Equestrians excel at MP champs
Gleaming show horses turned out to the nines as they competed in the 2018 Mpumalanga Showing Championship this past weekend at Dunkeld Equestrian Centre in Dullstroom.
Lowveld riders excelled and returned home with several championship rosettes under their belts in their various categories.
In the pony category it was petite Ayla Willemse from Laerskool Laeveld, riding Miss Muffet, who was crowned as overall supreme champion. It was the first show that Ayla, instructed by Lowveld rider Shari Oberholzer, competed without assistance or a leading rein.
In the open junior classes it was Jana Engelbrecht (Hoërskool Nelspruit), riding Calela Fakkel, who rode to victory. Jana won every single class that she had entered. In the novice junior category Kaitlyn Davids (Uplands College) riding Ekeneb Oklahoma was supreme champion.
This is still a relatively new combination which shows a lot of promise for the coming years.
Jacomie van den Berg (Curro Nelspruit) on Eye Candy won some classes after a shaky start to the show.
The open adult winner – and 2018 supreme Mpumalanga showing champ – was Kirsten Armitage riding Wayden Linros.
Armitage is an accomplished riding judge who for years put her own riding career on the back-burner to officiate at shows. This was the first time in years that she competed and she made an incredible comeback to the riding scene.
Sandra Davids also made a comeback after a long time off by being crowned the open working riding horse reserve champion with her mare Legacy’s Soraya. This was the first time the pair competed in showing, and it seems that they have found their niche.
Landé Willemse and her mare Grace Kelly won the Show Hack class, and Shari Oberholzer riding Vanquish had some good moments with several second and third places in her pocket.
