Having spent most of his life on the backs of some majestic horses, Momsie Rhaga hopes he can use his skills to get more underprivileged children involved in the sport.
Rhaga, 45, competed at the SA Adult Show Jumping Championships in Plettenberg Bay recently, where he picked up a bronze medal in the individual event and also claimed the gold medal for the Eastern Cape in the team event with three other riders.
Rhaga said the competition, which took place at the SunEra Estate from November 20 to 25, had been tough and he was very proud to have achieved the results he did.
Rhaga credits his success in the sport, in which he has been involved since the age of 22, to Diane Snodgrass-Botes, owner at the family-run First For Horses Competitive Livery and Dealing Yard just off Sardinia Bay Road in Port Elizabeth.
“I knew we had the chance to do well even before the competition began,” Rhaga said.
“We worked very hard leading up to it and I must give thanks to our coach for all the hard work she put in to get us ready for the championships.”
Rhaga said his father had worked at the livery as a groomer and farrier and this was how, at eight years old, he had been introduced to the beauty of horse riding.
“During my young days, I would take a string and tie it around a tree, to pretend I was riding a horse, but as I got older, I [told] Diane I would like to ride a real horse, so she gave me a pony to practise on,” he said.
At 22, he took part in his first competition as part of a team and they won the event – still one of his proudest moments on horseback.
Speaking about his current horse, New Deal, Rhaga said: “I have been riding with him for about six to eight months now – he is a lovely horse, and we have such a good relationship.”
He said one of his biggest aims was to achieve national colours in the sport, but admitted it would take a lot of hard work.
“I would like to start a programme where we can take children from the street and closer to the horses. To be able to teach them how to ride and develop a love for it would be the biggest pleasure for me.”
Team manager Zola Bisa, who himself is a medal-winning SA show jumper, said he was very proud of the way the team carried themselves at the championships and hoped to have more successes.
“My riding career began from my father, who also worked at a stable, and I was a rider for some time. I represented SA in 2003 when we won gold in Mauritius.
“And now this, it makes me so proud,” Bisa said.
“I am an assistant coach here with Diane, but I would love to become a professional coach one day.
“I love this sport and since injury has forced me to stop riding, I would like to take up coaching so I can help others to also be champions,” he said.
Snodgrass-Botes commended Rhaga’s love and passion for the sport. “He is here [with the horses] every day. I am so proud of him,” she said.