A love of horses, travel and the magical continent of Africa led Isabel Juby to a dream job where her office is often a day spent riding on a horseback safari. Here is her story.
Since I was young, I’ve always had a love for horses. Growing up in the UK I never had a horse of my own but was always more than willing to ride someone else’s! I did a lot of hacking, loved jumping and practiced classical dressage at Pen Llyn Lusitano Stud in North Wales. My other love was for travel and when I was 16, my family’s holiday destination was Namibia, a trip which arguably changed the course of my life. A love for Africa creeps up on you, you almost don’t realize it’s happening until it’s time to get on the plane to go home. It is then you realize that not all of you will be leaving. It was the first place I’d ever been that gave me such an incredibly strong draw to come back. In subsequent years I traveled across much of Southern and Eastern Africa. With my horse experience, I discovered a career opportunity working with horse safari companies. I started out working with Ride Botswana, a 2-month placement that lasted 4 years! Botswana then lead me to Malawi and contacts from Malawi landed me in Zimbabwe. It was there that African Horse Safaris was born. Today I find myself living a real-life dream. I am so thankful every day that I come to work with the ability to combine my loves of horses, travel and the magical continent of Africa.
In my job, I work with a variety of different stables. One in South Africa has over 90 horses and another in Zimbabwe has just 15. Their breeds of horse vary from Thoroughbreds to Arabians, Percherons and Shire crosses, to traditional African breeds like the Namibian Hanoverian or the trustworthy South African Boerperd. What’s most important is that the horse is level-headed, brave and willing to go forward (but also welcome the occasional breaks!). Although we do have some beginner to intermediate rides, the majority of our safaris are for experienced riders. This means that the horses are all able to be kept well-schooled and responsive, with none of the “riding school” bad habits created by lots of beginner rides. There are definitely no “follow the tail in front” situations here.
We operate a variety of rides, from a leisurely jaunt among the foothills of Mt. Kenya to the adventure of safari in Masai Mara riding among big game like elephants, buffalo and sometimes even lions. There is nothing quite like creeping up to a giraffe or an elephant with only the soft hooves of the horses to interrupt your appreciation of the game. Crossing huge expanses of land with the wind in your hair, not because you’re trundling along at 30kmp, but because you’re cantering along, weaving in and out of the scrub. It’s wildlife without the engine. We created African Horse Safaris so that riders can embrace the freedom and joy of riding, and I love seeing serious competitive riders let their hair down on long free canters through the wilderness and truly enjoy themselves.
When most people learn about horseback riding safaris for the first time they think that heading out into the bush on the back of a prey animal into lion country is total madness. Riding out on the main course, and you’re the dessert thrown in, right? But the truth of it is, whilst there is always a risk when riding in lion and elephant country, the risk is kept exceptionally low with our expert guides. Horses are actually big prey for a lion – much bigger than a Zebra which often takes more than one to take down. Add in that this ‘prey’ has a foreign, odd smelling object on its back and that they (horse and rider) are moving in an unnatural way- always walking and not stopping every other step to graze – and the horse (and human) become even less desirable. When we come across lions, we don’t run, but rather group together. Lions hunt by picking off an individual. Seeing the horses grouped together confuses and often intimidates the lions. They start thinking ‘why is this prey animal not running or scared of me?’ It is this expert knowledge of the animals that is so important on a safari.
What might surprise people is that of all the animals we run into out on safari, the monkeys usually cause the most trouble. Everyone thinks they are so cute until they see how devious they can be. Monkeys have been known to run off with all sorts of our guest’s trinkets. Leave your toothbrush out in the (open air) bathroom and they will claim it. Once we had a guest who decided to do some laundry one morning and left her knickers out drying during our ride. We returned back later that day to find monkeys had strewn them all over the camp! Needless to say, this is why we always tell guests to pack everything back into their tents and zip them up before leaving for a ride.
The real splendor of horse safari is that you end each day with the beautifully exhausted feeling that can only be achieved after a day spent in the saddle, breathing in Africa’s wonderfully clean air. That feeling of accomplishment, teamed with spectacular scenery, incredible wildlife and thrilling adventure, is what really makes horse safari something out of this world. Getting to share the magic of Africa with guests, and share in their excitement for this new experience, is undoubtedly one of my favorite parts of my job. Meeting people from all over the world, hearing their stories, getting their feedback and seeing their pictures. I feel incredibly privileged to have ridden across so much of Southern and Eastern Africa and love encouraging others to get out there and try it too. Aside from the sometimes painfully slow Wifi out in the bush, I can’t find much to complain about, but to be honest, that freedom and rare escape from connectivity in today’s world, is one of the reasons I love it!
Providing expert and insider knowledge to help get you into the saddle in some of the most stunning and wildlife-filled places on earth, is the mission of African Horse Safaris. Learn more about their story and find your perfect African riding adventure by visiting www.africanhorsesafaris.com.
