St Mary’s School, Waverley learner hooked on horse-riding
A single horse-riding lesson for a St Mary’s School, Waverley learner took away all the disinterest she initially had in the sport.
With no initial interest in riding, all it took was one in-hand lesson for St Mary’s School, Waverley learner, Juliana Haden-Smith to get ‘hooked’. Haden-Smith is a Grade 10 learner who has been riding since she was six after her mother saw a group lesson with horse trotting around Inanda Polo Club on a Sunday. Juliana’s mother thought it was fun while Juliana herself could care less.
Now Juliana spends most of her time riding Seeis Spook. She believes part of the challenge and thrill of riding horses is that horses are powerful living creatures. “They can make their own decisions and you never quite know what they are going to do. Especially not until you get to know your horse better and form a bond with it. Horses are generally sensitive animals so my advice when riding one is to stay calm, keep your heels down, and your balance – as keeping your balance is key to not falling off,” Juliana advised.
The young champion says riding horses is like being in a two-man team. According to her, a big challenge for all equestrians is the possibility of your equine teammate getting injured and you not being able to ride or compete. She said, “You could be at the top of your game- feeling ready for anything but then your horse loses a shoe or injures a tendon. Or you could be in the show ring feeling your best, but your horse can decide to lose interest and try to throw you off instead. However, I think riding horses teaches you many life lessons such as the importance of gratitude, good sportsmanship, and the saying ‘it doesn’t always go your way’.”
For the young horse rider, riding is at least a three-hour afternoon commitment, and she rides six days a week. Both riding and schoolwork are really important to Juliana, but she feels that as long as something is important enough, you can manage your time around it. Some things she does to manage her time is working in the car and waking up half an hour earlier to stay on top of homework and tests.
With her horse having come out first at the South African National Equestrian Schools Association (Sanesa) Interschools in May Juliana said, “I am very excited about it and proud of my horse. I hope to be able to keep up good rounds and results in Sanesa regionals and nationals.”
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