Richard Maxwell on the Wild Coast South Africa

Richard Maxwell @ Sunray Farm

I have admired the work of Richard Maxwell for many years, and have read all his books from cover to cover.  His methodology resonated with me from the beginning.  I like the way he has taken little bits of everything, from Monty Roberts, through Parelli, to a mired of other horsemanship principals to create "The Maxwell Way"
Max, as he is fondly know is not just a really nice person, but an incredible horseman.

Imagine my delight when he and his wife Sam accepted my invitation to ride with us on the Wild Coast at the beginning of 2014.  I was a little awestruck at first - this was a "celebrity" in our midst but we all soon relaxed, it was like being with old friends.

We had an awesome week doing our 7 night Wild Coast Horse Trail, I was also privately very chuffed that Max liked my little mare Tara, we even got Max riding bareback crossing the rivers!  A first for him!

We had also organised a 3 day workshop for Max to do at our local riding club in East London.  It was well supported - thanks to Klara Web for doing the organizing and to the Border Equestrian Club for hosting the event!

The real treat was being able to host Max and Sam at home, Sunray Farm.  It really was inspiring to see Max in action - on my horses!
Our horses are all started using Join Up & T Touch Methodology, sprinkled with Parelli, and lots of common sense and many years of experience, so the horses were all very open to work with Max.  What I did realize while watching this horse master at work is how much more we have to learn and refine!

While with us, Max introduced us to the Masterson Technique of body work, and even at an introduction level of doing these exercises we could see the relief and difference in the horses that we worked on.  Ashley is particularly keen to learn and do more of this to enable him to support our competing endurance horses and hard working trail team.

Max working with Tic Tac

Max took his time working through our herd and explaining the Masterson Technique to us.

So, thank you Max and Sam for taking the time to be with us, I am sure that this is not the last visit and I look forward to a long and fruitful friendship.

If you would like to find out more about Richard Maxwell you can find him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001907215339&ref=ts&fref=ts

Fun with the young horses

We had some fun the other day playing with the youngsters, and introduced them to this huge ball. It was unbelievable how curious they were, and they followed it around for ages.
The idea is to teach the horses how to play "football" and kick it with their front feet while being ridden.  Two teams and a goal post each will complete the game. I think it will be loads of fun and make for lots of laughter and some fun riding!

What do you think?

Christmas on the Wild Coast at Sunray Farm

This past Christmas we had a full house at Sunray Farm.  It was the biggest Christmas that I have ever had to do, and it was awesome!

Staying at Sunray is not like other smart lodges and camps found on safari. When you come to stay with us, expect to make yourself at home!

Don’t date a girl who travels — Better Humans — Medium

Don’t date a girl who travels — Better Humans — Medium:



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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