Bridgewaters Horse Park

01/02/2025

It is truly a privilege to get to spend a lifetime with your horse and be with them to comfort them right to the very end...

In twilight's hush, she kneels beside,
A faithful friend with breath grown wide.
Soft shadows drape the stable's walls,
As silence in the evening falls.

Her fingers trace his weary mane,
A bond of years in whispered pain.
She speaks of trails, of meadows bright,
Of gallops through the morning light.

He knows her voice, his weary eye,
A final gaze beneath the sky.
She holds him close, her steady hand,
As earth reclaims his spirit grand.

And in that still, unspoken grace,
They linger in a timeless space.
A life well-shared, in love they part,
A horse, a lady, and her heart.
'
'

31/12/2024

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving to all our clients, friends, family, staff and service providers. Wishing you all an abundance to be grateful for this year🧡
It is sometimes easy to get distracted by the day to day and forget to take stock of all the good. We have much to be thankful for this year and will be spending our day reflecting on the many blessings we have received, not the least of which is: fantastic staff and service providers that care for our amazing horses, a season of beautiful new foals, fantastic junior horses coming up and of course our boy Bridgewaters Stake Nite bringing home his General Sire Ranking title for the 6th Consecutive year 🏆

11/11/2024

Greatful 🇺🇸 💙

14/10/2024

No Blue Monday at BHP with organic carrot delivery for all the horses and Charlie supervising to make sure everyone gets an equal portion size 😉

04/07/2024

Happy Independence Day 🇺🇸

05/06/2024

Winter is finally here... 🥶 and all the beauty it brings in the early morning was captured by our very own Nicolene Venter

10/05/2024

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.
2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…
3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..
4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.
5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...
6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.
7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.
8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.
9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!

22/04/2024

Best of Luck to the Nite Legacy Sons and Daughter's this week 🏆
We will be eagerly watching and cheering you on👏 😃

03/04/2024

Now this is one good recipe courtesy of Kara La Brie ...

Recipe for raising a “horse girl”…….

You bring them home from the hospital and instead of keeping them home you let them breathe in the smell of horses every chance you get….

Then at a few months old you prop them up in the saddle and hold them there to just sit in the saddle….

When they are 3 they say they can’t pick up the horse’s hoof …you help them but then tell them they need to finish themselves…..

You let them lead the 23 yr old faithful gelding because leading the big horse makes them feel so proud….

At 4 yrs old you teach them that the horse depends on them for water, hay, grain….Dinner might be almost ready in the house, but ponies eat first …..

At 5 years old, when she falls off for the first time, you check to make sure nothings broken, wipe her tears, then you give her a leg up and tell her to get it done, because you KNOW she’s a great rider…..

At 10 years old when she doesn’t place in her class at the horse show and she’s falling apart, you ask her if her horse worked hard for her, and then you tell her that to her horse she is #1, and to keep riding, because her horse depends on her……

At 12 years old she comes home from school and tells you another kid said something mean at school to someone she knows. She then tells you she told that kid to shut their mouth and keep it to themselves…. Then she walked off with the kid that was being made fun of……

At 13 years old her friends at the barn are as close as siblings……they support her in her wins and her falls…..the barn has created relationships that are thicker than blood….

At 15 years old her first “boyfriend” breaks up with her ….. you can tell she is upset so you both head to the barn. She wraps her arms around her horse’s neck, breathes him in, and the tears flow. But you can see that resolve emerge when she’s cantering around the ring…. She tells you her horse is better than that boy any day.

You heard others say over the years…..

“Horses are too expensive!”
“She’s going to get sick from all the germs.”
“She’s going to fall off and get hurt.”
“She spends too much time at the barn.”

When she is a young woman and leaves your home, off on her next adventure, you head out to the barn. You thank her horses, you breathe them in, you wrap your arms around them because ….

Horses helped you to create a confident, self-assured, responsible, kind, nurturing, outdoors-loving, tough as nails, throws her shoulders back and stands tall, strong woman.

To all the parents raising “horse girls” keep going, you are giving them more than just riding lessons…..
Written by Kara LaBrie❤️

29/03/2024

Uncle B ❤️ Can't belive it has been one whole year 😔. We miss you and your louder than life personality, your quick wit, constant jokes, amazing stories and of course the singing. You brought so much joy to those around you and where an irreplaceable part of the HPS family. Hope you and Harold are off getting up to some some mischief and enjoying a good Bourbon 😉 🤣

29/03/2024

Uncle B ❤️ Can't belive it has been one whole year 😔. We miss you and your louder than life personality, quick wit, silly jokes, amazing stories and ofcourse the singing 🤣 You are an irreplaceable part of the HPS family ❤️ Hope you and Harold are off getting up to some mischief and enjoying a good Bourbon 😘

17/03/2024

HPS Girls expanding horizons and supporting our friend Andre and his horse Goofy with a visit to the 2024 SA Show Jumping Presidents Cup 🏆
Some fantastic horses and skilled riders out here today!