Cross-country test endurance and balance at Pondarosa

Would you go anywhere by horse, if given the choice? The Pondarosa Ranch cross-country course is meant to simulate a ride in the wild.

It hosted a graded and recreational eventing show over the weekend. Saturday featured a dressage and show-jumping event, but it was Sunday’s main cross-country race which wowed the crowd.

It was unfortunate that there was no spectators to cheer on the 40 participating horses.

Helen Thrush, events committee member said it was interesting that 24 came from outside the province.

And what better way is there to spend a Sunday morning than to watch professional riders race it out on a cross-country course?

Pondarosa is an ideal location for a cross-country event, featuring a field and wooded area. The course is built around water and dongas and obstacles are erected to look natural, such as a tree that has fallen over or planks camouflaged with leaves. As the width of the obstacles differs, this adds to the test of the horse’s jumping ability.

Cross-country is an endurance test and a balancing act. The horse and its rider must be in harmony. It tests the speed, bravery and jumping ability of the animal. The rider’s knowledge and handling of the horse are evaluated.

Riders’ handling is also closely monitored. Safety comes first, and the horse’s well-being is paramount.

Judging is strict. A horse’s shoulder must not go beyond a flag on an obstacle and he must not refuse a jump. This causes riders or horses, depending on how you look at it, to be penalised with points. But at the judges’ discretion, leniency can be applied to young riders who are still learning to jump.

This may involve agreeing not to eliminate any riders participating in a certain category, regardless of the penalties they acquire. And he or she with the fewest penalties, wins.

In the one-metre class Patrick Brown riding on Wow’s Uxorious took top honours. Colin Hallaby was second on Wow’s Safwan.

In the 0,9-metre run for graded adults, Jo Bentley on Wow’s Oscavar won, followed by Jane Brown on Wow’s Taras Harp and Douglas Welsh on Saluki in third place.

Beth Coxon Gilliat on Global Herbs Rieperbahn was the only rider on the same height for graded juniors, accumulating 75,9 penalties overall.

Mpumalanga rider Traci Thomson on Stationmaster was tops in the 0,8-metre unaffiliated adults class. Matthew Smith took top honours on Mystic Silva on the same height for graded adults.

Only 59,4 penalties were recorded against local rider Savannah Combrinck on Dunhill, the only contestant on the height for juniors affiliated with Sanesa. Amy Coxon Gilliat, on Global Herbs Fairy Lane, acquired 82,9 on the height for graded juniors.

Local rider Leon Smith on Waterford Star came in second in the 0,7-metre unaffiliated class for adults behind Hennie Groenewald on Waterford Mr X.

Another local rider, Abigail Thrush took first place on Freja in the 0,6-metre adults training class.

• Read more on Pondarosa’s combined equestrian show of 2014 here.