A Kyalami equestrian legend tells all

KYALAMI – Patrick Brown is an equestrian legend with an equally impressive horse doing its best for him.

January 16, 2019

Nicholas Zaal 2 minutes read

Patrick Brown rides Wow's Yellowood, his dressage champion and fan favourite, for a few exercises at Teranga Stables. Photo: Nicholas Zaal

Kyalami and the surrounding areas are blessed with many people who play a prominent role in equestrian sports in South Africa. Patrick Brown is one of these equestrian legends. He is a national coach for Eventing South Africa and a rider’s representative on its Gauteng committee.

But more than this, Patrick has influenced the lives and careers of many riders throughout 25 years of coaching in Oudtshoorn, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Co-owner of Teranga Stables with his wife, Jane, Patrick trains about 15 riders at a time.

These include Arina Niyaki, who won the 90cm South African National Equestrian Schools Association Eventing Nationals in 2017 and came second in dressage. Patrick also co-organises many shows, including the recent ICB Christmas Show at Inanda Country Base and the upcoming Complete Eventing Camp, by Eventing SA.

The camp will be held at Kaapschehoop in Mpumalanga and feature some of the best young eventing riders in South Africa, allowing them to train and interact with top quality coaches.

Patrick himself is an accomplished rider who competes in eventing, show jumping and dressage.

In eventing, he has won the SA Mini Championships three times and the 1m Championships twice. He won the Transvaal Showjumping Championships in 1996 and competed in the SA Derby twice, including being the top qualifier in 1997. In dressage, Patrick won the Gauteng Advanced Championships as well as Gauteng Advanced Freestyle last year, and came second in advanced freestyle at the SA Dressage Championships.

“Eventing is my favourite because of the exhilaration,” he said. “There is an adrenaline rush when you are doing cross-country.

“It is even more exciting when you have a horse that is willing to go to cross-country and enjoy it, that is willing to help you out.”

Patrick said he owns such a horse in Wow’s Yellowood, a 10-year-old male horse of unknown pedigree.

Because the horse was not specially bred for competing but is as good as any other, raking in the medals at provincial and national level, Wow’s Yellowood is always a fan favourite at the shows.