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Derby Day. For every show jumping enthusiast, that annual Sunday in October takes pride of place on the calendar. Ask any show jumper – whether they jump 60 cm or 1,40 m – about the first time they watched the South African Derby – and they will be able to give you blow by blow commentary of the competition. The 2010 Avis South African Derby on Sunday, 17October, proved to be the most spectacular yet.
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The 2010 Derby winners, Ronnie Lawrence and Gryphon Rouge (Photograph by TB Images) |
For the first time in many years SuperSport televised the event live. Those unable to get to the Kyalami Equestrian Park in Johannesburg, were able to watch from the comfort of their living rooms, with running commentary from show jumping legend, Gail Foxcroft. Gail has won the Derby three times – in 1987 and 1990 on Bye Bye, and more recently in 2005 on the magnificent Lindenburg, a stallion adored by show jumping enthusiasts around South Africa. Lindenburg died earlier in 2010.
Along with the live coverage, the 2010 Avis SA Derby also marked the first time a Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI) president visited South Africa. HRH Princess Haya al bint Hussein handed the prizes to the winning riders and also met the 31 qualified competitors individually before the main event.
Quality participants
The 2010 Derby had all the makings of something special. The quality of both horse and rider at the higher show jumping levels has improved markedly over the last few years. There is also a greater number of competitors in the higher grades – 73 horses graded in the 1,40 m and 1,50 m heights competed in the qualifying classes in 2010.
The Derby is a true test of the ultimate show jumper. Competitors start competing over various courses from Wednesday and need to acquire a certain amount of points. The thirty pairs with the highest amount of points make it through to the final event on Sunday. For most competitors, qualifying to jump the Derby is an honour in itself.
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Barry Taylor on Nabab Forever
(Photograph by Sabrina Dean) |
The course
According to many riders this year’s qualifying rounds were much more technical than in previous years. The Derby course remains unchanged every year, although the course builder can alter the height and width of the fences as well as the distances. Competitors start with the stone wall and poles and move up the hill to jump the GHS Oxer before going back down to the Liverpool. They then jump the
giant steps. Number five is the hedge and six the vertical
which leads down the hill. Riders must then turn, going
back up the hill to go over the table top before attempting
St Andrew’s cross. They then go down the bank, leading
into the Avis planks before jumping the white oxer. Jump
twelve is the dyke, and thirteen the stile which is related
to number fourteen, the Rustic Hickstead Planks. Riders
then jump the water jump leading into the wall before
attempting the hanging gate combination. The final jump
is the rustic oxer filled with bales.
Preparation
Barry Taylor has won the Derby four times and finished
in second place nine times. This year he qualified on the
phenomenal import, Nabab Forever, who he had in South
Africa for the last three months. Nabab is fifteen years old
and was originally the horse Barry hoped to compete on
at the World Equestrian Games. Sadly that did not happen,
but he has bought the horse home. He describes Nabab as
a very brave and super scopey horse, albeit a bit mouthy.
He had high hopes for his Derby attempt leading up to the
event.
The most important thing about the course is preparing
for it, mentally and physically, says Barry. The course is long
and strenuous and if you aren’t adequately prepared, it is
unfair to your horse to attempt it. He starts training himself
and his pupils at least six months before Derby day, focusing
on fitness, jumping longer courses and bigger jumps as
well as practicing the ‘funnies’, including the bank, dyke and
St Andrew’s cross.
Barry says if a rider has prepared adequately, they will
normally make it to the bank without too much of a problem.
After that tiredness and loss of focus of both horse and rider
can play a role. Nine times out of ten the wheels can come off
for both horse and rider after the dyke. However, he says, luck
does play a big role on the day. According to him, the most
agonising feeling is having a ‘stupid‘ jump or unlucky pole,
especially when one has worked so hard and is prepared.
Better luck next time
Barry had his unlucky moment during the 2010 Derby, when
Nabab slid down the bank and did not jump off the bottom.
His stride into the planks was off and he had a stop. He ended
on ten penalties, good enough for third place.
The great thing about the Derby, according to Barry, is that
the course is not as technical as, say, a World Cup Qualifier.
