And that winning combination was Anne-Marie Esslinger on Alzu Oregon who clinched the win in the Bob Charter arena at Kyalami Equestrian Park on 4 October.
For the 50th instalment of the derby, Galencia Property sponsored the event for the third time this year, and it is a highlight on the equestrian calendar. The anniversary was also fittingly celebrated with a Midas Touch theme.
The 1.5m Galencia Property South African Derby, as always, drew in spectators in their numbers. And while they enjoyed entertainment, food stalls, a VIP section and a shared love of the equestrian sport under the hot summer sun, as the prestigious class got underway, a hushed silence fell over the arena as each of the 24 horse-and-rider combinations tackled the testing track.
Esslinger and Alzu Oregon were seventh to go in the class, and the bar was set as the previous six riders had all incurred penalties, with previous derby-winner Mandy Johnstone riding Callaho Lissabon as the leader at that stage of the competition on eight faults.
Esslinger remained level-headed as she rode a steady and collected clear round. As she cleared the last fence and rode through the finish flags in a time of 00.01.43.74 spectators roared and burst into applause.
The next 17 riders, including Esslinger on her other horse Alessio, tried their best but could not match Esslinger and Alzu Orgeon’s clear round.
Gail Foxcroft riding Equifox JFK cleared all the fences, but with a hoof in the water, she incurred an unfortunate four penalties – the same score as last year when she placed fourth – to land her in second place. Sonia Kroon, riding HSB Investments-sponsored Romulus incurred six faults to place third.
Three riders who incurred eight faults also made the placings, with Lorette Knowles-Taylor riding Nissan Nabab Forever in fourth place, after placing third last year with a one-time penalty; Esslinger’s student, who won two qualifiers for the SA Derby and tried her hand at the course for the first time, Shannon Smith riding Royal Feeds Vanya W came fifth; and a previous SA Derby winner Ronnie Lawrence riding Uretek Pty Ltd Armageddon came sixth.
Esslinger was not short of praise for her horse. “What an awesome horse I’ve got,” she exclaimed from the number one podium spot. She said he was fairly new to this level of showjumping but that he helped her out along the way. “He saved me at the planks. I also didn’t have a good ride into the water jump but he loves jumping water,” she said.
It is not uncommon for only one horse-and-rider combination to clear the SA Derby course, and Esslinger joked that she was glad that course designer Kate Launder had built a course that, again, only produced one clear round; admitting she would have been nervous to challenge her student, Smith, and said she wasn’t sure how she would fair against the “speed merchant” in a jump-off.
She went on to thank Galencia Property for their sponsorship and said the show ran like clockwork.
The crowd stood to applause the six riders as they took a lap of honour. Esslinger and Alzu Oregon shared a special lap of honour by themselves as they absorbed their momentous win.
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