POLOKWANE – The Ranch Equestrian Centre hosted a very successful FEI Olympic qualifier and national eventing trials on Saturday and Sunday.
Fédération Équestre Internationale is the international governing body of equestrian sports.
The two-day event at The Ranch Resort saw competitors and their horses challenged in three disciplines namely, dressage, cross country, and showjumping.
The event director, Jaili Nicolaou explains that the winner is determined through the combination with the lowest penalty score at the end of the event.
“As horses and riders move up the levels, the difficulty and technicality of the phases increase.”
She added that eventing can be likened to a triathlon, with horses and riders demonstrating a range of skills across the three disciplines. In dressage, riders are required through precision, harmony, calmness and balance to execute certain tests that they pre-learn for the event, and are then judged on the ability to execute these movements.
In cross country, horses are challenged on an obstacle course through a field of rustic solid fences, depending on the grade in which they compete.
“The number of jumps they have can range anything from 12 to 30 jumps and there are lots of viewing spots for spectators. The showjumping took place on Sunday and riders had to navigate a showjumping course in the arena, usually over 12 fences. The aim is to clear the poles against time,” she said.
Also taking part was John Twomey, an Australian level three international coach and five-star rider.
He said that The Ranch runs a three-star FEI, which is important for the sport and helps international riders such as himself to keep their international ranking. It is part of a high-performance programme, with which he has been helping to get riders up into the high levels so that they can be eligible for the Olympics.
“This is a good venue and we are excited about it for the future,” Twomey remarked.
Nicolaou extended a special thanks to all their sponsors, including Northern Media Group, CFAO Mobility, Limpopo Toyota, Volkswagen Mokopane, Action Ford Mokopane, Hino Limpopo, Standard Bank, BidFood, Midway Estates, Ricoh, The Flying Pig, Epol, Retsini, Pernod Ricard, Talisman Hire, All Power, and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
