Sunray Farm Horse Riding Holidays; College groups, families & friends

Merrist Wood College  on a Wild Coast tour

While the weather swings dramatically between the extreme heat of a Durban summer and the chilliness of the start of winter, so Wild Coast Horse Trails vacillates between being wildly busy to sedately not so busy but quietly ticking over.

Nicky, our freelance guide, decided to take a bit of a busman’s holiday in February and March, travelling up north to visit our friends at Horizon Horseback Safaris and Wait A Little Big 5 Horse Safaris. In her absence, suddenly, trails were booked and 14 girls from the UK’s Merrist Wood College descended on Sunray Farm for a week-long riding holiday and cultural experience.

Swimming on the Waterfalls Ride

Visiting the local school

It was a delight to have them share their enthusiasm and energy with us and the local community. With lots of riding, visits to game reserves, an overnight trail and a trip to the local school, the girls were kept busy throughout their stay and returned to England with many happy memories and tales to tell. We know that both they and all at Wild Coast Horse Trails eagerly await their return in 2014.

As the girls departed, so we welcomed a group of four riders, also from the UK, who joined us for a farm stay and trail. With African Horse Sickness still in our midst, we have had to be careful about travelling too far with the horses for fear of exposing other equines to the virus or increasing the risk of our own horses catching different strains. As a result, we have been challenged to develop alternative itineraries and to explore the local area for additional rides. Nevertheless, the riding remained fast-paced, breath-taking and diverse, incorporating everything from a game experience on Endalweni Game Reserve to explorations into the hilly grasslands of the Wild Coast and unforgettable beach canters.

A family horse riding holiday at Sunray Farm.

Hot on the heels of this trail, we welcomed an Israeli family to the farm. Yaacov, Leanne and their four daughters enjoyed a week of getting to know our horses and our ways of working with our equine companions. We have never had such a hands-on group on our farm stay before and Roz and Nicky, who hosted and guided the group, enjoyed a rather leisurely week as the four girls pitched in with the grooming, tacking up, feeding and pretty much any other horse-related task thrown their way!

Julie-Anne’s son, Ashley, has also returned to Sunray Farm after 2 years of working for Perseverance Endurance Stud in Graaff-Reinet. As a competitive endurance rider and an experienced horseman, it is wonderful to have his influence back on the farm once again, especially with the wealth of experience he picked up during his time away.

As well as assisting with the general running of the farm, Ashley has taken on four potential endurance horses and is beginning backing and training them ready for competition. The oldest of the four is our Anglo Arab stallion, Torstone Tashbah – a stunning animal with lots of personality and a rather bouncy gait that puts many a rider off but will provide little challenge for Ashley! The other three range between four – six years old and have been selected on the basis of their conformation, breeding and temperament.

Starting Torstone Taz Man

In addition to these steads, Ashley has been assisting Roz, our yard manager, in the backing and training of some of our younger horses. We are delighted to have some young Percheron/Arab crosses and nice tall Anglo Arabs coming into work and hope to see them excel as strong, solid, weight-carrying trail horses.

As the cooler weather begins to creep in, we are hoping for an end to our African Horse Sickness problems; certainly, infection rates seem to have slowed considerably and our latest patient is well on the mend after a medium-term battle with this lethal virus. Between the Disease Control Africa vaccines and the MMS treatment, we seem to be getting on top of this particular strain and hope that next year will see far fewer cases than the 35 or so we have had to treat this year!

The Wild Coast is fortunate enough to enjoy a relatively mild winter, with temperatures rarely dropping below 20⁰C during the day and 10⁰C at night. Our days are usually dry and sunny, making for some of the nicest riding conditions – a secret few seemed to be aware of … until now! Our trails are booking up nicely and we have a base-stay at Endalweni Game Reserve booked nearly once a month for the foreseeable future (although places are still available should anyone be interested).

We are also looking forward to returning to our pre-AHS haunts further up the coast. In May we will be taking clients on a seven-day beach trail up to Wavecrest and the Kob Inn – an itinerary we have had to abandon during the horse sickness outbreak. This stunning ride takes in some incredible, long beach canters and provides accommodation at some of the best-situated hotels on the Wild Coast – and there are still places available for anyone who might be interested in joining us on this adventure.

