RB's blog

Hello again! R.B. here and in this issue I would like to talk to you about my friends in the Wadi Degla Federation League and their work outs. Our league trains 6 times a week, for about 45 minutes. The riders are paired up with their horses over a period of 2 months. During these 2 months, riders are allocated 2-3 horses according to their level, and the horse with whom they have the best chemistry then becomes their horse for the duration of the competitive season. The season begins from late September to early October through to late April or early May. During this time, competitions are held at different clubs throughout Cairo, Hurghada, and Alexandria and all riders compete at a national level. The organization responsible for the competitions is called the Egyptian Equestrian Federation.
Our league is divided into 2 areas of riding. The first is show jumping and the second is dressage. Our show jumping riders’ age range from 10 to 29 years old. Our league competes in jumping fences from the heights of 80-90cm to 135cm. When a rider is allocated a horse in the league, his horse is only ridden by him for training and for competing. Our show jumping team is made up of 19 different horses. Of these 19, some horses are local breed, and others are Hanoverian, Oldenberg, and Dutch Warmblood. Foreign horses have a much bigger body, are much heavier, and are capable of jumping higher than the Egyptian horses. I, myself, am a foreign horse but I’ve happily been living in Egypt for many years. Our second area of riding is called dressage. We have 4 riders competing in the A classes until the D classes. The dressage competitions begin and end at the same time as the show jumping competitions.
I have taken the liberty of sharing a few photos from our training session with you. Let me know what you think, any thoughts or comments you might have, I will ALWAYS reply!

That’s me! I am 17.5hh.

Welcome to SKAN Horse’s first blog post! My name is Arbacello, and I would like to invite you in sharing with me the SKAN Horse experience. Let me elaborate on what I mean; in this page, which will serve as a visual diary of our daily escapades, our knowledge, and our successes, you will learn what our ethics are, what our motivation is, and where you yourself find your own little corner within the SKAN Horse Riding Academy.
We are the only school in Cairo to offer a Kids’ Program, for example. Although we are located in Wady Degla Club in Maadi, we offer non-members of the club to ride with us. Our riding curriculum begins at the age of 3. This is a course for children who love horses, and cannot wait to be a part of the Equestrian community. The program is steady, and is tailored for level 1, which the kids can then join at the age of 6. Level 1 is open for adults to join, and students who previously have taken horseback riding classes are given a test by the Head Instructor of the school and placed into an appropriate level. The categories of riders are divided into 3 levels, the first being level 1, in which the students are taught the fundamentals of horseback riding. They will learn balance, independent seat, the correct position for riding, which are all the basics of making a good rider. To us this is the most important of all levels without which we cannot proceed to more technical exercises. In level 2 students evolve on their skills by using them at a higher level of riding, which introduces cantering for the first time. Level 3, being the most advanced level, introduces jumping fences. When a particular student stands out, this student is invited to join our Federation League where he or she will compete at a national level for titles and prizes.
We hope to see you added to our community, whether you are a doctor, a business man, or a stay at home mom, we guarantee you a stronger core fitness, a mental break from your daily life, and a wholesome workout with a silent best friend.