The Avis South African Derby is by far the highlight on our country's equestrian calendar. The show pits the best of the best in the showjumping world up against each other. Competition begins on the Wednesday and riders go head to head to qualify for the main event on Sunday. This year saw 26 qualifiers attempt the 2009 Derby course. Eight of those riders were first time starters.
This year's course was built by Kevin Spratley, who built a big and testing course with jumps that seemed bigger than ever before! Last year's designer, Anne-Marie Esslinger, handed over the reins after she qualified to compete this year on First for Women's Oarsman.
The Derby's public course walk saw a capacity crowd filtering into Kyalami Equestrian Park's Bob Charter Arena. According to the Gauteng Horse Society's (GHS) Nora Jean Freeman, many spectators chose to go home after it became impossible to find seats.
Oscar Ncube was the first to go, clearing the stone wall and poles, the second GHS oxer, the red and white Liverpool and the two giant steps. He met every jump with precision, but his perfect round was disrupted when Paparazzi caught sight of the large crowds in the GHS VIP Marquee, which ran parallel to number five, the large hedge. The horse lost his focus, spooked at the crowd and refused to jump number five.
Oscar attempted the jump again, but sadly was not able to catch Paparazzi's attention again and was eliminated for two refusals. Being a true horseman, Oscar said after the event that he thoroughly enjoyed his first experience of the Derby and was very proud of his horse who is still rather inexperienced. He plans to be back next year, when he hopes to be riding two horses.
Derby fever
It seemed as if it was going to be a difficult day. Last year's winner, Lisa Williams on Equilibrium's Warrangal 'P', knocked a couple of jumps. Russell Potgieter had to retire after his horse, Equilibrium's Desert News, took a long stride jump over number three (the Liverpool), landed funny and pulled up lame.
Cara Frew on her Warmblood, Paint Radetsky March, was sadly eliminated at the second-last jump after she took a tumble. It seemed Rogan Asken's five faults on Rebecca Capezio's Ottwald, were going to be the closest the crowd would see to a clear round.
Rider Brendan McNiven reckons that the Derby is a mental class and that the hype surrounding the show is more intense than at any other South African show. Brendan rode his South African Warmblood, Crystallize – a horse that Brendan bred, raised and bought on himself. While he had two or three poles and a stop at the last jump, he was completely blown away by the Derby.
When he tackled the course, he was overwhelmed as nothing had prepared him for how big the jumps were. He found the road-crossing at number six particularly daunting. One of his favourite experiences was reaching the top of the bank and looking onto the grandstands filled with people. Brendan is coached by Barry Taylor and rides with Oscar at the Taylor's Farnham Stables. Barry explained to both Oscar and Brendan during the Easter festival that Derby preparation had to begin many months before the event, because of the drawn-out hype surrounding it.
For Brendan his greatest achievement was qualifying for the Derby on a horse he had bred and produced himself. The moment he came through the finish, he wanted to do the Derby all over again and fix some of the mistakes he might have made. He will definitely be back next year.
The first clear
Just when it seemed as if the winner might possibly be a four-faulter, 19-year-old Jade Hooke entered the arena. It was Jade's first Derby outing on her Namibian Warmblood, A New Era. Jane jumped what can only be described as a textbook round and notched up the first clear of the day.
Tamaryn Burton-Moore and the Neill brothers on the incredible Something Special and Goldrush, tried their best to obtain the elusive clear, but each had a pole tying them on four faults. Dominey Alexander on Alzu
Barracuda and Tamlyn Clegg on the statuesque Glendon, also joined the four-faulter list.
Last year's runner up (on a double clear with a slowest time), Sean Henderson and his little Thoroughbred, Wow Saddles' Fact 'n Fancy, went clear for the second year running. Paige Shiller on Midgard Glamour also showed amazing skill and calm heads, going clear and forcing a jump-off.