Many a time a “dark horse” can win the title. The Derby requires
that rider and horse trust one another implicitly. The horse
needs to be brave, bold and have a scopey jump. With the
right amount of preparation and a bit of luck on the day, any
one of the 31 qualifiers can take the title.
Crowd pleasers
Without a doubt, every year, the same fences draw the crowd.
People love seeing horses go down the bank, take two or
three strides and attempt to clear the popular red Avis planks.
Crowds fill the stands that run next to the dyke, which also
provides a great view of the Derby Wall, which stands at
1,60 m. The final rustic jump also is a crowd pleaser – it is a
large oxer off a dog’s leg and is the final effort before horses
get through the finish.
Each year there is also a horse that steals the hearts of
the crowd. The 2010 crowd pleaser was Beautiful Muriel’s
Parsifal ridden by Robyn Gerber. This majestic chestnut giant
leapt for pure joy over every fence. Robyn started for the first
time and had a great round. Despite a few knocks, Parsifal
got bolder as the course went on. After the Rustic Hickstead
Planks turning for the water, he saw the last fence and took
the reins from Robyn, keen to jump the spread backwards.
Despite protests from Robyn, the gorgeous gelding’s ears
were pricked and off he went, she eventually was able to
stop him, less than one metre from the jump, taking the last
fence down.
She turned to the water and Parsifal quickly took off happily
to carry on his course. The arena team then had to hurry to
rebuild the last jump before the pair had to attempt it. They
were lucky to finish just in time, Robyn was four strides from
the fence when the last bale was put in place!
The results
In 2007 Lorette Knowles Taylor won the Derby, with the fi rst
and only clear round in six years. Then the spate of clear rounds
began – with Lisa Williams taking home the title in 2008 after
she went clear and jumped off against Sean Henderson on
his plucky little thoroughbred, Fact ‘n Fancy, who also went
clear over the course. In 2009 a three-way jump-off ensued
after eventual winner, Jade Hooke, Sean Henderson and Paige
Shiller, all jumped clear.
Barry Taylor and Nabab Forever led the fi eld with ten
penalties, Shaun Neill on Clyde Z close behind on eleven
penalties until the 27th horse. The third-placed pair in the
2009 derby, Paige Shiller and Midgard Glamour, jumped into
the lead with eight penalties. The second-last competitor,
Ronnie Lawrence on the sponsor’s Gryphon Rouge, had two
rails down as well, also ending on eight penalties. This forced a jump-off between Ronnie and Paige.
Paige went first and while she had a fast time, she knocked two fences. Ronnie’s jump-off was a master class in how to keep your cool and jump a perfect round. He left all the fences standing, but ended on two time faults. Ronnie was ultimately named the winner of the 2010 Avis South African Derby on Avis Gryphon Rouge, who is out of an imported Irish thoroughbred, Cabally, by the late Vallon Rouge. Ronnie has won the Derby three times previously: in 1989 on High Hopes, in 1995 on Avis Panache and in 2006 on Napoleon Z.
Upping the stakes
Course designer, Kevin Spratley, made a few alterations to
this year’s course, telling SA Horseman that after having three
clears in 2009, he wanted to make the course a little bit more
challenging. Jump number one was 5 cm bigger. He also
moved jump number six a little to the left. When competitors
jump number six, they land going down the slope of the Bob
Charter arena. By moving the fence to the left, the turn into
the table top was a little more diffi cult.
The table top fell quite a lot more than last year. According to Kevin he increased the height of the table top (7a and 7b) by 5 cm. The poles on these fences had also been shorted from 4 to 3,6 m making them lighter, causing them to fall easier than last year. The distance from the bank to the Avis planks was also shortened. He raised the height of the stile which stood at 1,60 m, and shortened the distance in the combination by 10 cm. While a number of riders commented that they thought the course looked smaller, it seemed to make for a more diffi cult ride than last year.
“The Derby,” says Kevin, “is without a doubt the most diffi cult course in South Africa. It not only tests the horse’s jumping ability, but also its mind, as it has to jump a number of diff erent obstacles. Fitness is important, as the track is 1000 m long and there is no chance to catch your breath around the course.
However, the biggest challenge for horse and rider is the size of the crowd and the atmosphere in the arena – making the Avis South African Derby an event like no other in SA.
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