Kyalami riders jump at the challenge

White horse carrier trailers lined the Fourways Riding Centre in Kyalami’s parking lot, with everyday cars parked not too far away. The neighing of horses could be heard on the odd occasion, in an off-key harmony to the music playing on speakers planted near the fencing of the course.

Horses with strong muscles and shiny coats carried their riders as they were getting ready for their respective rounds and classes in the training show on 26 January. With the start of every round, a bell signalled to the rider in the hopes of clearing a round with no penalties or disobediences.

Class seven ended with a jump-off between horses. The six horses completed their jump-off, all clear rounds without any eliminations. Medunsa Solo Legend set the tone by clearing the course in a fantastic 00:28:31. In second place came Limited Edition who completed the course in 00:29:19.

Brightly coloured ribbons were handed out by the judge and pinned onto the horses who placed first, second, and third.

The final standings for class seven, from first to sixth were Medunsa Solo Legend, Limited Edition, Monkey, Rusty, Casey Can and Hodar.

Class eight saw the top four winning riders get good scores and points. Each achieved 44 points but completed the course at different times.

The final standings for this class were: Ella Syndercombe on Monkey with a time of 00:42:02, Nina Tibs on Callaho Cassiopeia finished in 00:45:62, Amy Wallace came third on Casey Can with 00:46:00 seconds, and Ané du Toit came fourth on Limited Edition in 00:46:06.

Class nine saw four riders and five horses compete. One rider, Kim Harding, rode two horses, Conquidam and Callaho Lliandro in class nine as well as class eight. Riders had to go into a jump-off.

One rider, in particular, shone brightly in the round she took part in. Going against four other riders in class nine, 26-year-old Ané du Toit had an impressive showing in the training show.

Being completely deaf, her mother, Riminie Barwise, signified the start of her round by using hand gestures, as has been the case since she started riding when she was eight years old. Du Toit was on the top rider’s list multiple times that afternoon.

Owner of the Fourways Riding Centre, Marion Clough briefly explained bout the difference of training and graded shows. She said a grading show is where riders must be in a society and gain points from the different rounds they compete in. Once they gain a number of points, the riders are graded higher.

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