“The eyes of the world have been opened”

The Namibian Equestrian Federation (Namef) received international recognition when they were honoured for their pioneering work at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) Awards Gala in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night.

Out of a total of 136 nations belonging to FEI, Namibia won the FEI Inspire Award for their Para-athlete development programme ‘Enabling through the Horse’ that is creating life-changing opportunities for Namibian children with special needs. 

The president of Namef, Richard Frankle, and Susan de Meyer, who is conducting the programme, were both present at the glittering ceremony, where Frankle received the award on behalf of Namef. 

“This recognition will make a huge impact on the federation, the programme, the children and the horses,” Frankle said after receiving the award from FEI president Ingmar De Vos.

“We are also grateful that Susan de Meyer’s work is being recognised through this award. She is the one with the teaching skills, producing incredible results through her endeavours and patience. One girl was completely non-verbal and after two weeks of the programme spoke her first words. Another boy had no confidence and it took him three months to get on the back of a horse – and now he is riding and absolutely loves it.

“It is amazing to see the impact such a large animal can have on children. Initially, many children are scared, but as they interact with the horse, they begin to understand its true nature. This helps them realise that while the world can be intimidating, there are also parts of it that are safe and welcoming. Horses are completely non-judgmental; they accept you for who you are. They connect deeply with children, becoming one with them,” he added. 

The winners were decided by combining 50 percent of the public votes cast on FEI.org, and 50 percent of the judges’ votes, and Frankle later thanked The Namibian for publicising the awards.

“We won the award, it’s absolutely amazing! We did it and you certainly helped with your article!,” an elated Frankle said on Wednesday night. 

A video showcasing the programme’s work was shown to the audience at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel, which Frankle said struck a deep chord. 

“Almost the entire audience was in tears. People from so many countries across the globe congratulated us and winning this award is huge for Namibian equestrian sport,” he said. 

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere and experience with an audience of about 250 people from 80 different countries in attendance, and judging by the audience’s reaction and comments afterwards, Namibia must have received a lot of votes,” he said. 

In the video, Frankle describes the programme, saying that it has been an ‘unbelievable journey.’

“We tried to create pathways for underprivileged children with various physical or mental challenges, we were trying to create a better life for them,  trying to empower them, and that journey has been unbelievable,” he said. 

“It grew from a programme that was just supposed to enable kids to make contact with horses and learn about horses to a programme that has now provided unbelievable therapy for these children. It has enabled the children to gain more confidence; it has enabled the children that were non-verbal to start speaking within two weeks and to start communicating with their horses, it was amazing.”

“But the bigger thing was the impact on the communities and the feedback we got from teachers and parents showed us that this programme is working,” he added.

De Meyer said she was ‘absolutely overwhelmed.’

“Seeing the emotions of people from all over the world around me was really overwhelming – to see how they enjoyed the video, but on the other hand also really appreciating what we are doing. I think with issues regarding the welfare of horses now being at the forefront, it showed that we are using horses for the right purpose, and it made people think differently about horses,” she said. 

“What I think happened is that the eyes of the world have been opened to what we should do for our special needs kids all over the world and that made me very proud. We received so much exposure and got so many enquiries about how we can help other countries to also start off a project like this,” she added. 

Frankle, meanwhile, said they will try and spread the programme to as many countries as possible. 

“Someone said to me, this programme has created a memory for a child that no one will ever take away, and now we want to see if we can take that to as many other countries who are prepared to receive us,” he said. 

“What started off as a small programme in Namibia, I believe, is now going to take the rest of the world by storm because in each and every country there are children who just want to be recognised. The true winners are the children and the horses themselves,” he added.