10/12/2024
Razdi Pick Me
Ever so often, greatness happens not because it was destined to be. Not because of some innate talent, or incredible ability.
Once in a while, greatness happens because of a quiet belief, a wild imagination, and an utter disregard for what should be possible.
In an equestrian partnership, you need equal parts confidence and humility to make such an unlikely outcome happen.
Confidence that you can make anything work, and the humility to always put the horse before your goals.
The partnership between Lané and Pick Me, had exactly that. And it culminated in the most unlikely greatness
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The Youth Dressage scene in SA changed dramatically around the time Pick Me was born on the Razdi stud farm in the Northern Cape. Parents began importing well-schooled, quality dressage horses from Europe for their children to ride. At the same time, the quality of SA-bred horses also improved dramatically.
The individual SA Dressage Championships became a very competitive affair. Every gold medal was won by hugely talented, mostly imported, well-schooled horses. Every once in a while adult riders “borrowed” their senior championship horses for Juniors to ride. It became very clear: if you want to be competitive on the Youth scene, find yourself a damn good horse.
Whilst the Dressage scene changed dramatically, Pick Me grew up in the Northern Cape. Right off the bat, he was adamant about doing life his way. Born as one of a twin, Pick Me never really grew, he was destined to be a pony, but then grew one cm too big to reach 15 hands on the dot. He also wasn’t blessed with big paces or much elasticity. Pick Me would have made a brilliant pony… only he never got the cute and cuddly personality either 😂
By the time Pick Me was sold to 9-year-old Lané Laubscher to ride, he had enjoyed a successful Children’s career. Coached by Jaco Fourie, Lané quickly moved through the levels with Pick Me, winning the SA CH open Championships numerous times. The Children category suited Pick Me, he didn’t have to compete against big moving horses, and the level capped at PR Medium was doable.
When Lané started high school in BFN, Pick Me and her other pony Cosmic moved to GPR. High school also coincided with Lané having to move out of the Children category into Juniors. Where all the high quality big, moving horses competed.
I remember riding Pick Me for the first time, getting off, and telling Johane that I had no idea how on earth we were going to get this small moving, inelastic overgrown pony through a JNR Medium test. He also had a non-existent left-to-right flying change. Later that day I heard his stable nickname was “Stokkie” apparently because he was so stiff😂 Johane just turned around and told me “Remember you said dressage is for the horse, the horse isn’t for dressage”
Ok, challenge accepted.
Fortunately, I quickly came to realize, that what Pick Me lacked in ability, he made up for in heart. No one ever told Pick Me what he should and should not be able to do. He made me think of the Little Engine Who Could. Paired with a rider (and mother!) who had the absolute best blend of belief in their “pony” while never putting any undue pressure on him, he flourished. Pick Me always got what Pick Me needed. We just trained the basics. If what he offered coincided with a big championship, great. If not, we kept training the basics.
By the time the end of the year came around, Pick Me and Lané had won the DSA Challenge, the SA Medium Freestyle Championships, and Sanesa National Medals.
Then, we decided to try our hand at Advanced, with the FEI Jnr Individual test at the SA Youth Championships as the major focus point. Pick Me relished the technical aspects of the FEI tests, and with Lané’s brilliant attention to detail, we started to put together a pretty decent test.
At the SA Youth Championships held at Shongweni, everything just seemed to come together for Pick Me and Lané. They came second in the qualifier, won the team event with the FS team, and then rode the most impeccable test to win the Individual South African Junior Dressage Championships.
After which Pick Me and Lané went on to win 3 more Gold Medals at the Sanesa Nationals in Advanced. Pick Me then topped all of the above, winning the FS Jnr PSG Championships held at Bains Equestrian Park. Their PSG debut, and Pick Me’s retirement.
As always, putting their horse first, the Laubscher family decided to retire Pick Me while he was still as fit and sound as can be, at the absolute peak of his career.
It’s been a privilege to be a part of this unique horse’s journey. Thank you Pickels💙 thank you Lané, and thank you, Tania.
Dressage Facility and Stable Yard in Bloemfontein
