Excitement is mounting in South African equestrian circles as riders and horses all over the country get ready to compete in the national show jumping championships to be held in Durban again this year.
Sponsored by Harcourts Real Estate, this thrilling event will take place from 6th-10th August (the Women’s Day weekend) at the Durban Shongweni Club in Hillcrest, and all the top riders will be in action, including Nicole Horwood who won the championship last year, Shaun Neill who won in 2012 and Jodi Pieters who won in 2011.
“This is South Africa’s premier show jumping event,” says show director Sue Pieters, who has run the championships for the past three years, “and offers spectators the opportunity to see the very best equestrian talent in SA perform from 8am to 4.30pm for five days.”
Winners will be determined in every height division from 70cm to 1.6m and the main class, the 1.6m Show Jumping Championship of South Africa 2014, will have two qualifying classes held on Thursday and Friday. The top 24 horse and rider combinations from these qualifying classes will then compete in the main event on Sunday.
“The course designer this year is the internationally-renowned Bernardo Costa Cabral from Portugal, and the Durban Shongweni Club has outstanding facilities for spectators as well as horses and riders,” Sue says, “so we are expecting a tremendous turnout, and we are also hoping for the mild weather that is usual at that time of the year.”
Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts Real Estate, which is the headline sponsor for this year’s event, says the property group is delighted to be associated with the championships and hopes it will become a regular “partnership”.
“Show jumping at this level is an enormous achievement, and takes years of diligent practice as well as determination and courage on the part of both the horse and rider in each combination. Our support of this event acknowledges their outstanding efforts and the fact that, as part of an international group, we would like to see many more South African participants in international equestrian events.”