We have a steady influx of working riding holiday guests coming throughout the winter so have a lot of work planned for horses, both in terms of keeping them fit and ready for trail, and schooling them in order to enhance their responsiveness and suppleness to provide the best mounts for our trail clients.

Our horses are really the most important aspect of this company as they are the ones that create a riding experience that our guests will never forget. Their hard work, reliability and enthusiasm for their work is really what makes Wild Coast Horse Trails stand out as one of the best beach-riding operators in Africa. Come along and enjoy a unique experience on horses that are full of character, endurance, stamina and sure-footedness.

The mares enjoying the autumn sunshine

Nicky Hoseck, Wild Coast Ride, part 3

Nicky Hoseck, Wild Coast Ride, part 3

It is summer on the Wild Coast

On the Wild Coast, it is not only Santa Claus who arrives at Christmas – in fact, it usually feels like half of Johannesburg and Bloemfontein also descend on the area to celebrate the festive season. As a result, December through to early January always prove to be busy for both the equine and the human team.

With 18 of our working horses located at the beach paddocks in Kei Mouth, Amanda, Jenny and Roz lead literally hundreds of people up and down the local beaches – mostly at a steady plod. Every year we experience a great sense of pride that those same horses that gobble up the kilometres on trail with the wind in their manes and the sand under their pounding hooves, then take completely inexperienced riders safely along those same beaches, carefully following nose to tail in a study of concentration and equine responsibility.

In addition to the day rides at the beach, we enjoyed a mid-December trail with return client Werner Vogt and the McLennan family from the Western Cape. Time Warp proved himself once again, carrying Werner safely and expertly for the full four-day trail. Initially, we were concerned that Time’s old leg injury would mean he would struggle to carry the extra weight (Werner is about 6 ft tall and weighs around 95kg) but he did a sterling job and came back sound and still full of running. The McLennan family experienced a few aching muscles being unused to such long hours in the saddle, but nevertheless enjoyed the thrills and spills (well, just the one spill!) of the trail.

Sunray Farm has seen many guests come and go over the past month, with several clients from previous trails returning to enjoy a stay at the farm. We welcomed back Laurence LeGal and thoroughly enjoyed her company once again. We also hosted the indomitable Christiane Dubat who, at 67 years of age, nevertheless rode us all into the ground! A good five to six hours a day in the saddle was not enough to weary this rider! On the one ride, a lady walking past us on the beach commented, “I used to do that in my younger days.” and I thought to myself, well, I hope that, like Christiane, I’m still doing it in my not so younger days!

To assist with this steady flow of mouths to feed, Sarah Dawson (The Ride’s quieter third party) joined the team at the farm and produced a consistently impressive array of meals… even her packed lunches were full of variety and surprises! She also brought her son, Fynn, along to provide a running commentary on life, the universe and anything else that popped into his 10-year-old mind at any given moment!

We are already missing them both, even though they have only been gone a couple of weeks, and many tummies and taste-buds have happy memories of their stay here.

In addition to the usual business of getting bums in saddles, we’ve had the unfortunate challenge of an outbreak of African Horse Sickness in the area. For those unfamiliar with the disease, this is a midge-borne virus that causes a leakage of fluid within the body and affects the inflammatory system. There are several different strains of the disease which are indicated by a variety of different symptoms, often making it difficult to diagnose in time to treat effectively. There is no known sure-fire cure and some horses die within a few hours of infection. The outbreak began over Christmas with one of the first confirmed cases occurring on Christmas Day itself.

It has been a difficult and stressful period for all horse-owners in the Kei Mouth/ Morgan Bay area, with a total of over 60 horses dying as a result of the disease. On a more positive note, we have received huge amounts of support from people far and wide. Professor Alan Guthrie, one of the leading specialists in AHS, came down to Kei Mouth to offer advice and support to our local equine community.

