Friday, November 5, 2010

Busy Days!

Hi you all! I DID miss each and every one of you! (I hope some of you have actually missed me a bit....??) My week has been hectic,I have been blowed over totally! Am only just now starting to see normal again and remembered to BREATHE 5 min ago....Well,I am all right,more than ever so! Let me tell you about it...Out of the blue I get this call Tuesday ..from the chairman of the home owners committee of a State Of The Art Equestrian  Estate right here in Tzaneen,they have been interviewing prospective Riding Instructors/Stable Managers to run the equestrian side of the estate for the past 2 years with no luck...no-one complied with their (rather fastidious) demands...The home owners now wants to get the equestrian side of things going..they did buy there because all these riding facilities were promised to them after all. Someone suggested that someone call me and just arrange an interview...huh... um..I have never had to do a interview before..I am a housewife who runs my own little riding school for crying out loud! What do I know of interviews?? Ok, be at the chairman's house for a meeting (INTERVIEW) at 7:15 tomorrow morning..What the.."Your husband says he is busy shoeing horses the whole day tomorrow and he wants to be present..."My husband KNOWS about this??" Yes, be there... bye..At that point my armpits started smelling...

So off we went the following morning,as we entered the estate our jaws started sagging,there are actually people in our little town with that much money??? Oh my,those houses are huge and I must say very taste full Georgian and Southern style houses,it felt like I was slap bang in in the American deep south it just needed swamps! The estate is situated high up in the mountains with views over a huge lake. A charming older gentleman invited us in to his beautiful house and introduced everybody,there were lots of gentlemen in that meeting,I felt a little bit daunted..I admit,this situation was way out of my league! i was asked some questions,asked to make some suggestions,handed plans for R4000000 stables and asked what my opinion was..I looked at the plans and thought what I would have added if they were mine..and then I couldn't shut my mouth the ideas just rolled out of it...Cules looked rather shocked at first..Geez...I made a LOT of suggestions. Then I was tried...someone mentioned something about his brother's children riding with said person up in Johannesburg...it just so happened I knew this person extremely well and actually deal with him on a regular basis...I could name his brother's children and their ponies and what they achieved at their last mayor show. Harr harrr! Life is just so good when something like that happens by chance!

Ok,to make a long story short,I got the job!!! I was given free rain to run the riding school and manage the stables,and I can choose my own staff! I am told over and over to just say when I want something or get it done and they do it for me. What bliss! They have already started building temporary stables for my riding school ponies to live in until the barn type ones are finished. I will acquire my own ponies for that riding school and have already found 2 suitable ones which we will go and fetch either Sunday or Monday. I have been really busy you see...

Today we went to Polokwane to watch a World Cup Qualifier Showjumping show! All the top horses in South Africa were there,legendary horses and riders..I couldn't stop staring, I took some pics for you all!

xoxo
Liesl



On arrival





Early on in the day I noticed this toy that they used to rake and roll the arena and immediately knew that Cules would soon be playing with the yard owner and his toy......




A bit of bling...




A confident,strong rider that caught my eye throughout the day.
Imported Holsteiner stallion,note brand on flank,there were quite a few imported Holsteiners.





Perspectives....





Look at the size of those jumps!
That was not the main event.





This poor girl fell off,lots of disappointment there..I felt so sorry for her.





See....I told you...!





The surface of the arena was imported from England and cost R 400 000 for the main and training arena.

10 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh!!! What a surprise!!! Especially since you weren't exactly applying for the job! Sounds like your husband may have slipped your name into the hat for consideration, but obviously it's your skill and "horse sense" that earned you the job!!! Congratulations!!! Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate and will be very busy for a long time to come!

    So you mentioned your school ponies will be moved over. Do you get to retain your current students and their lesson fees and just train them at the new facility?

    I hope you will have a fantastic arena and stables and all the support of good owners you need! Good luck! That's a heck of a promotion, dearie!!! Woo Hoo! :)

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  2. Did you say you need an assistant? Oops! I guess the family would miss me. What a quick job. I bet your head is still spinning. If their facility and horses are really super, I hope they're paying you through the roof! As they say, "You go girl!"

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  3. Excellent! Congrats to you and seems quite the surprise! But, those are the best things, now aren't they?! I hope you do well. I love the bling on those boots and I think I need a pair.

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  4. Hi all
    texwisgirl- Yes I can move my students and horses over,some have opted to stay at my place for now as their homes are closer to my place. That won't be a problem right now as I can arrange say 2 days a week to give them lessons here and the rest of the time be at the Estate. I am my own boss so to say and it is going to take a while to built up clientele for the new venue...I can charge whatever i think is reasonable and the income is all mine! They will make money out of the shows,pony camps and endurance races that I will host for them there.
    Patrice-are you packed???
    Hey Farmchick- Thank you,yes the unexpected stuff are always best,I have a wonderful feeling about this.

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  5. Oh Liesl, that's fantastic that you can still run your own show for lessons there! I know they'll keep you plenty busy on arranging the other shows and stuff once you're fully established, so I'm glad they're "giving you your head" on the lessons.

    And like Patrice said, I hope they're paying you plenty and making it well worth all your work! :)

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  6. Congratulations, what an opportunity! I am really looking forward to seeing the facility come to fruition and see all the pretty horses too.

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  7. So happy for you! Congratulations and keep us posted on how it's going. Sounds like an absolute dream job for you.

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  8. WOW!! That's great. Congratulations!!

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  9. Congrats to you!!!! What a great surprise:))
    HUgs to you on a new adventure!!!!

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  10. Oh, my! I'll bet you HAVE been in quite a whirlwind, Liesl! Apparently they think very highly of your skills and were very impressed. And I think it is so wonderful to do what you love to do and get paid for it! I am sooo happy for you!

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Hi,thank you for stopping by "A Little African Magic" and joining my adventures in South Africa. I do enjoy and appreciate to hear from each and every one of you!