By Britney Grover
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Robert Reyers may be taking a break from riding while he attends college, but he hasn’t taken a break from horses. He is a co-chair of Brooke USA Foundation’s Young Professionals Committee, which spearheaded the Sunset Watering Hole party earlier this year at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida. “I was introduced to Brooke USA two years ago, when they first formed the Young Professionals Committee,” Robert said. “They asked if I wanted to help throw a party, and I said, ‘Of course.’”
At the party, young professionals and friends gathered for music, entertainment and relaxing poolside fun—but most importantly, to raise money to fund veterinary care and education benefiting equines and the people who rely upon them in Ethiopia. Instead of spending his school break at the beach like many other college students, Robert went to see Brooke USA’s work firsthand.
This is Robert’s final year at school, after which he plans on returning to competing in the jumpers, where he’d been training and competing under Todd Minikus in Wellington. He’ll take with him not only a degree, but a life and perspective changed by what he learned in East Africa.
How long have you been part of the horse world?
My whole life I’ve been in the horse world—my first time on a horse, I was 2 years old. My father played polo, which is what originally brought my family to Wellington, though his polo career ended with a helicopter ride to the hospital about 15 years ago. My mother is not a horse person—she is deathly afraid of horses, but came to tolerate them after years of going with me to shows.
What was your riding life like, growing up?
I have always been around horses, but I really started riding when I was 12. I started out in the hunters, of course, and wanted nothing more than to move into the jumpers. I’ve had great teachers throughout my riding career—I started out with Katelyn Hess, started doing jumpers with Adolpho Franco, and have now been with Todd Minikus since 2018.
What’s your role with Brooke USA?
I’m currently co-chair of their Young Professionals Committee with Morgan Measey. Each year we organize the Brooke USA Sunset Watering Hole party. We just had the second year of the event and it was an outstanding time.
Tell us about your trip to Ethiopia.
I went to Ethiopia with Brooke Ethiopia, one of the divisions of the main charity. Two team members and I went to several cities in the south of the country in the Great Rift Valley. After a five-hour drive along worn country roads from the capital of Addis Ababa, we first stayed in Halaba, a medium-sized town where Brooke USA had funded a shelter and veterinary clinic for the working animals of the area. We then moved to Hawassa, where we took day trips out to other towns. The time was spent meeting with regional directors, community leaders and veterinarians, learning about the challenges they were experiencing and what’s being done on the ground.
What did you learn about Ethiopia and the donkeys and horses there?
The donkeys and working horses are the backbone of life in Ethiopia. Everyone has a donkey there the same way everyone has a car here. People depend on them for the transportation of goods and water, and for their livelihood. When we were visiting a water station funded by Brooke USA outside of Hawasa, I came across a little boy there with his donkey, who had four jerrycans tied on his back. The boy had to be no more than 8 or 9 years old. I learned that he had just walked 10 kilometers from his village to retrieve water for his family—this was the closest source of clean water available to them. This boy and his family depended on that donkey for their water; without the donkey, it would be almost impossible to transport enough water for the family to survive.
Across the several veterinary clinics that I visited, I truly came to learn the harsh realities that the people were going through. In some, medicine rooms were only partially stocked because of how difficult it is to import the medicine into the country. Hyper-inflation and volatile currency valuations are a deterrent for importers to do business in Ethiopia; couple that with strict government legislation and it makes most medication inaccessible for the veterinary clinics. One of the veterinarians I talked to told me how they don’t have access to pain blockers so they are forced to operate without them. Another told me how their access to antibiotics is limited to just broad-spectrum antibiotics. It’s not that the people don’t want to do things properly, it’s that they are restricted by their circumstances.
The people’s relationship with animals is totally different in Ethiopia than in the USA. They have a much more utilitarian relationship with their animals, using them more as a means to an end. One of the challenges is changing their relationship with animals—this requires de-training what they know and then re-training with better animal husbandry skills. I visited a clinic where one of the farrier projects was underway. A master farrier, Leon Bentham, was there teaching a team of local farriers better practices, including using steel shoes. Leon told me that when the project started, the local farriers were using shoes made out of used car tires with carpentry nails. Because steel shoes are not readily available in Ethiopia, the farriers learned how to make them out of used rebar. Each time Leon had gone back to teach the locals, their skills were getting more and more refined. The people’s willingness to learn there is outstanding; they want to make change happen.
How has Brooke USA changed your life?
Seeing the work that they’re doing firsthand brought a new perspective to life that I didn’t have before. It brought a real vitality to the good that can be done in the world.
What are your goals with Brooke USA?
My goals are to grow our Watering Hole Party and spread the message of Brooke USA’s work. The event is growing in a very positive direction and I’m excited to see how it will grow and develop in the future.
What’s your biggest achievement in the horse world?
Any time spent in the saddle is an achievement, but a time that stands out was a top-three finishing at LGCT Miami. That show is an incredibly rewarding one to finish well at and is such an experience.
What’s the best thing about your life?
That I am able to have amazing experiences like this trip to Ethiopia. I have an incredibly supportive family that allows me to have these opportunities.
What’s something interesting about you?
I love to cook! Anyone who knows me knows about my Italian food with fresh pasta and our steak nights at home. There’s nothing I love more than a well-run restaurant; best restaurant I’ve been to is Pavyllon in Paris, and my favorite in Florida is COTE down in Miami—Alacruz in Wellington gets an honorable mention.
Follow Robert on Instagram @robertreyers
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
