Show jumper calm as a cucumber
FOURWAYS – SPORTS figures are often known for their ferocious temperament, but esteemed South African equestrian show jumper Jeanne Engela is almost what one could refer to as royalty on a horse.
She carries herself with a gracious demeanour, but this is in contrast to the high-pressured sport that is show jumping. Yet her calm personality has not robbed her of any success on and off the field, in fact this has been one of her secret weapons.
“When I am in the arena I am very much in the zone, I don’t hear anyone outside of the ride,” she said.
Engela has her eyes on winning the SA Championships this year as well as qualifying for the World Equestrian Games and the World Cup Final for the second time. Although based in Johannesburg, Engela is a Cape Town-born rider. She started riding horses at an early age, encouraged by her parents, but later stopped. She started again at age 10 and never got off the saddle. “I fell in love with it partly because of my love for the animal, because I share my passion for horses with my mom, and because of my friends at the place where I started riding in Constantia called Lane Stables,” Engela explained.
She said her and fellow riders used to ride their bicycles to the stables. “We’d be there daily, even weekends. Sometimes we’d ask our parents if we could sleep there,” said Engela. She got her first pony when she was 11 years old called Magic Man, and achieved her provincial colours before she was 14. Her next ponies,‘Spring Tide and Treasure took her through her children categories to juniors.
Engela later joined well-known show jumper, Gonda Betrix who channelled her focus into the show jumping discipline. After Engela’s matric year, Betrix encouraged her to spend her gap year training in Johannesburg as there was a greater opportunity for her to grow as a show jumper.
She eventually moved to train with Dominey Alexandre of Cellehof. “Dominey believed in me and I excelled under the positive re-enforcement that he offered,” she said.
Today Engela works for Investec Bank, and is also sponsored by them. “Finding a balance between the two was quite an adjustment. I felt guilty when I was riding – like I should be working and guilty when I was working like I should be riding – but it is a lot better now and sometimes depending on projects at work and horse shows, I need to focus on one more than the other,” said Engela.
Some of Engela’s other achievements included winning the President’s Cup, winning the SA World Cup Qualifier Series 2013 and qualifying for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. She said it takes hard work, dedication and a love for the animal to make it in the sport.
She lives by the motto “Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn.”
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