Groenvlei Perd en Ruiterpark

16/06/2026

Meet the 2026 FS Dressage Team for the SA Youth Dressage Championships 🇿🇦

5 questions with: Franco Stevens and Lorima Shanika

❓1)Tell us about your horse/pony, which level you are riding at and whether you are a part of a team

📝 I will be riding my Friesian mare Lorima Shanika in Junior Elementary.
❓2)Have you competed at the SA Youth Championships before, if you have, what are some of your personal highlights from previous years

📝 Last year was my first time competing at SA Champs which was a big highlight since at the time she had a MASSIVE colic operation less than a year ago and just came back better that ever keeping up nicely with the other Elementary horses.

❓3)What are you most excited about for this year’s Youth Champs? Anything special about going to KZN/Shongweni Club specifically?

📝 This is my first time competing in KZN and I am really excited to go and show at Shongweni Club.

❓4)What is your main focus for the SA Youth Dressage Championships?

📝 To ride good solid tests, really focused on refining every last detail. And have a nice forward flow of energy throughout all the tests.

11/06/2026

Meet the 2026 FS Dressage Team for the SA Youth Dressage Championships 🇿🇦

5 questions with: Elzé O’Kelly, 🐴Velocity Dot Com 🐴 and Mystique Nayla GPR

❓1)Tell us about your horse/pony, which level you are riding at and whether you are a part of a team

📝I will be competing with my horse, Velocity Dot Com also know as Dot, at Junior Novice level. I will also be competing with Chrismie’s pony, Mistique Nyla GPR, at Pony Novice level.

❓2)Have you competed at the SA Youth Championships before, if you have, what are some of your personal highlights from previous years

📝The 2025 Youth Champs was my first, where Dot and I competed at Prelim level and had a wonderful show! It was quite the adventure as Dot was new to dressage, but we thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I also had the privilege to spend Youth Champs 25’ with a very special friend, and we had the time of our lives! That memories will forever be treasured.
This year will also be my first Youth Champs with Misty, and I am very excited!

❓3)What are you most excited about for this year’s Youth Champs? Anything special about going to KZN/Shongweni Club specifically?

📝Youth Champs 2026 will be my first time competing at Shongweni. I am so excited to make special memories with both Dot and Misty and the team, what an absolute privilege it is to ride these two amazing horses!

❓4)What is your main focus for the SA Youth Dressage Championships?

📝My main focus this year is to improve from previous competitions, and to just try our best and have fun!

❓5)Tell us an interesting fact / story about you, your horse/pony or a previous Youth Champs

📝In 2025, Dot had only been doing dressage for six months when we competed at Youth Champs. The dressage arena intimidated him a little, and we started our qualifiers with a buck on the way to halt. Despite this, we’re incredibly proud of him and how far he has come!

09/06/2026

Meet the 2026 FS Dressage Team for the SA Youth Dressage Championships 🇿🇦

5 questions with: 8 year old Kiara van der Merwe and Jebel Daddy Kool GPR

1)Tell us about your horse/pony, which level you are riding at and whether you are a part of a team

My pony is amazing. His name is Daddy Kool, but we call him DK. He he is 20 years old. He takes care of me and is my best friend. We are doing a “canter test”. We are part of the FS prelim team.

2)Have you competed at the SA Youth Championships before, if you have, what are some of your personal highlights from previous years

This will be my first year competing at youth champs. I am super excited.

3)What are you most excited about for this year’s Youth Champs? Anything special about going to KZN/Shongweni Club specifically?

This will be my 2nd time at songweni youth champs, but the first time as a rider. I hope i also win doughnuts like my sister.

4)What is your main focus for the SA Youth Dressage Championships?

To have fun, support my team and do my best

5)Tell us an interesting fact / story about you, your horse/pony or a previous Youth Champs

When i am not riding horses I like doing music. I play in the schools string orchestra. I play the violin.
My mom says i am a dreamer, like when i rode into the thorn tree on poor DK and got stuck. Luckily he is amazing and stood still until someone could come and help us.

