ETSA Coaching Vicki & Jacques
By Deveau Zubrod Kreitzer
BEHIND THE GATES OF SCENIC VIEW FARM:
A LOOK AT SOUTH AFRICAN TRAINER
JACQUES VAN NIEKERK
T
he year was 1985.Victoria Gillenwater, at just 16-yearsold, was preparing to make her first trip across the Atlantic to South Africa from her hometown of Knoxville,Tennessee. Bill Wise had put together the first international team to travel and compete against a South African home team, paving the way for future Saddle Seat World Cup Teams. The competition was tough, and the South Africans had the advantage with horses they were more familiar with, in addition to the overwhelming support of their countrymen cheering them on. A young man, also 16, from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Jacques Van Niekerk pushed his way to the rail to see the one rider that brought the house down with her across the board wins on a tough horse. That girl was Vicki. “The way our paths crossed for the first time, I met him and talked to him that day, but didn’t know him,” said Vicki. Neither could ever have imagined that more than a decade later, their paths would cross again; this time, becoming permanently entwined. “She doesn’t remember me because she was becoming legendary in our country and I never in a million years thought I would be running her farm,” added Jacques, recalling the moment from 30-years-ago. Jacques grew up in the eastern part of Cape Province, in a tiny town called Molteno, about 3 ½ hours directly south of Bloemfontein. His mother, Judy, stayed home with the family, while his father, Stollie, worked in the oil industry. He also had an older brother, Stevie that passed away from complications stemming from Polio, at the age of 15. Jacques remembers “always riding” growing up. He started with a pony, and kept his first show horse at the local show grounds. As a teenager, he began showing under the direction of Koekie de Villiers, and had a very successful gaited horse. 200 THE INTERNATIONAL SHOW HORSE Blue Ribbon Edition
He continued riding and showing throughout his teens, and at 16-years-old began riding with highly regarded trainers Koekie de Villiers and then Harold Poil. After high school, Jacques served his mandatory two years in the military and then went to work for his mentor Harold Poil. Afterward, Jacques worked at Rainbows End Farm and then re-opened Whipalong Stud working customer horses on his own for more than four years throughout his midtwenties. With phenomenal previous opportunities riding and working with such highly regarded and respected trainers, he was successful with his own operation. Jacques’ proudest moment in South Africa was winning the 3-yearold Three-Gaited National Championship, in front of judge, Marilyn Macfarlane, at Bloemfontein in 1994 to a packed house, on a horse so aptly named Elegant Express. Loaded with chrome, the chestnut horse with four white legs was gifted and smart. It was quite an accomplishment for such a young trainer, showing against the most renowned trainers in South Africa. “I was just thrilled to be in the mix to begin with, and couldn’t believe that I won the class,” recalled Jacques. Jacques’ success in South Africa was evident. He was garnering accolades and making a name for himself as a noted trainer. But still, he wanted something more. “I loved the atmosphere and show community in South Africa,” said Jacques. “But it had been my dream from the time I was a small child to be a Saddlebred trainer in the United States.” He knew that America was truly the birthplace of the Saddlebred, and he wanted to see if there were more opportunities to try to be the best of best where his breed had started. While competing at a local show, the American judge, Lisa