Sun, surf and family fun!

I was so awestruck the first time I saw this photo of Marieke and her horse in the surf

that I couldn’t stop smiling. I thought, now there’s a dynamic woman getting the most

out of her horsemanship and I wanted to know more about Marieke and her journey. I

think you will agree that this is one incredible family that have enormous fun with

their horses. They have certainly inspired me to get out there and have some fun with

my family and horses alike. Sharon Parbery, Parelli Regional Correspondent (volunteer)

Here is Marieke’s story:

“To say that everything equine is our life is an understatement. My own love of horses

started from about the time in which my memory did. I watched horses, hung out with

horses, dreamt of horses and, of course, always daydreamed and visualised being a

part of a herd some day. Today, I live that dream; my herd of two children, an

amazing horseman husband and four horses!

I met my husband, Rob, while we were both competing on the endurance circuit. In

fact, it was our horses, Queen and Kunami, who fell in love first. We have all

competed for over ten years in 40-60km events. Rob proposed my hand in marriage

while on horseback, in the moonlight at 13th Beach, Barwon Heads, which is now

considered our special place.

Our two children are also equine enthusiasts. Our nine year old daughter took on

Buster, a Welsh/Shetland Pinto 10hh, when they were both the age of three and since

then they have successfully completed 3 x 5km and 1 x 20km endurance rides,

copious trail rides, Pony club and many an agricultural show. And our four year old

son, Diesel, completed his first 5km led trail ride at two and since then has completed

two official 5km endurance rides and a 9km trail ride through KDTRC, of which Rob

is president. He has also competed at Kyneton Show.

We broke Buster to cart quite easily around three years ago, which serves as yet

another purpose for us and adds much delight for our children and our local

community, who always show delight when we take him out through the quiet streets.

We have also taken on a young Arab Fairview filly named Roxy, that Rob and I also

broke in as a team. She too, is a delightful soul and very curious and willing.

And George, a rescue Pony, is new to our herd and was saved from a number of wild,

brumby ponies slaughtered in Jeparit, Northern Victoria. Unhandled, malnourished

and riddled with lice, we took George on with one intention; to save him from a most

pointless and wasteful death. He is now likely to be another loved part of our family.

Since July, we started a ridged re-feeding program as well as a regular handling

regime that has gone hand in hand with physical ground work to necessitate hoof and

teeth care. George is responding well to our handling methods, which we attribute to

being the same way that we raise our children; positive reinforcement first, allow a

sense of freedom, conduct everything with patience, love and understanding. We

capitalise on good behaviour which provides an opening for willingness being

captured through many wide and varied experiences as we can provide.

Rob took on Kunami as an 18 month old colt and successfully broke him into saddle

at about three, after much ground work had been completed. The connection between

Kunami and Rob was the most unique that I had ever witnessed. They both enjoyed a

special bond and Rob was able to do more with this horse than I had seen done before.

They were connected with total respect, love and understanding. I speak of Kunami in

the past tense as we lost this gorgeous fella two years ago through incurable bowel

disease. We lost a great friend!

Queen, my grey Arab mare, loves to be first and up front where she is most

comfortable. Our first few races were a battle as my intention was to keep her back

and maintain energy. Learning more about her over time, I now allow her to run her

race to where she feels comfort and this lends itself to a less stressful ride. The feeling

of transition from spirited to comfortable is magic.

Queen and Kunami both love the beach, however, for different reasons.

It is the love that Rob and I have of this special place that I believe rubs off on the

horses. Kunami loved the dune work; ups and downs and the challenges of underfoot

softness. Both love the wide stretch of 4 km beach where they would freely race

beside each other.

After the horses have ridded themselves of cobwebs and worked up a nice sweat, we

end the day on the beach with surf work. Horses respond more willingly when being

‘asked’ rather than being told. The asking is all the more easier if the foundation of

trust and respect has been established first. Responding to Queens’ willingness and

trust in me, I began coaxing her into the surf each time we visited the beach. We

would go in deeper and deeper and ensure that each experience was a good one and

finishing on a good note. I always wear a helmet as the surf can get very rough and

stay saddled to lessen the risk of coming off. Queen now anticipates each wave and

we ride in to the rear of the wave and diagonally out to surf. There is nothing more

exhilarating and an extra bonus is that the salt water is very therapeutic for muscles

and skin.

We believe that there is great importance in handling horses with purpose and with a

set intention in mind. This is key and is definitely what each horse seeks from its

leader. We work and play with our horses; ‘work’ in determining leadership and

respect and ‘play’ in providing as many experiences as possible. More often than not,

our horses comply with our sometimes unconventional activities.

Our horses are all barefoot and have been for seven years. Rob barefoot trims our herd

and to this day none have been lame, touch wood.

Two years ago I sustained a hefty riding accident. Queen tripped and fell on some

unstable rocks at high speed and I fell with her. Queen was perfectly in tact, however,

I broke my neck; a fracture of the C1. As the triage doctor confirmed, any more

intense and it would have been ‘lights out’! Needless to say, although I was braced

and out of action for some time, my helmet was my saviour, along with some good

old fashioned luck. I am now a true soap box helmet advocate. I am lucky that,

although a tad more cautious, my trust and love of all things equine is still in tact and

I thank my lucky stars everyday at how I blessed we all are!”

Marieke Featonby, Australia

(To contact Marieke visit her Facebook page)