SA Mounted Games team notch up third spot at international championship
Glenvista resident, Daniel Ferreira, was part and parcel of the team.
A GLENVISTA resident, Daniel Ferreira, was part of the South African Mounted Games team which competed at the World Team Championship (WTC) and notched up a third place in the B-final.
The rest of the riders were Megan Marr (GAU), Megan Frost, Tomas Forsythe (KZN) and Dani De Marcelin Vinay (WC). The WTC was held in Kentucky, USA, from July 6 to 12, at the Kentucky Horse Park, where the local side matched their skills against those of the international teams. The team manager and coach, Chris Kritzinger, hails from KZN.
“The sport is still young and growing in the country, but it was a great experience and we gained a lot of experience. Everyone in the team did a fantastic job, though we lost our sixth rider with an ankle injury,” said Ferreira on their return from the championship. “We competed against the top teams in the world, such as England and Sweden, who have full time coaches in order to maintain top performance from the teams. We were the underdogs and, to the surprise, made the B-final and notched up the third place.”
Most of the other teams also used their own horses which is a plus point while the South African team had to pull horses to ride on.
Ferreira mentioned that South Africa will definitely improve over the next few years as the Mounted Games sport code has a bright future ahead in the country.
Gauteng PRO Felicia Rowan invites new riders from lead-rein, special needs, junior and adult riders, to try out. The 5 Nations will take place in SA in 2016 and the World Team Championships will also be run here in 2017.
People who are interested can contact Rowan at felicia.rowan@gmail.com or on 082 339 9268.
