurant for dinner and talk about our experiences. I was happy with the pictures I got before the workshop, feeling that the trip was worthwhile, but the workshop just took it all to another level and I was blown away.

I learned something about the nature of horses; that to be wild is not just to do as one pleases, but also to be a part of the herd and to know one’s place within it, to feel part of a large family and infinitely close to each of its members. It is to be playful and to greet the ‘lifting of the day’ with a game and some grooming. I found what I was looking for and so much more. I can now paint my wild white horses.

When I wasn’t out taking pictures or painting, I walked around town sampling coffee and food from different places. In some places, if I asked for a cappuccino I would get a funny looking thing in a glass with sweetened cream squirted over the top, so I always asked for a café au lait. Eventually I didn’t have to ask anymore; they knew what I wanted.

With more than enough reference and inspiration, as well as specific measurements of Camargue horses, I plan to create a large body of paintings and sculptures based on my trip and have an exhibition early in 2018. Please visit my website: www.eatwellgallery.com where you can join our mailing list and follow me on Facebook: Eatwell Gallery and on Instagram as toonlynne.

I spent many days recording my thoughts in a teashop called La Bohème just opposite the church; two lovely women who have gone to a lot of effort to create an amazing atmosphere own it. Their food is beautiful and they even have some rooibos tea. There is an equestrian shop oblique to them in the town called Ibero Import with some beautiful equestrian gear and Sophi, the lady who runs the store, is très gentil. She was incredibly

WINE REVIEW

HE STOLE MY HORSE By Britta Dahms

Little is known about the legendary Noble Nomad. He arrived in Cape Town as a German soldier, enjoyed his nomadic lifestyle and was an excellent hunter causing great envy amongst the locals in the Cape and Great Karoo. ‘He Stole My Horse’ Is the red blend in the Noble Nomad range named after the tale of the Robertson farmer. The smokey tobacco and earthy notes set the dark scene of the Nomad’s betrayal and deceit. The Shiraz provides the spicey tone with just the right amount of Cabernet Sauvignon to balance the charm and seduction of the Nomad. This particular wine has won Gold in the 2016 Gold Wine Awards and is a perfect blend to enjoy now or mature for a year or two.

Those that have crossed paths with the Noble Nomad tell tales of a legend, a thief and a drifter meandering through the Western Cape. His cause of death is uncertain and legend tells us he was either devoured by a lion or trampled on by an elephant although nobody knows for certain. The Noble Nomad range of wine is based on the tales of Claus Voights whose only evidence of existence lie in the tales of the villagers in the Klaasvoogds region of the Robertson Wine Valley. One particular tale was told by a farmer just outside the Robertson area who met the Noble Nomad one evening while doing the rounds through his vineyard and stables. He offered the gentleman lodging in his stable only to awake the next morning with both his horse and the man, who introduced himself as Claus Voights, gone. A search party was quickly sent out to find Claus and the farmer’s horse but their tracks disappeared in the vineyards as the dust started to settle on a very hot summer evening making it impossible to continue a search.

‘He Slept Beneath the Stars’ is the second wine in the range. This Sauvignon Blanc with its gentle notes of grass and wild gooseberries depict the mysterious tale of the Nobel Nomad’s meandering ways as he travelled from Cape Town harbour through Robertson and was last seen and heard of in the Great Karoo. The wine is alive with granadilla, pineapple and gooseberry flavours while carrying a straw colour with a light green rim. ‘He Slept Beneath the Stars’ has a beautiful complexity and retains an excellent balance between tropical and herbaceous flavours.

Tales soon came from villages, now known as Swellendam and Barrydale, about a man travelling on horseback, seducing women, young and old in the afternoons and sleeping under the stars in the evenings. It was only years later that a small farm named Rosendal just outside Robertson dedicated a range of wine to the legend, the thief and the drifter who became known as Claus Voights.

WINE REVIEW

The final wine in the range is ‘He Was My Lover’, a Pinotage Rosé which tells the tale of seduction. The pink shimmering coral hues hold tempting notes revealing crushed raspberries, candy floss and ripe strawberries. The nose develops into white peach and sour cherries, luring the palate

to a generous, yet soft mouth-feel describing the story of the Nomad’s seductive ways during his travels. This wine is best enjoyed chilled during summer or one of those perfect winter days we often find in South Africa. The Rosendal winemaker, Therese de Beer, sources

wine from across the Western Cape ensuring only top quality wines are under the Rosendal and Noble Nomad labels. This is evident in a number of awards Rosendal has won in the past year. The Rosendal Reserve Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 proudly holds 3 awards; Silver for the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2016, Gold in the Vitis Vinifera Awards 2016 and Double Silver for the National Wine Challenge this year. The Rosendal Reserve Red Rock 2014 won a prestigious Double Gold in this year’s National Wine Challenge along with a Double Silver for the Rosendal Barony Røsslyng Chardonnay 2015. Another favourite is the Rosendal Reserve Hilltop Pinot Noir 2013 which won 4 Stars in the Platter’s Wine Guide and Gold in the 2016 Vitis Vinifera awards.