We were also fortunate enough to receive a donation of a new AHS vaccine developed by Disease Control Africa which enabled us to vaccinate all our horses. While this vaccine is still very new and, in general, available only on prescription, many believe it offers horses a new hope of surviving this dreaded disease. A booster of the vaccine produced by Onderstepoort Biological Products was also provided free of charge to horse-owners in the area, giving individuals the freedom to choose the most effective method of managing the outbreak according to their own personal philosophies.

Wild Coast Horse Trails lost four horses in total, including our Percheron stallion, Bobby, and managed to save about seven horses that have been confirmed as having AHS. Our method has been, firstly, to check horses regularly for swelling above the eyes and around the muzzle in order to identify the virus early in its development. Frequent checking of temperatures has also been vital in helping us to pick up infection early on.

We have been using MMS intravenously and orally to treat those infected horses and it seems to have proven successful in the majority of cases. I won’t go into the complexities of MMS here as I am not really knowledgeable enough, but the basic premise of it is that it works as an oxidizer to kill the pathogens of various diseases. MMS is made up of, primarily, of weak solution of chlorine dioxide mixed with water and several additional neutral trace elements. For more information about MMS, please visit http://www.miraclemineral.org.

We are now in the fortunate position that the outbreak seems to have abated. Whatever this can be attributed to, both ourselves and our horses are relieved at this respite and hope it continues throughout the remainder of our summer.

So, as the New Year begins, we put old sorrows behind us and focus on the brighter future ahead. We are eagerly marketing our trails although the year has got off to a slow start in that department – please do contact us for further details if you are interested in a thrilling ride along some of the best beaches in the world! Our working riding programme is looking busy throughout the year so we are delighted to have so many keen riders coming to join us and share their knowledge and experience. We wish all our readers, clients, followers and horses a very happy 2013.

The Ride Wild Coast Adventure - by Nicky Hoseck

The Ride Wild Coast Adventure

Everything at the farm this month has paled into insignificance when weighed against the incomparable thrill of the The Ride’s Wild Coast Adventure which I embarked on with Barry Armitage and Joe Dawson of The Ride last week. Joining us was a return guest, Victor Kee, who has spent many years taking clients riding over Exmoor. As it turned out, we were a pretty invincible team… well, not so pretty but definitely invincible!

 So, our mission was to cover 200km of stunning Wild Coast terrain in six days, departing from Umngazi River, north of Coffee Bay, and ending in Kei Mouth. The first leg of our journey was to box the horses up to the starting point. Our departure day dawned hot with strong winds, not making for the best conditions, but Julie-Anne and Clint drove on valiantly and we arrived at Umngazi in time to set up camp (for both horses and humans) and head out on a short orientation ride.

While this ride did little to prepare us for what was to come, it did give us a taste of the beautiful scenery and breathtaking vistas that the Wild Coast had in store for us. After an evening spent getting to know one another, I left the party watching themselves on TV, and snuck off to my deflatable mattress for a shoddy night’s sleep.

With only a short distance to cover on the first day, we allowed a significant amount of time for Barry to faff – something that would become as regular as coffee in the mornings to come – and then headed out on a bit of a stop start commencement to the day. And what a ride! This section was new to everyone and finding the correct path proved challenging – as did the path itself! Leading our horses, we scrambled along in knee-deep mud, fighting off the grabby branches and trying not to entangle ourselves or our horses in the numerous obstacles keen to hinder our progress.

After a hot and sweaty start to our ride, the terrain became slightly less exacting and we arrived at our first stop, The Kraal, in time for a spot of lunch and well-deserved swim in the warm waters of the Mpande river. An afternoon sojourn to the local shebeen (unofficial tavern) gave all the chance to kick back, relax and soak up the friendliness and hospitality of the Xhosa people.

Day three saw us covering +-40km from The Kraal to Mdumbi – it also presented us with our first big river swim. Under Barry and Joe’s expert guidance, we intrepidly strided out into the Mtakatye River, whose 100m wide expanse put a few butterflies in everyone’s stomachs. Despite a little unwillingness at the start of the swim, the horses ventured on valiantly and we all arrived safely and relatively gracefully on the other side and sat down to a lunch of river-soaked sandwiches (courtesy of me who had de-water-proofed them for reasons none of us could fathom).

