Derby Day

Nicole Horwood talks training, derby elements and show nerves

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The South African Derby is a timeless favourite, sure to be marked on the calendar of equestrian homes all over the country. The event sees riders and horses make the trip to Kyalami Park Club for a week of competition across all the disciplines. The highlight of the week is positively the South African Derby class on the Sunday. Grandstands are packed to capacity with spectators eager to watch each rider’s round. For the riders who qualify, the class is certainly not a time to kick back and relax.

Although the course always stays the same, except for a few technical changes, the Derby is still a true test of both horse and rider. This month, HQ sat down with Nicole Horwood – four-time winner – to talk about derby prep for both her and her two rides, Mark White Nissan Capital Don Cumarco and Mark White Nissan Capital Hitoshi.

What preparation will you do ahead of Derby?

Capital Don Cumarco is an ‘old hat’ when it comes to the Derby. I don’t have to do that much prep in terms of the actual jumping or the derby fences. Two weeks before Derby I’ll go to Bryce’s and we jump his track because he’s got every Derby obstacle, including the bank. We do that once, and if I feel that Capital Don Cumarco is uncomfortable with something, I’ll go back and just practise that specific jump or element. The fitness prep I’ll start quite a long way ahead of Derby. We have a track near KPC that I used to use a lot but because we haven’t had rain and the ground is a little bit hard, I’ll just do fitness work at home with them. Generally, all the horses are jumping fit anyway.