to enjoy when purchased or matured for up to seven years. The Cape Ruby is a fortified wine and a particular favourite amongst our clients. The blend of 70% Touriga Nacional, 20% Tinta Barocca and 10% Souzáo holds a bright red colour with a youthful and vibrant nose of lush cherry, sweet plum and kirsch aromas which carry through on the palate. It is medium bodied and full sweet with beautiful mulled spices and hints of oak that make way for subtle tannins and ripe dark red fruit best enjoyed after dinner or as an aperitif in front of a fire in the coming winter months. The Noble Nomad and Rosendal ranges can be bought online at www.rosendalwines.com and includes free delivery to any address in South Africa. If you wish to buy wine according to your personal palate or are unsure of a pairing for a dinner or lunch you are hosting, you are more than welcome to give Rosendal a call on +27 (0)21 424 4498 or send an email to admin@rosendalwinery. com and one of our Wine Merchants will be in touch.

The Reserve Range is the flagship range of Rosendal Wines with only the finest hand-crafted wines making it in the range. The main focus is a good balance between drinkability and maturation and all the wines in the Reserve Range are good

HILLARY HOOFPICK

Hillary Hoofpick Hillary Hoofpick meets a Golden Oldie

Our sport of horse riding certainly attracts some interesting characters, this month we are going to look at one character that all of us have bumped into during our time spent around horses. Let us call this character Golden Oldie – as they have usually been riding for over 50 years. • No matter what level you are riding at, they have always ridden at a higher level and achieved incredible things. • They constantly refer to their horse of a lifetime which has been dead for about 20 years and are always amazed that you have not heard of the horse or remember it competing. • Without you asking for advice, they will happily offer it at all times even sometimes offering advice on matters that are not related to equestrianism at all such as training dogs, having children, etc • They have often still got the old brown Stubben saddle that they used when they won the C Grade Championships at the old Rand Show, you can recognise the saddle from the photos that you are shown constantly of Google receiving the sash and cup from a judge who is dressed in a suit and matching bowler hat. ( Wish this was a tradition that we still had in South Africa ! ) • They still refer to competitions such as the Dunhill Derby (where they won the show hack title for 5 years in a row on a horse that they saved from a butcher near Crown Mines. • They often walk badly as they have had countless falls over the years and have bad backs and are usually in need of a hip replacement or two. • They do still ride but always have a reason why they are just going for a quiet walk around the block. • Very often they usually have a young naïve rider who rides their horse for them who they can tell what to do for the entire 45 minutes that their horse is being ridden. • They usually have a large collection of bits, some of which should be in a museum. • They think that hard hats are for beginners and would rather wear their old floppy sun hat that they have worn for the last 20 years. • They are often accompanied by a dog that is as old as they are, who has to lie down and gasp for air if it walks further than 10 metres.

• They talk about the days when three show jumping classes would only cost R30. • The most expensive horse they ever purchased was R10 000 and that was a lot of money back in the day. • They still refer to Kyalami Equestrian Park as T.H.S. If you happen to bump into a Golden Oldie or you are lucky enough to know one, show respect, listen to the stories that they have to tell of people and horses who are no longer with us. These people were true equestrians who were achieving wonderful things on local thoroughbreds in all disciplines. We as riders of today can learn a lot from the Golden Oldie’s that are still around. We’re letting the dogs out! Join our pack!

Cycle for Border Collie Rescue

WANTED FOR 19 th NOVEMBER 2017! Cyclists for the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge Pledge to raise R2200 per rider for Border Collie Rescue. You will enjoy a dedicated start time/route support/hospitality tent/great BCR Team cycling jersey/wonderful prizes and much more…

Supporters Donate what you can or form a supporter group. You will enjoy being part of the BCR Team, knowing you have also helped ‘change the world for that one dog’! Border Collie Rescue is a non-profit organization run by a small, dedicated team that rescues, re-habilitates and re-homes unwanted, abandoned and misunderstood border collies. Your pledge will go toward the sterilization, vaccination, micro-chipping of the 300+ dogs re-homed every year.

Interested cyclists and supporters please contact: Gill: gillypearson1@gmail.com. or 082-493-6639 Elsie: emjammy@gmail.com or 082-441-9646 Sarah : s.avonrod@mweb.co.za or 082 894 0173 Irene: tailsup@mweb.co.za

Saving the life of one dog won’t change the world. But it will change the world for that one dog. Visit: www.bordercollierescue.co.za

Cycle challenge Sunday turns 21 this year! Join our pack!

LIMITED STABLING AVAILABLE AT R4300.00 PER MONTH The traditional horse riding areas north of Johannesburg have all but disappeared. Space becomes an increasingly rare luxury as time moves on. You need only look around you. Only 3% of the 520 hectare farm will ever be developed. After all, you can’t have country runs without the country. At Monaghan Farm, we will always have outrides on horseback, mountain biking trails, hiking and picnicking along our 7km river frontage...MODERN FARM LIVING

Contact: Natasha Hyams • 082 723 9822 • Stables@monaghanfarm.co.za Ashanti Road, Lanseria 1748. www.monaghanfarm.co.za

PORTRAIT

You will never look back… except at your competitors!

Looking for something new? Then look no further.

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