By Ross Cooper
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02 Jul, 2023
The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa, for he has so much to look forward to.” - Richard Mullin So, after two years in the planning, we finally made it to Zimbabwe to partake in an equine and wildlife conservation project! Two years ago in the midst of the pandemic, I wanted to organise something special for a group of my clients and those interested in working with me after an unsettling few years; a little something to look forward to where we could make a difference; this combines my passions of horsemanship, conservation and wildlife all in one! For the week we had planned a personalised itinerary where I would be facilitating daily clinics and workshops with the bush horses as part of the project; aside from this, we will be getting hands on with important aspects of conservation including assisting with their Black Rhino and Elephant conservation programme on the reserve! Now I am back, the time spent in Zimbabwe was such an incredible experience, how could it not of been! I would class myself as very fortunate to visit a country like Africa again, especially after so much uncertainty over the pandemic, though most of all, to be able to share how special Africa is with such an awesome group of people who wanted to join me there, for horsemanship and conservation. We really could not of asked for better company, so thank you to all who came along! Throughout this blog, you will find snippets from my journal, social media and aspects of what we all got up to working with the bush horses in Zimbabwe, from teaching the early morning clinics and the accessibility of training, to how horses benefit game management conservancies. As the week heavily focused around conservation, I will naturally be including some of the conservation roles we got involved in to help raise awareness of the trails and tribulations the natural world still continues to face. Happy reading y'all!