AQHA Western Games

WITH MINKI VENTER

Every two years, the American Quarter Horse (AQHA) Youth World Cup is held by a different country around the world. It is a leadership, education and competition-based event that hosts teams from 16 nations, and the young people involved compete on borrowed horses.

The most recent event was held at Bryan/College Station in Texas, USA, in June of this year. For the second time, a South African team participated in the event. This team was made up of:

Coach: Nikki Riddle

Manager: Tamryn Thorp

Burlyn Breedt, 19, Gauteng

Wynand Bezuidenhout, 16, Northern Cape

Minki Venter, 13, Gauteng

Dylan Busschau, 14, Mpumalanga

Carli Roux, 18, Gauteng

HQP caught up with the youngest member of the South African Team, Minki Venter, who is very passionate about getting people involved in Western riding and growing the sport in South Africa!

HQP: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Minki: I am Minki Venter. I am 13 years old, and I ride Western Reining and Western Performance. I have two horses; both are America Quarter Horses. I live in Kyalami, and I go to Beaulieu College!

HQP: How did you get involved in Western Riding?

Minki: I started at a riding school next door to me, Pinecone Stables, on a pony called Flame. I had a fall when jumping him when I was seven years old, and I got scared of riding after that. My mom's Western coach suggested she get me to try Western, so I tried it on my pony and fell in love! We then bought an American Quarter Horse for me; his name is Jopie (Rossmeer Double Jopie), and he was trained in Western Performance. I started properly riding Western with him, and that was it for me!

About two years later, I got my reiner, Pepsi (NJQ Pepsi Dot Lena), and I loved that discipline even more because of the sliding stops and the spins and the adrenaline that comes with it, which is so fun!

HQP: You have just ridden for South Africa at the American Quarter Horse (AQHA) World Cup in Texas; how did that come together?

Minki: My trainer has been pushing for a while for me to apply to go to the AQHA World Cup, and it has been a dream of mine since I was in Grade 5. I applied, and I made the South African Team, which is a team of five riders.

HQP: Can you tell us about your trip to America and the Western Games experience?

Minki: We were there for about six weeks altogether. The first week was just shopping because you don't get proper Western tack in South Africa, so we shopped a lot… (we might have been three suitcases over our limit!)

The second week, we went to the National Reining Horse Association Derby, which is one of the biggest Reining events of the year, where we met all the big names in Reining, including Casey Deary, who is ranked fourth in the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Leading Lifetime Riders.

For the next two weeks, we went for some training and to some clinics. We were based at our team coach Nikki Riddle's barn and riding her horses. The standard of horses in America is much higher, so we needed to get used to riding them.

Then, we went to the Texas A&M University showgrounds in College Station, Texas, for the next two weeks. That was amazing, as it has been another dream of mine to go there and most of the horses that were donated for the show were A&M horses. We would get the 5.30am bus from the hotel to the showgrounds to feed and clean the horses and their stalls, then lunge and ride them. Basically, we did it all ourselves and would get back to the hotel at about 8pm.

HQP: And how did the competition itself work?

Minki: So, there was one Reining run, two Trail runs and two in-hand classes called Showmanship.

The Showmanship I might have messed up as I've never done it in my life! So, I think I placed somewhere in the 20s in both classes.

So, with the Reining competition, we got the horses for 30 minutes, had a clinic with a top rider and then went and showed them. My reining horse for the show was called Colonel, and he was one of Texas A&M's biggest reining horses, so it was an incredible experience to ride him. He was very hot; I thought he was running away with me, to begin with, but in the end, it was really nice riding him. I came 10th in the reining and medalled for that, which was amazing as there were 17 countries represented and 130 kids riding!

For the Western Performance Riding, we got the horses three to four days before the show. Each team would get one level five horse, one level four, one level three, one level two and two level one horses. It was then a draw for which horses you would get. I was sent to pick as I was the youngest in the team, so I had to go and draw our horses. We were lucky in that we drew team #12, which included one of my trainer's donated horses, a horse her daughter rode, and then another horse that they knew really well, so we'd picked the best team. Everyone on the team was assigned a horse, and I got Hector, and the night before the show, they pulled him! So, I was freaking out because I didn't have a horse, but at midnight we got a call saying that they had a substitute for me. I went straight away to ride him, as he had just arrived at the showgrounds. He was older, but a level 5 horse and so sweet, and did all his classes perfectly, so I was lucky to get him.

In the Trail Riding, I placed 16th and then somewhere in the 20s in the other class. In the Trail Riding, there were a bunch of different obstacles and manoeuvres. I suppose if you were to describe it plainly, you would say it was going over poles, but you can have loping poles, jogging poles, walking poles, a spin in a box, serpentines, backing through an 'L' or 'U' shape and side passes over poles.

HQP: So, can you explain how each of the disciplines works in Western Riding?

Minki: Reining is a faster-moving sport (and the most fun). Every Reining pattern has about 6-8 manoeuvres - the spins, the fast circles to slow circles, the flying changes, the sliding stops, the rollbacks, and the backup. It's probably the most popular discipline. There's also cutting, roping and barrels, which are also high-paced.

Western Performance is extremely slow. The horse's head is on the ground; the jogging feels like walking, walking feels like you're going backwards, and the loping (canter) is just slow and relaxed. Within Western Performance, there are a bunch of different events, including Pleasure Riding, Showmanship, Horsemanship, Trail, Ranch Riding, Hunter under Saddle, Hunter Equitation... There's just so much, and it's so different to English riding.

HQP: And, the Showmanship you took part in in America?

Minki: Showmanship is an in-hand class. It is very basic. It's basically doing a jog, walking back, and doing a hind spin. There is then a standing inspection, for which the horse must be square and stand still. It's done in a blingy halter with a chain, no bit. The horses must be polished and very clean and banded (i.e. braided but not with your typical English plaits).

HQP: How would you say Western Riding in America is compared to South Africa?

Minki: Reining and Western Performance are very small in South Africa. There is only a handful of youth riders, whereas in America, the classes were huge. In the warm-ups in SA, there's less than ten people, whereas there were five indoor arenas at the Western Games, and they were stuffed with people! Also, there are hardly ever spectators in SA, whereas in America, the grandstands were packed.

HQP: So, there are specific Western shows, and you can also participate in Western at SANESA?

Minki: Yes, at SANESA, we have Western Mounted Games, which are barrels and speed events. They also have Reining and all the other classes we've talked about, but at a much lower level than America because we don't have horses bred to do it at a high level, or the facilities to do it. According to Reining rules, an arena should be 30m x 60m, but we don't have the facilities for it here, so I often do it in a square arena or a dressage arena. My horse is used to running a 30 x 60m arena at home, so when we ride in a different size, he gets really confused.

HQP: How can someone try out Western Riding in South Africa?

Minki: I'd recommend trying to have a lesson on someone's Western horse because trying to get an 'English' horse to do Western would be really hard, and you won't get the full experience. There are a bunch of different trainers, but I think mine is the best; she's called Tamryn Thorpe, and she's in Krugersdorp.

HQP: And if people wanted to learn more about Western?

Minki: They can check out the South African Quarter Horse Association's Facebook page or on their website https://www.saqha.co.za. They can also find out more on the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) website at https://nrhasouthafrica.co.za/

HQP: Lastly, what are your plans for the future?

Minki: I want to give my passion a go first and become a horse trainer, but this is a lot of work, especially in America, and I'm nowhere near that level. I want to give it a go, though, and maybe apply for an internship. I also want to study. I'm going to apply to Texas A&M to study as an equine chiropractor as I've always found that so interesting, and it would be great to be able to make horses feel their best.