SPORT NEWS - Seven talented young riders from George have done their home town proud, competing at the recent Sanesa National Championships at Kyalami Equestrian Park in Johannesburg from 6 to 11 October.
These dedicated horse-and-rider pairs first earned their place on the Western Cape Team by excelling at the Sanesa Regional Championships hosted in George earlier this year - a major achievement in itself.
These young riders are Sharla Swanepoel (5) of Little Glens, Cecilia Tereblanche (5) of the Zorgfontein Educational Centre, Mila Swanepoel (10) of Glenwood House, Marli Grieshaber (13) of Laerskool George-Suid, Charlotte Wiseman (12) of Holy Cross Primary School, and Nienke Nel (15) and Mikayla Louw (17) of Hoërskool Outeniqua.
For the horses, this meant a two-day journey of over 1 200km with careful planning to ensure their well-being along the way.
Every stop for rest, water and feed was meticulously scheduled to keep them calm and healthy for the demanding national competition ahead.
Despite the long road and complex logistics, the George riders held their own among the country's best, proudly competing in their Western Cape colours across several disciplines, including showjumping, dressage, equitation, working hunter, performance and working riding.
The athletes' awards
Rising Stars Category both "On lead"
- 'Aladdin' with Sharla Swanepoel (5), from Little Glens (Glenwood House). She achieved a 1st and 3rd place for 30cm show jumping and an 8th place for equitation.
- 'Crunchie' with Cecilia Tereblanche (5), from Zorgfontein Educational Center, achieved a 1st for working riding, 2nd 30cm show jumping, 3rd 30cm equitation, 5th Prix Caprilli, 7th Prix Caprilli, 7th 30cm show jumping, 8th performance riding, 12th dressage and a 17th for dressage.
Sanesa Nationals Primary School
- 'Aladdin' with Mila Swanepoel (10), also from Glenwood House, got placed 11th for her show jumping, 12th for equitation and 7th for her dressage test.
- 'My Girl Mia' with Marli Grieshaber (13) from Laerskool George-Suid, placed 4th in 70cm working hunter and 1st in 70cm show jumping.
- 'Calista Jamani' with Charlotte Wiseman (12) of Holy Cross Primary School secured two gold medals in dressage preliminary level, and newcomer hunter. She also earned two silver medals in dressage preliminary level and 70cm equitation, a bronze medal for performance riding Level 7 and lastly a 5th place in 70cm show jumping.
Charlotte’s consistent excellence throughout the competition earned her a 5th place overall as top rider/horse combination out of 543 primary school riders at Nationals, Runner-up for the Victor Ludorum award for top rider/horse combination with the SA Boerperd Breeders’ Society out of 132 entries, and runner-up for the Victor Ludorum top rider/horse combination representing the Western Cape.
Sanesa Nationals High School
- 'Marengo' with Nienke Nel (15) from Hoërskool Outeniqua received an 8th for 80cm equitation, 13th 60cm working hunter, 27th and 31st for 80cm show jumping.
- 'Lucy Lane' with Mikayla Louw (17), also from Hoërskool Outeniqua, ended off with a remarkable 1st 90cm show jumping, 2nd 80cm working hunter, 4th equitation, 9th working riding and 13th show jumping.
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