The jump-off
Jade and A New Era jumped the shortened (and even bigger!) course first, going clear in a time of 44,42 seconds. Sean was next and many of his fans were hoping for him to win the class, after he so nearly missed the title in 2008. Fact 'n Fancy showed Thoroughbred speed and flew around the course. Sadly a turn slightly too tight into the road crossing, meant that Sean crossed the finish with four faults in a time of 41,93.
Paige had all the pressure on her. After a long day of jumping, Glamour knocked two poles, but put his heart and soul into the round, finishing in a time of 41,50 – the fastest of the three.
Sean Henderson and Fancy were pipped at the post for a second year running, but this did not dampen Sean's spirit and love for his horse. After the class he said his Derby experience had once again been amazing. And what makes their participation even more amazing, is the fact that Fact 'n Fancy almost ended up at the SPCA. The Hendersons agreed to take the horse from the previous owners and nursed him back to health.
Jade Hooke
At the end of the day there can only be one winner. Jade Hooke jumped two faultless rounds. At 19 years of age, Jade is the youngest rider to take the title – made even more special because it was her first time around the Derby course. She is also the first rider from the Eastern Cape to hold the trophy.
Jade says she had decided at the beginning of the year that she wanted to compete at the Derby, but only told her coach one month before the event that she planned to give it a go. Jade says she is lucky that A New Era is an extremely fit horse. To prepare, she practised a few of the funny jumps, such as the Bank and Dyke at Bryce McCall and Dominey Alexander's yard.
Jade has been trained by Diane Snodgrass since she began riding. Both her parents ride and while they do not compete in the bigger grades, she says it does help to have horsey parents who understand the intricacies of the sport. In the future the new poster girl of showjumping says she would like to win the South African adult showjumping championships and a few world cups. Her long-term aspiration, though, is to compete at the Olympics.
The best of the best
The 2009 Derby did not disappoint and showed that South Africa's showjumpers are improving every year. The standard, of course, is tougher, the quality of horse superior and the riding breathtaking. It is also worthwhile to note that this year, the top three horses were all bred in Africa – with two Namibian Warmbloods and a spirited little Thoroughbred taking top honours.
More than 150 open horses competed over the weekend and the 26 Derby qualifiers are a true indication of the talent in our country. Avis once again helped to produce a top quality equine spectacular, while the GHS ensured that everything ran smoothly and efficiently. Showjumping is growing from strength to strength and no matter who makes our team of riders set to compete at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, they are sure to make South Africa proud!
Sponsors support Soweto riders
Derby sponsor, Avis, announced an assistance programme to the Soweto Equestrian Centre at the recent Avis Derby in Kyalami. Enos Mafokate launched the Soweto Equestrian Foundation in 2007 and established the Soweto Equestrian Centre earlier this year. The centre aims to educate in all things equestrian and Enos has helped teach saddle makers, cart horse owners, farriers and riders in Soweto.
The centre currently has an extremely competitive vaulting team and Avis decided to help Enos in his endeavour to introduce children from impoverished backgrounds to the equestrian sport. In a heartwarming presentation, Avis handed over a minibus branded with the centre's logo to Enos. This will assist the centre to shuttle children to and from shows.
The amazing Oscar
Enos was not the only one who got a helping hand from Avis. Up-and-coming rider, Oscar Ncube, also got a leg-up when Avis offered to lease him a horse three months ago. Oscar's coach, Barry Taylor, and his wife, Lorette, offered their horse, Avis Paparazzi, and Oscar had the dubious task of being the pathfinder in the 2009 Avis South African Derby.
Oscar is a role model for any young rider who finds it difficult to find his footing in what is considered an elitist sport. Oscar used himself as an example to show that it is all about hard work and talent. He started riding when he was seven years old with his friend, whose mom was a showjumper, and fell in love with the sport.
Building up to the event, Oscar said he is sure that next year is going to be his Derby year, as success at the show has a lot to do with experience and mileage.
