Local rider crowned SA Show Hunter
She fondly compares her horse to a 4x4 SUV but with a supercharged engine.
A local equestrian and her fantastic mare now hold the coveted title of the South African Show Hunter 2013 after they emerged victorious from a gruelling few days of riding against the country’s top horses at the South African Open Showing Championships.
Kraai du Preez riding her mare, Brandenburg Last Love, managed to gallop her way to victory at the show hosted this year by Misty Meadows in Gauteng. Du Preez was one of two Lowveld riders chosen for the Mpumalanga open-showing team. Du Preez was chosen for the show-hunter class while Landé Willemse riding Carine Marx’s warmblood gelding Katanga Look Forward, was chosen to ride in the open working-hunter class. The team consisted of five riders, of which the other three were chosen from the Highveld.
All the provinces were in full attendance, showing top horses whose equestrian performances offered the same championship tone traditionally expected of the nationals.
Mpumalanga held their own against the much larger provinces, managing to finish with a spot on the podium, a well-deserved third position overall. Du Preez won her class in the team event, the individual event and then also the championship class against the other winners.
“She gave me flawless rides,” Du Preez smiled as she fondly gave the large bay mare a well-deserved carrot. Mosadi, as she is affectionately known, is an 11-year-old warmblood cross English thoroughbred mare. She is not the easiest ride as she is extremely sensitive. The bond between rider and mount is obvious. “I backed her and brought her on. We were very thorough in her schooling and took each step slowly,” she said.
She fondly compares her horse to a 4×4 SUV but with a supercharged engine. This is the perfect combination of traits for a show hunter. The horse must be classy looking yet have strong and near-perfect conformation. It must also show a ground-covering gallop.
In the working-hunter class the horse must negotiate a series of obstacles similar to that a rider would encounter when out in the country. This comprises ditches, dykes, walls and banks.
One of the highlights of the show was the annual strictly come showing class. This was hosted at night under floodlights where the horses must perform paces to music. Conformation, movement, manners and ability is also judged along with the artistic show.
The Mpumalanga team did extremely well under trying circumstances, as they received no sponsorship or assistance from the Mpumalanga Horse Society.
