School riders show their skills
Many riding school pupils compete with success at events on borrowed horses/ponies
EQUESTRIAN sport among school riders is growing in leaps and bounds under the umbrella of the SA National Equestrian Schools Association (SANESA).
SANESA is a vibrant and dynamic organisation, acknowledged by the SA Equestrian Federation (SAEF) and SASCOC, and has dedicated itself to promoting all forms of equestrian sport within South Africa’s school community.
Members of SANESA (schools) are represented by their learners. Currently they have 15 diverse equestrian competition disciplines.
Each province in South Africa has SANESA representation and some provinces are also broken up into regions.
Every province/region holds up to four multi-discipline competitions in the first seven months of the year and then the top eight riders with the most accumulated points in each discipline go forward to represent their province at the annual SANESA National Championships, in September/October.
It is not essential for anyone to actually own their own horse or pony to participate in SANESA. Many riding school pupils compete with success at events on borrowed horses/ponies.
Elze Stadler, a Grade Seven learner at Laerskool Birchleigh, has recently participated in a SANESA qualifier one, at Eaton Farm, in Midrand. She competed in dressage, equitation, hand utility and showjumping, where she placed first, second, third and fourth in the various disciplines. She is trained by Linda Watson.
Zayde Coverwell (8), a Grade Two learner at Laerskool Impala, participated in the SANESA Ekurhuleni event, where he took a fourth place in Gauteng in the age group seven-13, in the 50cm clear round and time trial.
He is a member of Speckled Egg Riding School (Winstead Stables) and has been riding since he was six. Zayde already has nine rosettes from clear round competitions.
