Local residents may be pleased to know that they don’t need to travel far for an opportunity to ride horses.
Ranger Stables offers riding lessons among other activities and is situated at Reea Foundation on the corner of Richmond and Malborough avenues in Craighall Park.
Manager at Ranger Stables, Jessica Markotter said her boss started the community-based equestrian centre 2001. “My boss’s brother originally owned the nursery on the property. He was looking for ponies to do pony rides for the kids. It started with two ponies and it’s grown into 24 now,” said Markotter.
She added that they then turned old garages into stables. The lessons started in 2001 with just pony rides and now there is a long waiting list of people who want to have lessons
Markotter said most of the horses are school horses, used for the lessons for children, some are privately owned and some are rescues from rescue organisations.
During lockdown the stables lost quite a few clients as they were not getting paid, so they couldn’t afford to keep paying. “But we also have good clients who donated to help keep us going. We rent the area from Reea,” said Markotter.
The centre offers lessons from Monday to Friday at various times for adults and children while Saturday mornings are reserved for the toddlers and riders with special needs.
One of the instructors, Keri Moore, said they are focused on getting the basics right. “The children have to have their basics right before we let them progress. We’re adamant about that because when we send them out into the riding community, we want people to admire them. We drill them on their basics and they do very well as they are very dedicated children.”
She added that beginners start on a lunge. “[A lunge is] a long reign where you control the horse so that you can just get used to the movement and body position. After you have the body control and mastered … we take it from there. It is safe, we take whatever precautions we have to and we do all have first aid qualifications.”
The instructor shared that a lot of the children trained there could compete in inter-schools shows and the South African National Equestrian Schools Association (Sanesa) shows which are inter-school horse-riding competition. Unfortunately, this year they couldn’t due to Covid-19.
The manager added that they also work with other entities through patrols along the Braamfontein Spruit, monitoring ecological, social and security conditions.
They also would normally have a trick or treat whereby the kids ride on ponies through Craighall Park. “Any sweets we collected would go to the orphans. So, we are still collecting sweets this year even though we’re not doing the trick or treating, so if anyone wants to donate sweets for them, we will be happy to accept.”
She added, “If there are any children’s clothes, shoes, books they’re always so grateful for it. Also, as Reea patients require 24/7 care; monetary and other donations are welcome.”
