Canter, gallop and leap to first place
ZOE COETZEE
When she rode for the first time at the age of 2, Alexia Augousti fell in love with the sport. Together with her horse Moonshine, or Moonie, or Moon for short, she competed in the SANESA Q4 2021. She competed in the dressage Special Needs Tests 3 and 4 as well as the Special Needs Performance Riding Class. She excelled in all three of her categories obtaining 3 red ribbons – which are for first place!
At the tender age of two she participated in a study to see how riding horses affected children with disabilities. And the rest is history. Her passion grew over the years as she rode horse at Pretty Gardens; her favourite pony being the ever-sweet-tempered mare, Heidi. Her passion continued to grow feverishly since she got her very own mare, Moonshine, a year and a half ago.
This is the 2nd time she’s ridden in the SANESA competition, her first being in 2017. Her horse is a 9-year-old shier-cross-paint and is about 15.1 hands tall. She was originally a farm horse, but when the farm owner replaced her with another nattier horse, she was left alone to do nothing but eat. But now, under the watchful eye of Alexia and her trainer, Lize-Marie Coetzee, she has lost the excess weight and is being trained especially for her.
Alexia’s second home, Elanzi Stables, is where she can get onto her horse and ride until the sun goes down.
If you are interested and want to follow her journey, you can find her on Instagram @alexia.equestrian.
