Prancing perfection wows dressage judges

At the recent Mpumalanga Dressage Championships at the Mataffin Riding Club, Helle Wagner and her lovely Voigtkirsh Socrates had spectators on their feet performing the advanced freestyle to music test on Sunday afternoon.

November 10, 2015

2 minutes read

“Old Socks” as she fondly calls him, is a 17-year-old Namibian warmblood.

More than 40 horses performed in heat-wave conditions, with all levels from prelim children in their first dressage show, to spectacular higher tests only seen at an event of this calibre.

Thomas Brown and Ellen Holland shared a delightful pony called Biscuit in their very first dressage show and did their parents and trainer Samantha Parsons proud.

The fancy-dress freestyle and Pas de Deux classes were once again the highlight.

Outstanding costumes and themes were created by riders, from Zulu dancers to skeletons and rock stars.

The championship classes were mostly decided on the Sunday morning, while Friday and Saturday’s warm-up and qualifier classes gave riders the opportunity to familiarise their horses with the environment and prepare for the exacting championship.

National panel dressage judges Eino Vuorinen and Ross Hill of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were impressed with the facilities at Mataffin Riding Club, and with the standard of horses.

The show was organised by the Lowveld Equestrian Club, under the auspices of Dressage South Africa.

Championship winners were:

Children Preliminary:

Champion : Anisca Smit on Oh Wow it’s a Swazi

Children Novice:

Champion: Lisa-Marie van der Merwe on Zero Defect

Children Elementary

Champion: Stephanie Botha on Karismo

Junior Novice:

Champion: Eldone Janse van Rensburg on Lucky for Some

Junior Elementary –medium:

Champion: Heleen Engelbrecht on Calela Fakkel