 The next day was hot and we had some serious distance to complete so the pacing of the ride was vital. With Reign and Victor dropping back rather on some of the long hill climbs, we decided to swap horses in order to keep the day moving. With a lighter rider on his back, Reign soon found his feet and slotted in with the rest of the horses. The day ended even more beautifully than it had begun, with a ride through a curiously atmospheric dune forest and out for a last long beach canter and up through the river to Bulungula where we spent an idyllic night in a thatch lapa in the paddock with our horses.

We all awoke early the next morning, except for Joe who remained huddled in his Barbie sleeping bag even as one of the horses decided to investigate the lapa for any signs of food. And who can blame her? We all found Equifeeds so tempting in appearance that we sampled it and decided that it was a definite improvement on some of the foodstuffs us humans were being presented with for breakfast!

Now on our fourth day of riding, we were heading to The Haven, a section of the ride that I had been particularly looking forward to. The Haven is situated within the sister reserves of Dwesa and Cwebe which conserve one of the Eastern Cape’s largest remaining sections of indigenous coastal forest. As I have quite a thing for forests, I had been wanting to visit this area for a long time and the morning’s ride did much to emphasize the unique appeal of this arboreal wilderness.

We were all very relaxed, knowing that we only had around 20-25km to complete during the day, and so we added to our time in the saddle by losing equipment (I actually rode back in an effort to locate my GPS that was actually safely stowed away in my bag all along) and sustaining minor injuries. An unexpected branch scratched me on the nose enough for it to bleed profusely and require the expert first aid of Barry – i.e. he stuck a big piece of white tape on my nose, laughed at me and took photos – ahh, the bedside manner!

A quiet afternoon was enjoyed, sort of, by both horse and human, although Barry’s natural energy levels (approximately the same as a Duracell bunny) meant he had trouble with this concept and forced us all to drink copious quantities of red wine instead (I swear, I was an unwilling participant!). A wonderful evening of laughter and silliness saw me struggling to arise from my damp tent the next morning and I surfaced only just in time for breakfast.

From The Haven we continued our journey down the coast and our last night on the road would be spent at The Kob Inn, where I was back on familiar ground having recently ridden up there on our newly adjusted 7-day beach trail. It is a wet day from start to finish, with rain soaking us from above and rivers soaking us from below. Our first challenge is the Mbashe River which, with its grumpy greyness, notoriety and sharks, is enough to stir a little nervousness in me. It proves to be a straightforward wade across so, with that out of the way, I am all ready to enjoy a great day’s riding in the pouring rain!

The rain couldn't do much to dampen our spirits, although one or two unexpected rivers did take some of the fighting spirit out of our leader. With the countryside beginning to flatten out and the long beaches stretching ahead of us, it was an incredible day’s riding with the overcast, rainy weather providing good conditions for the horses and keeping us all cool and hydrated!

The wonderful hospitality and friendless of the Kob Inn’s proprietors and staff were a welcome luxury as we arrived sodden and shivering. Warm showers, big beds and great food were some of the highlights of the evening. A few more dry clothes would have been an added bonus but it was not meant to be, although the tumble-dried jeans and socks were a welcome sight (and sensation) the following morning.

Saturday marked the last day of our adventure and we had three rivers to cross and just over 50km to cover to our final destination. The day is pretty grey with intermittent rain and one of the horses is battling a little with chafing from the girth the day before. We adjust all her tack, do away with the martingale and set out with a whole new perspective – one which is primarily filled with chestnut ears as the head is flung around in celebration of this new liberty.

Shaan-Rae and Candis join up from The Kob Inn with us at the beginning of the ride but the fast pace soon separates the original four members of the team from our new companions. The beaches are fast and furious and the horses, now on familiar ground, are full of running. We hit the long beach before Wavecrest with a spring in our steps and plenty of banter about the gallop ahead. As I know the horses well, I also know that I am riding the fastest and it is not long before we drop, lengthen and leave the others behind. Although I have galloped this beach hundreds of times, it never fails to produce much exhilaration and the feeling of complete freedom. I wrote in my diary: “We are galloping into an abundant beauty where happiness pushes light into the shadows and illuminates the darkest corners of my soul.”

