VN October 2022

Vetnuus | October 2022 12 FAURESMITH 2022 Dr Glynn Catton This year the annual Fauresmith ride started on Tuesday the 5th of July (with the vet checks on Monday the 4th to check all horses were fit to depart) and finished on Thursday the 7th of July. The entries were over 300 horses, but only 286 started. The veterinary team totalled 21, and the first veterinary meeting occurred on Monday the 5th in the afternoon; DelaRey Ribbens arranged a CPD event. The team in the photo below looked ready and rearing to go. The weather conditions at the start of the ride were good with warm sunny days but deteriorated as the ride progressed. On Thursday, while being judged for lameness, the vets were struggling to see the jogging horses at the end of the vet lane due to the fog. It rained Wednesday night and Thursday morning; the horses departed in icy and misty conditions. We all know that this has been an extremely wet year, which resulted in the course being one of the most difficult – judged by experienced people who participated in the challenge. There were areas of the course where the horses were up to their knees/ fetlocks in mud and several lost horseshoes. Riders who usually try to get off the horses and run alongside them in difficult terrain found that they could not get off the horses because of the muddy conditions. A total of 126 horses finished the ride which is 44 % of those that departed. This low figure indicates just how difficult this particular ride turned out to be. Fortunately for our colleagues, not all those horses were judged as not fit to continue – many of the owners recognised the circumstances and conditions - and withdrew their horses without the vets having to make judgements. A group of students from Onderstepoort supported the vets, and the vets on the line really appreciated this support. The overall winner was a lightweight rider – Michael Vaaltyn, who was 32 minutes ahead of the closest rival, but the winners were: Heavy-weight winner - Jakkie Mellet in 9 hours 57 minutes Standard weight winner - Melissa Mentz in 9 hours 10 minutes Light-weight winner - Michael Vaaltyn in 8 hours 23 minutes Young Rider winner - Marelize Klopper in 9 hours 25 minutes Child rider - Esther van Eeden in 10 hours 7 minutes This is once again a tribute to our colleagues and their volunteers who supported this event - which had not occurred for two years; it illustrates the enthusiasm for this event and is a distinct tribute to those who completed the ride. v The names of the people in the photograph are the following: Standing Left - Right: Fred van der Linde, Gerhard van der Westhuizen, Henrich Potgieter Ø , Izak Hattingh Ø , Stephan Stander, Monica Muller, Melissa Lange Ø , Tino Dakwa, Lesley TeBrugge, Donald MacRae, Erika de Jager, Susanna Herbst, Dave Gibbs, Lea Shuda, Izak Hattingh Snr, Leon Loubser, DelaRey Ribbens. Kneeling Left - Right: Jesse Jones, Ivan Beukes Ø , Sanje Fourie Ø , Joane Basson, Stephan Vermeulen, Brighton Muyambiri, Nina Smith Ø , Francois Gerber. Ø = Student