Team Nissan ready to jump for glory

The South African show-jumping circuit is one of the most closely contested you’ll find.

Anyone can win on competition day, so best you bring along your A-game of utmost confidence, supreme fitness and 100 per cent focus on a podium finish.

Team Nissan are confident that they have what it takes to claim the majority of the 2015 season’s winnings.

Starting their season with the Nissan Easter Festival, later this month, Team Nissan is a mixed team comprising industry stalwarts Barry Taylor and his wife, Lorette Knowles-Taylor, as well as four development riders, namely Vincent Moemise, Oscar Ncube, Zoleka Mosiah and Lexi Stais.

“Show-jumping is one of the more challenging sports, as you need to communicate and have a relationship with the horse, working together to achieve maximum potential.

“Our team has been hand-picked for the riders’ abilities, their sound understanding of their horses and their desire to win,” said Taylor, who is South Africa’s most accomplished show-jumper.

“Moving out of the training season and into the thick of shows, the team will compete in nearly 300 show- jumping classes between now and the end of the year, which is tough going on any athlete,” said Knowles-Taylor.

“Most of the members ride about five hours a day, six days a week, all year round.

“We are extremely fit, on par with the rest of the world and know what we need to do in order to top the country’s rankings.

“Several of our riders have represented South Africa and it is the dream of every member to achieve national colours in their career.

“We’ve trained hard this year and I believe that we are all ready for one of the biggest shows of the year, however, competition is tough, so there’s really no telling who will win come competition day.”

The team are encouraging the public to come and watch them in action.

With free entrance to this year’s Nissan Easter Festival, why not join Team Nissan at Kyalami Equestrian Park from March 28 to April 6, with the Nissan Outdoor Grand Prix taking place on April 6.

For more information, find the team on Facebook, at Team Nissan Show-Jumping.

Should you be interested in coming to watch the team in competition, you can also email to Caroline Malan, at caroline@theprmachine.co.za.

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