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Kiki Maurey
Age: 54 years.
Location: Lyndhurst, New Forest, Hampshire.
Sports Area: Equestrian (Western Riding/Specialism: Reining)
Status: Amateur
When did you start horse riding?
I’ve always been considered sporty, especially as a child when I could run and jump very well but was unable to really develop my talents due to having rickets as a baby. I started getting interested in horses from the ages of 10-11 years.
I don’t come from a well-to-do background which surprises a lot of people when they hear that I’m passionate about horses. Oddly for a black child, horses were my very first memory – before I could even walk - I saw them from a pram on the Downs at Bristol and have never forgotten that moment.
It is important to realise that before slaves were shipped from Africa to various destinations, they lived on the land and tended livestock. This is in contrast to what’s happened since with Black people here and in the US living a largely urban existence.
What made you take up horse riding rather than any other sport or physical activity?
I love the land, my garden, and really enjoy wildlife. Horses seem to be in my blood and keep me sane when things get stressful. There is still racism in equestrian sport but less so in western riding. Another issue is the expense, and you need to have a relatively good income. We manage by not often having holidays, or eating out, we also forgo lots of other luxuries.
I run my own business (www.kikimaurey.com) as an enterprise consultant working with a range of clients from government departments, regional development agencies to owners of small businesses. I’m also a keynote speaker and conference facilitator. Running my own business gives me the flexibility to pursue my twin passions of gardening and horse riding/training.
I spent the first 15 years of my life in children’s homes, and was then pregnant and married just before my 17th birthday. In those days I had no money but after a few years as a cleaner I was able to buy a very sickly orphan New Forest x Arab foal affectionately known as The Midget. He survived and grew into a lovely family pony. I learned to ride by trial and error and book reading. My daughter and Midget became the best of friends and the two of them would spend hours chatting together when they were little.
Midge was put down at 23 due to an incurable bone disease. I was going to give up riding as I too had developed arthritis, but instead got a chance in a million to buy a 6 year old quarter horse called Snippers Soul Rebel or Ché for short. Like Midget he was a beautiful grey and despite being only 14.3hh had a very powerful build as well as a lovely kind intelligent eye.
How many horses do you have?
We have two, one of which I bred myself and my partner who is also Black, rides him. In the past we have entered county shows but to do well we found that we couldn’t show our own horse ourselves due to a bit of snobbery and some racist attitudes. We had to hire a handler to enter the horse in hunter young stock classes. Things are very different in western riding, in fact one of our best UK youth riders is a young African Caribbean woman who is doing very well in the US and Europe. I would really encourage BME young women to consider this growing sport.
When did you enter your first competition and in which event?
I agreed with Ché’s previous owners to learn to ride western which was a bit tricky as it was totally new to me. Apart from the very different tack there was the problem of knowing where to start. I joined the Western Equestrian Society and attended clinics around the region and have since used some great trainers. Within a year I started to compete at small WES shows. Thankfully Ché loves to travel and always runs himself up into the horse trailer, stamping as he goes to make sure we leave promptly.
Since then we have steadily progressed in a number of western disciplines: Western Riding, Western Pleasure, Trail, Horsemanship and Reining. Every year from April through to September we compete in about 5 or 6 western shows, some of which run over 2-3 days including the Western Equestrian Championships held at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire. On some days we have competed in 7 or 8 classes.
All the western disciplines are absolutely fascinating and require a high level of concentration in both horse and rider, especially Trail (a complicated ground level obstacle course the horse and rider). It involves all the basic movements of backing up, side pass, reversing around cones, manoevering over platforms and in and out of tight spots which calls for the ability to place the horse’s foot in exactly the right place. Our other favourite is Reining which is performed at the lope (canter) on a relatively loose rein, requiring the correct riding of large fast and small slow circles, flying changes, spins, roll-backs and sliding stops. Ché is bred for this particular discipline and absolutely loves it. It’s an exciting but technically and physically a very demanding (and growing) sport.
Preparing for the show season is a year round activity for me, even if I can only ride once or twice a week in the winter because of bad weather. At present the longer days means riding 3 or 4 times a week. We are lucky to have our own yard in the next village but have to ‘borrow’ an arena from friends just up the road. It’s absolute bliss to school Ché on a lovely early spring morning away from the stresses of work.
We normally spend 20 minutes warming up in walk and jog, and quickly get into western ‘dressage’ mode, ie half-pass, side-pass, shoulder in, travér, back-up (without using the reins). From then on its 25 minutes of loping circles and doing Reining manoeuvres. We stop for frequent breaks to take in air and just to relax – it’s a way of rewarding Ché for making an effort, and this is when we also have a practice at Trail. He loves standing on his platform, or backing through a gateway or reversing between sets of poles set in an ‘L’ shape. By never doing the same thing two days in a row, neither of us gets sour.
Are there any barriers within this event which you faced?
Apart from the start-up costs that are similar to any other equestrian discipline, there really aren’t any barriers in Western Riding. Everyone is very welcoming – it’s a new sport and very exciting. Going to shows is great because we catch up with people we only see on the circuit.
Whilst I manage on a tight annual budget, I readily acknowledge that many BME families can’t afford to keep horses even if they wanted to, because of the cost of training, tack, clothing, livery, and transport etc. However, little by little things are beginning to change with more BME people open to the idea that we can compete in different kinds of sports besides athletics and football.
In order to fit showing in with work, I have devised a show ‘battle-plan’ which works really well: I have a list of show clothes, grooming equipment and tack to be taken. Everything’s already cleaned from the previous show (it always takes a day to unpack and clear up). I start to ‘go inside myself’ and imagine riding the various patterns and disciplines – despite not getting the actual patterns until we arrive at the show ground (they are always a nightmare to remember at short notice).
We do a little more preparation in the week before a show but we don’t overdo it neither do we overdo it in the practise arena before a class. I think this is the secret to Ché loading himself and getting excited at going away. My mental attitude to showing seems to work: I never take my horse for granted – Ché has a home for life and I want him to last! I never go out to compete against others but instead try to bring out the best in my very talented little horse.
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