Horses Audrey Marais’ soul understanding
Every horseman has a story to tell and so does Audrey who not only finds horseriding to be her passion but she also teaches the art of it at her riding school outside Mokopane.
MOKOPANE – Audrey Marais (47) was born in Zimbabwe and horses have been a part of her life since she was three years old. She opened Audrey’s Riding School in 1996 where she has been teaching children, people with Down Syndrome, people with depression and adults how to do showjumping, endurance rides and many other forms of horseriding.
With her outstanding coaching abilities she delivered two Springbok riders, Ralien de Beer and Yolandi Boon, of whom she is exceptionally proud. A great thing about her riding school is that you don’t have to partake in any competitions if you don’t want to. You can only learn the act for the fun of it.
“I love teaching others to ride horses. I like to see how people enjoy the sport when they achieve great end results, even when we are just practicing. Horseriding is a lot like going to school, it is something you have to learn. It does not normally come naturally. Remember, with this sport you have to put two personalities, the horse and the rider, together as one.”
She explained the thing she finds most challenging about teaching is to figure out which horse would match with which rider.
Audrey also finds teaching adults more difficult because they are usually set in their ways and have strong personalities. “With children I can easily tell them what to do and they would listen which means they learn faster. It is also great to know there are still children out there who actually want to do something other than watch television.”
She said the best part of riding is the purity between herself and the horse. “You think of nothing else when riding, you can keep an open mind.”
Audrey boasted that she has a total of 20 horses on her premises of which 12 are her own and are being ridden with. She herself has four outstanding Arabian horses which she plans to ride in various competitions this year.
She plans to take on the Fauresmith endurance ride, where riders must ride for long distances over three consecutive days, for the fifth time this year. She is going to tackle this competition on her strongest horse, Arkab Nazeer. Nazeer is almost 14 years old and has ridden 1 597 km in his lifetime. The other horses she will ride during the year are Armar Nasheeta, Armar Nadeem and Armar Isra. “I would say my New Year’s resolution is to receive my Springbok colours. Even if it doesn’t happen this year, I would like to wear the green and gold before I turn 50. I almost made it last year but in one of the races I participated in last year, the heights and rough downhill terrain got the best of me. Since then terrain like that is a bit scary for me but I am putting all my hope in God this year. He will guide me and keep my worries at bay. ”
For Audrey, taking away her horses would mean taking away her life. “The joy of working with these magnificent animals keeps me going. My family also keeps me motivated as they understand my passion. Both horses and my family are close to my heart.”
