Full name Jakobus Fourie Sport Equestrian Nationality South Africa Name Jaco Fourie | Residence Kathu, Northern Cape Height 1.83 m | |
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Jaco Fourie is a South African equestrian athlete and SA National Champion in dressage. He lives near Kathu, South Africa in the Northern Cape, on a Kalahari farm. He appeared on the cover of the May 2007 edition of the SA Horseman Magazine. Since 2009 he is married to Magda Fourie and together they have 2 daughters "Hanneke & Adelinde Fourie". The couple own & manage Areion Warmblood Horses & Dressage Academy.
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Riding career
Jaco Fourie started his riding career in the family business of his father and 2 brothers at the age of 4, and was tutored and mentored by many riding professionals to young adulthood. He had training from bereiters and instructors from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, the SA Lipizzaner Centre, Natalie Hobday and Jonny Hilberath (GER).
His first Free State Provincial Colours were awarded in 2003, and received his National Protea Colours for dressage in 2007. Fourie has represented his home-country, South Africa in the Equestrian Tri-Nations Competition on two occasions in 2007 and 2008 in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. He won the SA Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He also won the FEI World Dressage Challenge in 2005. He is the leading South African rider in the South African National Equestrian Federation's dressage rankings.
He worked full-time as stud manager for CALLAHO Warmblood Sport Horses, a South African based horse breeding stud farm, who is also a major sponsor of international riders, but has since moved onto his own property where he owns & manages Areion Warmblood Horses & Dressage Academy.
Horses
His first pony was a crossbred Welsh pony named Prins. In dressage, Fourie rode CALLAHO's For Joy, CALLAHO's Granulit, CALLAHO's Rosengirl, CALLAHO's Benicio and AREION's Deja Vu to National honours. However, he had various other successes with horses FD Ref's Asterix, Etherow Impasse, Brandenburg Super C, Alzu Catapault, Kehilan Shaheer, Orly and Kingsdale Kildaire amongst others.