One cannot refer to her as being pint-size because this girl-child is, well, just that: a girl-child. A little shy, blonde, and yes, pink is definitely not her favourite colour. So what is your favourite colour? Orange, she delights. Why orange? "Because my bike is orange". And what bike is that? "A KTM," she laughs! So, in my mind, she spells orange: k-t-m.
"When she was born, we decided that she needs a strong name and Mackenzie is such a name," says mum, Elizabeth. It is our intention to raise Mackenzie in a way that will teach her that it is not about being a boy or a girl. It is about living and achieving one's full potential either way.
"To this end, we have always encouraged her to participate and explore as many extracurricular activities as possible, and to our astonishment, she has enjoyed swimming, gymnastic, ballet, horse riding, mountain biking (Spur Series) and more," says dad, Chris. This little girl is a gold digger. When you walk into her room, there it hangs: lots and lots of medals!
Mackenzie is 7 years old and in Grade 2 in Penryn Prep. She has been riding from the age of three on an Oset 12.5, later replacing it with an Oset 16, and then a Yamaha Peewee 50. Of course, this last one not being her favourite colour, she had to upgrade to the KTM 50. Now she is kicking butt like it is the most natural thing to do. At least, this is what she thinks and the boys - well, they can but only watch.
She enjoys the kiddies racing, part of the Lowveld Enduro Club series, and she will now participate in the Manna MX Series, also to be part of the National Northern Region series. She will also compete in the GXCC series.
Mackenzie has also participated in the T-Bone Series, which brings the best of the best together, making it extremely competitive and a great opportunity to watch and learn.
So what do you want to do when you grow up? "Ride my bike," she says. Don't you think you should go study something? "No, I want to ride my bike," and she giggles, "I want to become a KTM-sponsored rider like Travis Teasdale..."
Although I could not convince her to kit up, once on the Oset and racing the short track in the backyard, it was obvious that Mackenzie has found her niche and perhaps one day in the not-too-distant future, she will be referred to as Bam Bam Mackenzie: "Bam Bam" being a sticker on her KTM.
"I don't ride that much anymore. As rewarding as it is, supporting and watching Mackenzie ride over weekends is even more rewarding," concluded Chris.
She may be shy off her bike, but when she is on it, she is fearless and her skill set, even at this young age, is remarkable.
Go Mackenzie Go ...
