Lonehill resident and well-known showjumper shares her journey
LONEHILL - Showjumper Jeanne Engela encourages others to be kind to their horses.
Lonehill resident and well-known showjumper, Jeanne Engela, shared her journey as a showjumper thus far and her hopes for the season.
“My hopes of the season is mostly with my top horse, Investec Chanel van de Zeshoek’s consistency in the World Cup Qualifiers as I would love to win the South African Championships. With my other horse, Inferno, I would like to have him in the 1.4m classes by the end of the year,” Engela said.
She explained that her journey as a showjumper has been amazing as she never thought she would get where she is now. “I am really happy with what I have achieved and I hope to achieve a lot more in the future.
“The reason behind me choosing showjumping was because my mom used to be a horse rider and she introduced me to riding and I just fell in love with the animals and from there I started competing.”
The Investec rider said she participated in all the different disciplines as a child such as showjumping, dressage and equitation, which is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship. She added that she was awarded her Western Province colours in all of these disciplines and then decided to specialise in showjumping because that was the discipline she enjoyed the most.
“I partly feed off of my nerves when I am about to compete in big classes as I turn them into focus and into my horse’s performance. The way I see it is that there is a job to be done and I need full focus to be able to do it. Nerves are good, though. I definitely need them as some people use rescue remedy or Biral when they jump the big classes, but I do not like to take anything because me and my horse use our nerves positively,” she said.
Engela said her message to young, aspiring showjumpers is to look for lessons in every situation and also learn from the people around you. “Learn from the good, the bad and the ugly. Watch your lesson buddies and learn from them too.
“Learn from yourself and listen to your horses. Develop your own philosophy of showjumping that you find strength and confidence in so that at home, when you are training alone, you always train with purpose. This will help for the times that you do not have your trainer at a show, but you have confidence in your ability to walk the track, warm-up and jump a clear round.”
Read more:
Condolences pour in for renowned showjumper
Showjumper’s hopes for this season
