12-Year-old showjumper Felicity Theunissen’s rise in South African showjumping

JOHANNESBURG - Felicity Theunissen is a 12-year-old show jumping prodigy who’s not only dominating local competitions but also chasing an Olympic dream.

From her first pony ride at the age of four to now ranking top in her category, Felicity is already clearing major hurdles.

She is currently ranked first in the Junior 1.20m division.

Eyewitness News caught up with her and her father, Jason Theunissen, during the 2025 Western Shoppe SA Youth Championships, which were held at the Kyalami Park Club in Kyalami from June 28th to July 6th.

It was a good day for her as she walked away with a shared 1st-place victory in the Equilibrium 1.20m competition.

Speaking to us while proudly watching from the sidelines, Theunissen said his daughter first began riding when she was just 4 years old on a friend’s pony.

 “She had a friend Tyla Booysen, who had a pony and we used to go to the yard together and I think the bug had just bitten. Every place we went to, whether it be a shopping center or carnival and there's a horse that can take a R2 coin, Felicity's on it,” said Theunissen.

So strong was her dedication to the sport that her family had to adjust her schooling to accommodate her demanding training and competition schedule, making homeschooling the most practical choice.
She is currently in 7th grade.

"I'm being homeschooled. Last year, I was at a proper school and I battled, like having to go. I finished school at two, then I started to ride four, so by the time I was finished, it was dark. But the homeschooling, it works a lot and helps a lot, because I start my morning at like seven, 7:30 on my first horse, and then I'm finished by 11h30. So, I start school at 12."

Over the years, she has learned and rules and crafted the necessary skills to navigate the course with precision and confidence.

She explained the ranking system.

"If you have the slowest time, you'll be like later down in the rankings. If you knock one pole, it's four penalties. And then if you have time penalties for every second, it's one penalty. The times always different. It varies, sometimes it's like 75 seconds. Other times it's like 80. It varies depends like how long the track is."

Riders guide their horses through a course of obstacles, aiming to complete it with the least number of faults and in fastest time compared to other competitors.
"I compete in the junior 130m, junior 120m, junior 110m, and then I have two ponies in the open, which is 110m”, said Felicity.

A typical show jumping course is made up of a series of jumps, which can include fences, walls, gates, open water jumps and combinations of various obstacles.

This comes with its risks and Felicity has not been immune. At just 7 years old, she took a serious fall from her first pony, an accident that led to two facial reconstruction surgeries.

“She has gotten hurt over the last couple of years, two facial reconstructions, two collarbones, some big scares, but she gets back on. She's obviously got some grit. And with the help of some good coaches, good support structure, she does well,” said her father.

Success in showjumping depends on a deep bond of trust, communication and mutual understanding between horse and rider. Felicity relies on that instant connection when selecting the right horse to compete with.

“A lot of people like to say the horse finds you. Like, when you're looking for a horse, a lot of people like to rush it, but the right horse comes, and when you sit on it and you ride it, some people just know they like, have a feeling. But there's different types of horses, like, there's ones that jump and ones that do dressage, and a bunch of different things,” she said.

Getting the right animal can also be quite expensive. Breaking down average costs involved in the sport, Jason said: “the horses range from R15,000 if you're a novice starting out. You can go up to R8 million, 9 million. And it comes down to willing buyer, winning seller.

But at the end of the day, there's got to be some sort of a matrix where you're happy to spend the money depending on what level you are. I think when the guys get to the top pro stuff, the prize money gets really big. And if you want to compete, you kind of need good horsepower.”

“So we've got some great sponsors on board. One is Equestrian House, a cash sponsor as well as a product sponsor. We've got tech Stirrups from Italy that supply stirrups for horses. She's got Winx insurance brokers, which support the horses from an insurance perspective, whether they get hurt or not, third-party liability, just to name but a few.

 It is a nice sport. It's obviously a nice opportunity for companies to get involved with, especially if they want to support young riders up and coming in the sport.”

With her eyes set on international competition, the young rider’s journey is only just beginning.

Show jumping is one of the three equestrian events featured in the Olympics, along with dressage and eventing.

Jason hopes to see Felicity at the 2030 Summer Youth Olympics, the Host city not yet confirmed.

“Well, she's an Olympic hopeful for 2030 so with a bit of luck, maybe this goes out to the right people. People get in touch with us, we can kind of build something for her for the next five years. I see her competing overseas. Her coach also agrees that, you know, it's kind of where they need to go if they want to make a career out of it.”