When you tell someone you do endurance riding on horseback, they always reply with something like, “So you do that ride, ag man, there in the Free State, what’s it called? Forester or something, man.” The pure joy on their faces when you reply “Fauresmith” and the shout “Ja, that one! So do you ride there?”
Everybody knows about Fauresmith, even if they don’t think they do. It is the bare tradition of endurance riding in South Africa. A right of passage if you will.
You need to be one tough cookie if you think of tackling the “toughest ride in South Africa”. You need to know what it means to be an endurance rider.
So, what is Fauresmith all about?
If you’re an endurance rider, you’ll know. For those who don’t, Fauresmith is a multiple day ride over three consecutive days. It is a one horse/rider combination that competes against him-/herself, the elements, terrain and the clock. Other riders are also there to compete against, but that completely depends on your purpose for attending.
Fauresmith is annually held during the first week of July, the coldest time of the year in those parts. This is what makes it a traditional ride. Temperatures reach a minimum of -10 degrees Celsius easily at night.
The distance is another unique feature of Fauresmith. 202kms over three days, each day with a maximum of 75 kms. With most endurance rides, you ride loops that end up back at base. Fauresmith has three venues off base where horses are inspected by the vets and allowed time to rest. This places another unique element to Fauresmith – off base grooming. Vehicles race against the clock to beat their horse to the venue to ensure that enough water, food and blankets are ready for when horse and rider arrive.
Who can ride at Fauresmith?
One doesn’t simply saddle a horse and ride at this unique event. You and your horse need to qualify. You can qualify by completing three x 80kms, two x 120km or one 160km ride in the time after the previous Fauresmith, up until the last weekend in May of the current year. However, if your horse has successfully completed a Fauresmith the previous year and has completed a 80km ride after that, he is qualified to do Fauresmith again this year.
Teams are based on the horse/rider combination performance throughout the year and during SAIC of the current year. Teams compete at Provincial and National level. Weight and age categories are as follows:
- Under 14 years of age: Child rider
- Between 14 and 18 years of age: Junior rider
- 18 to 21 years of age: Young Rider (rider has a choice to ride as either junior or senior)
- Over 21 years of age: Senior
Seniors are divided up into weight categories, which is the weight of rider and all tack that will be on the horse, minus the bridle. Categories are as follow:
- Light weight: Weight below 73kg
- Standard weight: 73kg – 95kg
- Heavy weight: Weight above 95kgs
So it’s just about the riding?
Absolutely not! Fauresmith is an annual gathering of the riders and their families, with over 400 horses attending each year. Each horse has about four to five people coming with, meaning that there are over 2000 people there – sleeping in tents and caravans, showering and using ablution facilities all out there in the freezing cold. It is more that just riding – it’s a time of sharing. Sharing memories, stories, secrets and opinions. It is a place where you laugh and cry at the same time with a complete stranger when the vet gives the final thumbs up or down at the last vet gate. No one is left out and no one is made to feel unwelcome.
Oh, the cold…
Fauresmith is one of the coldest rides of the season. This is what makes people come back year after year. When you can state that you have completed Fauresmith, it’s like having your first beer – a right of passage. The atmosphere is incredible and the people hospitable. You are always welcome to share the warmth of the fire with complete strangers. You always hear laughter, as someone tells a story or a joke – and you can be sure it involved a horse!
Fauresmith is a family event. This is where support is of utmost importance. The grooms are literally the support structure of the team. If you are an endurance rider who hasn’t completed this ride, make it your goal to do so next year!
Fauresmith is truly unlike any other ride in South Africa. It’s tradition is rooted at the origin of endurance riding in this beautiful country. Whether rider, groom, vet or official, every moment you look out onto the horizon that is the Free State, you sense a freedom that is only associated with the horse.
15 years of taking photos, there, and 12 years later, I still don’t get used to not going there. I trashed all my negatives last week but I went and salvaged the Fauresmith ones. What I want to do with them I don’t know. Any sugestions?