A passionate horsey affair at the South African Lipizzaners

Horse lovers and equestrian enthusiasts were treated to a red and white classical affair at the South African Lipizzaners on 11 February in commemoration of Valentine’s Day.

Situated at 1 Dahlia Road in Kyalami, the non-profit equestrian centre’s indoor arena was filled with people of all ages. “The concept behind this Valentine’s Day special, ties in with the relationship we have with our horses,” said the South African Lipizzaners’ team manager, Bronwyn Taylor.

“There is a lot of love between the riders and their horses, and there is a lot of trust and hard work put into our training.”

She said they trained six days a week. “The stallions work really hard as most of the high-level training takes about nine years for them to learn, so a lot of hard work, planning and dedication goes into training our horses.”

Taylor explained that they have different options available for their sponsorship programme. “One of our sponsorship programmes is a horse sponsorship… it is a yearlong sponsorship of R1 000 minimum which will go to the horses’ upkeep for the month.”

She added that being a non-profit company any sponsorship or donation was what kept them going.

“Our horses at the centre do not get that much pampering as we are a non-profit company and don’t have a lot of money to pamper them as often as we can.

“If our horses don’t have a Sunday performance, they won’t be able to eat for the next week hence sponsorships are very important to us.”

Details: www.lipizzaners.co.za

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