07/06/2026

Meet the 2026 FS Dressage Team for the SA Youth Dressage Championships 🇿🇦

5 questions with: Frané van Wyk and Sahara GPR

1)Tell us about your horse/pony, which level you are riding at and whether you are a part of a team

I will be riding my pony, Sahara, at Novice level. Sahara is a very talented and experienced pony who has taught me so much and I feel very honoured to be her rider. I am also proud to be part of Team GPR at the 2026 SA Youth Dressage Championships, as well as the FS PR Novice dressage team

2)Have you competed at the SA Youth Championships before, if you have, what are some of your personal highlights from previous years

This will be my first SA Youth Championships, so I am excited to experience everything for the first time. I am looking forward to meeting other riders from around the country and making lots of memories with Sahara and my team.

3)What are you most excited about for this year’s Youth Champs? Anything special about going to KZN/Shongweni Club specifically?

Travelling to KZN and competing at Shongweni Club will be a great opportunity to challenge me and Sahara in a new environment.

4)What is your main focus for the SA Youth Dressage Championships?

My main focus is to ride the best tests I can, enjoy the experience, and continue building a strong partnership with Sahara in the arena. I want to make the most of this opportunity and learn as much as I can from it.

5)Tell us an interesting fact / story about you, your horse/pony or a previous Youth Champs

A fun fact about Sahara is that when the horses are stressed at shows or unsure about new things, we often bring
Sahara along because she helps them relax. She is everyone’s emotional support pony!

05/05/2026

People love the idea of having big dreams

Few survive the process.

The real process is slow, frustrating, and sometimes even boring.

That’s why it pays. That’s why so few people get there.

~

Though we know once you reach the top of one mountain, there’s always another one to climb, sometimes you also have to stop, admire and appreciate the view. ⛰️

Today I want to stop and admire for a moment. From a scared little pony rider with duck feet (her words, not mine😂) to a multiple National Dressage Champion and then a super successful tailcoat debut this year.😎 It’s been an incredible journey so far, and I am so grateful to be a part of it.

Now to climb more mountains ⛰️😎👌

📷

01/05/2026

Team update: ⬇️💙

Meet my newest team member. 🤩 Elora Andreas (All At Once / Dauphin ) 🤩 Owned by the Elora Stud

Andreas is the sweetest horse with the most amazing work ethic. He’s been at GPR for a few months, and I’ve had so much fun getting to know him and slowly building a relationship 🤎

I am so grateful to Elzaan and the Elora Stud for this amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this incredibly special horse

📷

28/02/2026

You cannot wish for both strong character and an easy life.
The price of each is the other. 😉

02/02/2026

No one tells you how hard it is to actually become better. Better for the horse

When you learn to truly listen to your horse and focus on softness, understanding, balance, partnership and trust. You watch other people “school” their horses through the levels, teaching new movements and “progressing” while you spend an entire (weeks worth of) training sessions on standing still and relaxed at the mounting block, bridling, or teaching an FEI horse to stand still and relaxed on a loose rein.

You will be working on what the horse in front of you needs today, regardless of what it is supposed to know already, while others force the next trick with another new bit or piece of training equipment.

You will question everything you know, while feeling like you take 10 steps back just to progress to something you should have been able to do a decade ago.

Until one day someone will tell you how lucky you were to get the one horse with the fantastic temperament, the easy going personality and natural softness. Then you realize that being lucky is hard. But it’s also probably the best compliment you can get as a trainer. “Wow, your horse is looks so easy to ride, anyone would do well on him”

“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate”
Some we have to recognize for ourselves, even when others don’t

(Side note: this was written in response to a friend of mine, I still have miles to go to get my horses at that level where people say anyone can ride them😂)

16/12/2025

The reward is in the work. Trust the process

15/12/2025