It is said that ‘some people are just born with horses in their blood’, and when it comes to the Neills, it is clear their horsey blood extends through the generations. Sarah and Oliver Neill have certainly inherited their parents’ talent. We had a quick catch-up with the pair after their super successful SA Youth Champs:
Did you know?
Mom, Cathryn, was crowned SA Adult Champion in 2018, while dad, Shaun, has claimed the title a fantastic four times!
Sarah Neill
HQ: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sarah: I am seven years old. I started riding when I was 18 months old, and I do dressage, equitation and jumping. My favourite is jumping, especially when I can go fast in a jump-off!
HQ: Can you tell us about your ponies?
Sarah: I have two ponies – FEC Raven and Peppa Fire. We got Raven in December 2023, and he does a bit of everything! We did dressage and 60cm jumping at Youth Champs, and we have also done quite a few equitation shows together this year. FEC Raven is a 7-year-old Welsh X. He has a very nice canter and a ‘puffy’ neck – he is very cute, but he can be cheeky sometimes when he’s fresh!
Peppa Fire, aka ‘Fifi’, is my new ride. We only got him three months ago – he is a 17/18-year-old cross-breed pony. Fifi is grumpy in the stable, but he is an angel in the arena! He loves to go fast, and he also has a very nice canter. We jumped 60cm at Youth Champs and will be jumping 70cm at our next show.
HQ: Can you tell us about how your SA Youth Champs went?
Sarah: I had so much fun at Youth Champs, and my ponies were amazing! Raven did two dressage tests, and we scored 60% and 63%, which I was very happy with! In the jumping, my ponies were on fire! Raven was part of the winning 60cm Gauteng team, jumping a super double clear for the team and coming 5th overall in the Championship. Peppa Fire bagged some nice prizes during the show, but then we ended on a high when he won the 60cm SA Championship! I am so proud of him – we went so fast in the jump-off!
HQ: Well done! And what would you like to achieve in your riding career?
Sarah: My short-term goals are to jump 70cm on Raven and 80cm on Fifi. When I am big, I want to win the Philip Smith Memorial Trophy!
HQ: Who is your coach, and what do you like about them?
Sarah: My riding career started with Santjie Odgers from Penbritte; she is amazing. She makes me so brave and has given me so many tools for my riding! Recently I have started having equitation and flatwork lessons with Joanne van Achterbergh and Kelly Slater from Kincardine. I LOVE Jo’s lessons; she makes them fun and teaches me something new every week. Kelly makes me laugh even though dressage can be boring, and she also teaches me using stories so that I can remember the dressage movements more easily. I also love Kelly because she brings me jelly tots!
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Oliver Neill
HQ: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Oliver: I am nine years old. I started riding when I was three but quit riding when I was five to start MotoX racing and go-karting. In 2022, I was lucky enough to ride my cousin Emily’s pony, Twinkles, which is when the riding bug bit again, and I haven’t looked back! I compete in jumping and equitation, and jumping is definitely my favourite!
HQ: Can you tell us about your ponies?
Oliver: I have two ponies – Cornerstone’s Starlight and My Irish Boy, aka ‘Laddie’.
We bought Starlight from Anthon Hoek as a green five-year-old last August; she is a very talented, sassy, young pony. She hasn’t always been easy, but she is so brave, and she is teaching me a LOT about producing a pony and about how to be patient with a young pony/horse. Starlight is jumping in the 90cm classes, and she has also done some equitation with me this year.
My Irish Boy is owned by Jade Anderson and I am very lucky to lease him from Jade. Laddie is a 20-year-old Connemara X pony from Ireland. I started riding Laddie in May last year; he is a real-life unicorn! Laddie can be cheeky, but I feel like he will do anything for me; I trust him with my everything, and he just LOVES to be in the arena. Laddie loves to win, and sometimes, it feels like he knows the course better than me! We started in the 70cm classes last year in May, and this year, we are competing in the 1m classes, ready to try our first 1.10m, hopefully soon.
I am incredibly lucky to ride Laddie, and every day on him is my favourite day.
HQ: And you had a super SA Youth Champs show! Can you tell us about it?
Oliver: Starlight had some super rounds, but also had lots of lessons to teach me! I lost my course on day one and had a bad stride, and got jumped out of the saddle on another day, but we fought back and had a super double clear in the 90cm Champs to end in eighth place.
Laddie was incredible at Youth Champs; he started with a 4th on the first day, a win on the second day and then the cherry on top, he won the 1m SA Youth Champs Class on the final day. He loved every round of this show; I think the Shongweni arena must be one of his favourites! We also competed in the novice equitation, where we took home individual 4th and Team Gold for Gauteng.
HQ: Well done! And what are your short-term and long-term riding goals?
Oliver: I would love to do 1.10m soon; I dream of jumping the 1.10m Derby on Laddie as he is an incredible Derby pony. My long-term goals are to win the World Cup series one day and to ride overseas. I would love to one day win the FEI Gold Tour and get to ride for South Africa.
HQ: And who is your coach? What do you like about them?
Oliver: I also started my career with Santjie Odgers from Penbritte, and she has taught me how to fight back when things go wrong, as well as to be brave and to love my riding. When I got Laddie, I started lessons with Jo van Achterbergh from Kincardine. Mondays are my lesson day with Jo, and they are my favourite days! Jo is so kind, and she teaches me to ride correctly and to never give up. I have learnt so much from both of these coaches over the past year.