After a wade through the Nxaxo River, we eat lunch quickly and continue on our way. We usually take one full day to ride back from Wavecrest to Kei Mouth, and now we are hoping to squeeze it into a couple of hours – which we manage successfully. Although the guys have let me lead the way since Wavecrest, I lose all control when we hit the golf course and watch in horror as they canter heedlessly up the fairway, threatening to destroy our already strained relations with our neighbouring golfers! Joe’s excuse was that he forgot to put his horse’s bit in – Barry’s was that he’s simply pig-headed and doesn't play golf!

What an incredible week! I feel almost homesick for the adventure and for the companionship of both humans and horses. This trip has inspired me to dream beyond my comfort zone, plan new challenges for myself and my horse, give up smoking, and basically change the entire way I approach life and horses. “Right now, in this tiny moment, there is no one who can clip the wings of my freedom. Together, my horse and I, we can conquer untold wonders and discover all that lies beyond these horizons.”

For more info on how you can be part of our Wild Coast Horseback Adventures - go to our web site

Wild Coast Horseback Adventures

Barry Armitage Wild Coast Recce day 5

Barry Armitage » Blog Archive » Wild Coast Recce: day 5

Wild Coast Recce: day 5

December, 2012 | No Comments

We had had a bit of a party at The Haven. The pool table had beckoned and as is the norm when playing this game we had a few drinks or rather, a few more drinks! Victor treated us to a fit of his very special giggles kicked off by the recounting of a misunderstanding between him and Joe around Jacob Zuma that had happened while riding that day. A Xhosa man had walked past us on the beach wearing a t-shirt with the image of our president printed on it. Victor had greeted him in the only word of Xhosa that he knew “molo” and Joe said “Jacob Zuma” making note of the picture on the guys t-shirt! A ridiculous conversation ensued with Victor convinced that “Jacob Zuma” was the plural of the greeting “molo” and Joe not too quick to let on that it wasn’t! It had us all in stitches!

It rained extremely hard in the night and our tent leaked resulting in even more wet clothes. The rain eased slightly by morning but everything in the world was soggy.

We dithered before setting off undecided about whether to wear wet weather gear or not as the rain had eased up and we wanted to avoid that poaching feeling that a waterproof jacket gives when you are wet underneath, when the day warms a little and you are generating body heat from physical exertion. We decided to go without, carrying our jackets in our cantle bags.

The mighty Mbashe River was shallow and wide but our obvious crossing point was guarded by patches of sinking sand and we chose to cross at the mouth instead; it was over 200m wide at this point and I set out ahead of the others to make sure that there were no surprises in store. There weren’t and we all crossed without our boots hitting the water. Joe and I have ways feared the crossing of the mighty Mbashe but it has always been kind to us, allowing us to cross her sometimes formidable waters without incident.After that we alternated fast exhilarating beach riding with long extended trots on winding paths into the ever flattening hills, able to get into good rhythm and maintain a steady pace; not too fast, good for the horses, and good for covering ground.

This section of the trail feels very remote; we are still in the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve and winding up some steep heavily vegetated hills desperate for some heavy grazing or a fire. We ploughed through this rampant greenery, me promising myself to bring a machete next time, before descending onto some very lonely beaches that seem never to have seen man. We then cut inland a bit riding through beautiful mature forest on well established tracks, and exited the reserve through the front gate.Our next river crossing was what Joe and I call Bunker Boat House River or the Nqabara River, the spelling of which offers little suggestion of how it should be said unless you are a fluent Xhosa speaker. This is not one for Vincent’s fledgling Xhosa! The rain had started again with some intent so the swim across the Nqabara just added to our abject state of wetness. In this weather soggy was the new dry!

The countryside flattens steadily towards our overnight stop at the holiday resort of Kob Inn and we were able to move through the landscape with an efficient rhythm even though the rain was chucking down. We had long since resorted to our foul weather gear as the temperature had dropped markedly and I was snug in my new bright coral red UVU jacketwhich breathes beautifully avoiding that dreaded poached feeling of most  rain jackets.

