My ESC riding journey

by Anca Venter

My first lesson at Equine Sport Centre (ESC) was rather daunting. My confidence levels were really low and the fear of falling made me afraid of jumping. My first meeting with Motheo was love at first sight. Little did I know how much we would still learn from one another. I have been riding for four years and I can honestly say that I have learned more in the last nine months at ESC than I have in the whole the years of riding before joining ESC. I learned that some things cannot be rushed, that going back to basics is OK, and that I needed to trust the process. 

Has it always been easy? Absolutely not! It took many days in the hot sun, pouring rain, and many hours in the saddle to regain my confidence. I had a noticeably clear goal from the start and that was to compete in SANESA in 2024. I had nothing to prove to anyone, but I had to prove to myself that I was good enough. I remember a training session where I had to do a particularly difficult course, I cannot even remember how high I jumped, but I remember Chantell Aylward, my instructor, and everyone at the ESC yard cheering me on. They believed in me when it was difficult to believe in myself. 

D-day for SANESA Q1 came much quicker than anticipated. I entered dressage, show jumping, and equitation classes. I had to remind myself constantly to breathe during the day and not to allow fear to take over. Motheo was a dream, and we started off on day one with a first place for my first ever equitation test. Next up was the dressage test. Once again Motheo reacted beautifully to what I asked of him, and we achieved a second place. Day two was show jumping. My favourite discipline. Motheo and I had two clear rounds with good times, resulting in another two second places. 

I could not have been prouder of how far we have come and gave Motheo some well-deserved treats and cuddles. As I look back on my journey with Motheo and ESC, I can only be thankful for what I have learned, not only about horsemanship, but also about myself. I am thankful that I have the love of a beautiful thoroughbred chestnut gelding called Motheo and that I get to love him back just as much. I am excited to see what the rest of 2024 has in store for us.