THE absence of beloved horse rider Piet van der Merwe was definitely felt at the memorial ride named after him, which took place at Lormar on March 2 and 3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All participants shared beautiful and fond memories of the legend, most of which were of unique moments shared with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The weather was nearly perfect and everyone could enjoy cool mornings, clear skies, sunny afternoons and a full moon to light the way for the early starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well-seasoned officials from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa made sure the rules were upheld at all times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horses were closely monitored by vets who have decades of experience and compassion towards the beautiful creatures who make endurance riding possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of them will be supporting the up-and-coming ride at Lormar on October 19 and 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In true Lormar fashion, the social part of the event was upheld by the few who kept things cheerful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humorous memories of Van der Merwe were shared at the ride briefing by Robert Lord and Andries Pretorius, who lifted the spirits of everyone who cared for the legend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The track was flat at stages but the rain from earlier in the year had made the track more of a challenge than intended as the veld paths were slightly deeper and damaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The winners were chosen from local categories (ERASA) and international (FEI) categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ride was held under international rules (FEI). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following riders were the winners in their respective categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 160km Standard-weight: Nico-Meyer Le Roux on Waterlea Selena, fastest time 09:05:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 160km Lightweight: Jessica Mostert on Leyla Rodan, 10:17:38<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 120km Standard-weight: Mabet Cilliers on Ryhom Razzaq, 06:27:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 120km Lightweight: Nico-Meyer Le Roux on Tsunami Rosy, 06:23:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 120km Junior: Ralien de Beer on Mekadesh Jiddan, 07:00:46<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 120km Heavyweight: Hubert Ferreira on Henham Lormarie, 06:30:06<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 120km Standard-weight: Mondi Kanyana on Amra Kraken, 7:23:31<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 120km Lightweight: Charlene Grunow on Sauk Kaydi, fastest time 06:22:46<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 80km Standard-weight: Trevor Nel on Nawadi, 04:10:41<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 80km No-weight: Michael Vaaltyn on Nira Thunder, fastest time 03:58:26<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> FEI 80km Young rider: Marius Venter on Joni Shamahl, 04:01:38<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 80km Heavyweight: John Bell on Caprice, 04:52:44<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 80km Standard-weight: Marli Louw on Beaconsfield Chief, 04:06:27<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 80km Lightweight: Klaas Jonas on Al Kamiya Rabeh, 04:34:32<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> ERASA 80km Junior: Nicolas Engels on Lormar Century, 03:59:33.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE absence of beloved horse rider Piet van der Merwe was definitely felt at the memorial ride named after him, which took place at Lormar on March 2 and 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\n .<\/span> FEI 160km Standard-weight: Odet van Wyk on Saruk Sumo, 09:12:08<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n