The last river of the day was the Shixini, another spelling that defies the spoken word, and required just enough swimming to get us properly wet just in case the rain had missed some secluded spot. We were all looking forward to a hot shower, dry clothes and the comforts of a room at Kob Inn after a long 42km day. We were all in a buoyant mood though; there was just one more day to go of our Wild Coast Adventure, albeit our longest, and the horses were doing well.

For more information on The Ride’s Wild Coast Adventure Trail go to: http://www.barryarmitage.com/expeditions/wild-coast-adventure-trail

Labels// adventure, horses, ride, riding, the ride, trails, travel, Wild Coast

Barry Armitage » Blog Archive » Wild Coast Recce: day 6

Barry Armitage » Blog Archive » Wild Coast Recce: day 6

Wild Coast Recce: day 6

December, 2012 | No Comments

The last day of our little caper down the Wild Coast was the longest, a 50km run from Kob Inn to Kei Mouth. The rain was still chucking down and although our jeans had dried the rest of our gear was still soaked. The toughest part of my day is always hauling on sodden clothing, socks and boots but it was reasonably academic as it was raining and the first river crossing was just a kilometer away, promising another thorough drenching!

We left Kob Inn mid morning, timed to coincide with the low tide to give us easy river crossings and wide stretches of hard sand on the beach for our last day of exhilarating gallops. The landscape flattens considerably making the riding flow easily from the beaches, through green tunnels in the occasional narrow bands of coastal bush. to paths on the gently undulating grassy slopes; in short, fabulous steady riding perfect for eating up the distance ahead.

It was going to be a long day in the saddle and the four of us knew that we needed to push on whenever possible. We had bonded well as a group, united by our shared experience. Victor, far tougher than his outward appearance, had us in stitches most of the day with his quirky Irish sense of humour and had fueled the team building banter for most the trail. He was having the ride of his life. Quiet Nicky was living her dream of expanding her experience of riding the Wild Coast, a quiet smile crossing her face when my eye caught hers from time to time. I suspect she was in that zone that I get into toward the end of a ride. You know that it is coming to an end bringing on a slight case of the blues as you realize that a return to “real life” is imminent, but, you have bonded with your horse and fellow riders and the unit is working well together, covering ground efficiently, allowing your mind to wander to the experiences of preceding days. These are experienced as group but within that each person has a unique experience formed by the combination of man (or woman) and beast, each with a mind of their own, and the challenges presented by the landscape. There had been countless steep hills, hot days, muddy tight forest tracks requiring us to lead the horses for considerable distances, rocky outcrops to negotiate, and of course the river crossings. Most people are slightly daunted by the first swim with their horse but everyone grows to enjoy the feeling of achievement when reaching the far bank, especially when it has been as long as the 180m swim to cross the Mtakatye.

The landscape unrolled before us, each of us silent with our own thoughts for long periods, through one stunning setting after the other: picturesque cove, tranquil forest fringed bay, aloe pocked hillside, striking rock formation smashed by  perfectly formed waves, sublime beachscape punctuated with serene sleek long horned cattle! It was all there magnificent to behold but I had stopped feeling the need to photograph it, I just wanted to experience this landscape and the wonderful zone I was in with my homeward bound horse Tara, and my companions.

As we neared our destination the sea dirtied slightly, announcing the presence of the Kei River, for so long the boundary of the Cape Colony under British rule. This is Nicky’s back yard, she has been riding here for the last five years and I was happy to hand over the lead to her and be a passenger for a while. We were riding fast on easy winding paths, soft underfoot for the horses, travelling in an extended trot or slow canter. And then, suddenly, we were there, riding on flat ground down the northern bank of the Kei toward the pont that would carry us and our horses across the river to the hamlet of Kei Mouth. Our fabulous ride was over!

Joe and I don’t often ride long distances with other people and it was great to have the opportunity to do so and in the process make two new friends in Nicky and Victor who really rose to the challenge of this adventure. Thanks to Julie-Anne Gower from Wild Coast Horseback Adventures our partner in this venture and her wonderful horses Tara, Tamsim, Tene-sea and Reign.

Labels// adventure, horses, ride, riding, the ride, trails, travel, Wild Coast