Toyota Easter Festival: unrivalled equestrian excellence
The festival combines the finest horsemanship with top quality and keen horses
Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) proudly sponsors the 2025 edition of the Toyota Easter Festival which will take place the Kyalami Park Club from 12 – 21 April. Synonymous with pumping adrenalin; supreme focus; fierce fitness; a calm, quiet mind and an exceptional level of trust and communication between horse and rider, the Toyota Easter Festival will present unrivalled equestrian excellence.
Over the past four years, TSAM’s powerful and passionate partnership with the Kyalami Park Club has advanced the sport to new heights and has made great strides in attracting audiences and increasing participation numbers.
“Toyota South Africa is proud to once again, host the Easter festival in collaboration with the Kyalami Park Club. For the past four years, the Toyota Easter Festival has brought multitudes of enthusiasts together to spectate incredible equestrian performances. As a brand that’s family oriented, it is always a pleasing sight to witness troves of families come together to either cheer their rider and horse or to simply enjoy the sport whilst spending quality time with loved ones. This year, we are looking forward to outstanding, legendary performances and bustling camaraderie from spectators in support of the equestrian sporting community,"
enthused Glenn Crompton, Vice President of Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.
Off the back of the recently launched Year of the Legend, brought to you by Toyota, the upcoming annual 10-day competition is set to break records - challenging riders of all ages across four categories namely Dressage, Equitation, Showing and Show Jumping. With 5000 entries, South Africa’s premier Equestrian event will once again have something for everyone such as a Toyota vehicle parade; Easter egg hunt; food and market stalls; kids entertainment and so much more – all free to families and friends from far and wide.
“Toyota’s backing has afforded us to Dream Big, genuinely grow the sport and offer so much more to so many more,”
says Heather Mpofu, Kyalami Park Club Event Director.
“The established partnership has given us a platform to not only provide an exceptional equestrian event that will truly test the incredible partnership between horse and rider; but also to look outside of that and get more people to experience our sport for the first time. This year, we have bigger prizes, more participants, unbeatable entertainment and passionate professionalism - all in pursuit of perfection.”
The Toyota Easter Festival will run from 12 – 21 April with free entrance. The premier class which takes place on 21 April at 14h00 will be built by seasoned competitor, Anne-Marie Esslinger. Esslinger is an FEI 3* course designer and will undoubtably present a course that is challenging yet fair for the 1.50m Toyota SA Outdoor Grand Prix. The two-round competition will consist of the top 30 riders in the first round, with ideally only 6 – 8 riders making the jump-off which is a shortened course against the clock and leaving all fences standing.
Show highlights include:
- Pony Rider Toyota SA Outdoor Grand Prix
- Junior Toyota SA Outdoor Grand Prix
- Adult 1.50m Toyota SA Outdoor Grand Prix
- Other Show jumping classes from 60cm – 1.50m
- Inter-Africa Cup Show Jumping (Nations competing include South Africa, Mauritius, Congo, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland)
- Easter egg hunt
- Toyota Equestrian fancy dress
- The Philip Smith Memorial Equitation Championships and other Equitation classes
- Top Dressage competitions
- Supreme Showing classes
For those talented riders from disadvantaged backgrounds, Kyalami Park Club and SA Showjumping will once again ensure that all their entry fees are covered.
“It’s imperative that we genuinely and wholeheartedly support those who deserve to further their careers in our sport. These development riders work equally as hard as the rest of the field and should be afforded the opportunity to showcase their talents at this prestigious event. The Toyota Easter Festival offers us a valued platform on which to give back to those who need it most – and that’s the real win here,”
concludes Mpofu.
