Samantha Joubert, a teacher at Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen, recently qualified to participate in the 2021 Classic Dressage Series Championship and the Dressage SA 2021 National Championships.
The series will take place at the Van Ryn Equestrian Centre in Benoni on August 29 and the SA Championships from September 14 to 19 at the Kyalami Park Club.
Joubert had to compete in various shows to qualify for the competitions.
“I’m nervous and excited about qualifying. It takes a lot of work to get to the point where you can compete at this level. I also feel very lucky as it is a great privilege to take part in a competition like this.
“A dressage rider never truly feels ready for big shows like this as we strive for perfection, and that is near enough impossible to achieve. We put a lot of effort into preparing for competitions like this.
“We train four to six days a week and take weekly lessons. We need to ensure that not only are our horses fit but we also need to be. When most people are still in bed the riders will be at the stables on their horses, training.
“The most important thing for me to achieve would be to only ride better than I did the day before. A dressage test lasts an average of five minutes, but behind that rider is a whole group of people who helps us get to that point. My biggest aim is to make my team proud,” she said.
Quizzed on her coach, she said: “Wium van Huyssteen is coaching me. He is one of the best coaches in the country, I was stuck in my last level for a number of years and with Wium’s help, I moved up within six months of working with him.”
A summary of her previous achievements:
• Joubert was a member of the Ekurhuleni and Gauteng provincial teams from 2003 to 2010.
• She was also a member of Inter-Africa Cup National team (Young Rider) in 2014.
• In 2019, she came in third place at the Inter Africa Cup.
Joubert said she and her horse, Scarborough Fair, have been together for 11 years.
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