LUCA WATSON – EIGHTH PLACE AT THE 2024 FEI CHILDREN’S CLASSIC FINAL
Share This Article
Interview: SASJ
Photography: Megan Wright Photography
Luca Watson and Ela Vita Kastelic qualified to compete in the FEI Children’s Classic Final 2024 in Mexico. Luca made it through to the Final of the competition in Mexico, achieving an impressive eighth place. SA Showjumping caught up with Luca to get to know him better and learn more about his experience in Mexico.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself!
LW: I was born in Johannesburg on the 4th of February 2010. I have an older brother and a younger sister, and we live in Beaulieu. I am in Grade 8 at Beaulieu College. My mum’s side of the family is small, as my grandmother was adopted, and we didn’t know her family. My mum’s father was Italian, and we weren’t that close to his extended family due to language barriers and geography, but my mum has two sisters, and I have one cousin. On my dad’s side, his family is bigger, but his parents and their siblings are scattered between Durban, Australia and the UK, and I don’t have any cousins. Nobody apart from me went into equestrian sports of any kind, and I started riding at age seven at Farnham Riding School. My mum was a Springbok Gymnast and a National Champion, and my dad a Springbok Motor Racer and a Test Driver in Formula 1, so my choice of sport was a little amusing to them in the beginning until they realised I wasn’t going to change my mind!
Q: Tell us about your current string of horses.
Carlson 113 – Sunny is exceptionally impatient, quirky, clever, talented and a total professional in the ring. He has thrown me off in the warm-up a few times when he suddenly spins or rears – so I have to be awake at all times with him. We call him Head Boy because he does everything right, first time, in all lessons – so his lessons are always very short! He also sometimes decides on his own that we have done enough warm-up jumps and just leaves the arena, refuses to go back in, and heads down to the ring. He is my heart horse who saved my riding career at the lowest point, and I owe him all my successes. Sunny is the perfect combination of an unbelievable sporthorse in the ring and a best friend and teammate outside it.
Habanero S – Hubs is new to my string, and we jumped and won our first 1.30m together just before I flew to Mexico. She is powerful, elastic and scopey and is not a mareish mare. She is loving and kind, and we all adore her at home already. She is extremely agile and super quick – and covers a lot of ground. I am really privileged to own a horse of her calibre and excited about our future together.
Callaho Con Cero – Con Cero is a scopey, big horse who jumped in the 1.30m classes with me last year before injuring his neck and requiring surgery in SA by an SA-born British surgeon, Dr Matt Sinovich, as nobody here had ever done the surgery before. He is currently working steadily through a rehabilitation programme, and I can’t wait to have him back jumping with me in 2025. He is kind, impatient, quirky (loves to nibble on everyone), and enormously powerful, scopey, and strong.
Q: What would you say are your biggest achievements so far in the sport?
LW: Obviously, first and foremost, my greatest achievement is having been awarded my Protea Colours for qualifying for the 2024 FEI International Children’s Classic Final. I also qualified for the final last year, but no venue stepped forward to host the event, so finally being awarded my Colours and representing my country on foreign soil was the proudest moment of my life so far in the sport for sure.
I also think my greatest personal achievement is being the youngest child to jump in the Junior 1.35m classes, having jumped my first 1.35m class when I was 14 years old in February this year on Carlson 113. Since then, I have continued gaining mileage successfully at this height all year and I’m very proud of competing at the top level of my Junior category whilst still this young. I cannot get a dual licence to compete any higher until I turn 16 (Feb 2026), which is a little frustrating because I already have nine QR points in the 1.35 classes!
Outside of this, I would say some definite highlights are as follows:
- Eighth in the World for the 2024 FEI International Children’s Classic Final
- Five times Gauteng Team Member (three Golds and two Silvers)
- Three times Reserve South African National Champion
- Ranked in the Top 10 of the National SASJ online rankings every year since I started riding
- Two times Gauteng Champion
- Post Derby Champion
- Pony Rider Open Spring Fair Champion 2021
- SASJ Challenge Gauteng and National Junior Open Overall Champion for 2023
- Reserve Junior Open Presidents Cup Champion for 2024
- Third place in the 2024 Junior Open Derby
- Three times SANESA Gauteng and National Champion for Level 7 (Open) (2022, 2023 and 2024)
- Top Ranked Junior 1.35 rider for 2024 on the SASJ Online Rankings
Q: How do you balance your equestrian training and competition with other aspects of your life?
LW: Riding is my main sport, but I also really love rugby and football. I pack a lot into my days where I ride all my horses and still manage to get to rugby or football practices and matches whilst still attending all my weekly appointments for NLP, Bio and the Simulator. I have gotten into a good routine, which involves a lot of driving for my family, but it works well, and I like to stay busy, fit and strong – so I have to make it work. I am also very blessed to have an exceptional work rider, Sarah Williams, who can hop onto my horses and work them on the flat when needed if I am really stuck and we have a major conflict. However, nine times out of ten, I school my own horses and make it work.
Q: What does your daily routine look like?
LW: I wake at 6.30am, make a protein smoothie and head to school until 2.30pm. Then I quickly change, eat a healthy lunch, ride all my horses (lessons are only on Wednesdays and Thursdays), and then head to soccer or rugby. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I have NLP, and on Mondays and Fridays, I have the Biokineticist and the Simulator, too. Once those are done, I head to Touch Rugby at my school field with the adults or soccer with my grooms on the grass field outside KPC. Then I shower, do my schoolwork and eat a healthy dinner before crashing at around 10pm.
Q: How do you handle social media as an athlete?
LW: My circle is now very small, and I am particularly guarded and cautious about social media and its pitfalls. People are very brave, hiding behind their screens, and things are said and done on there that would never happen if it was stuck on a billboard against their names for all to see. I have learnt that success is a lonely place and not everyone who says that they are your friend is actually your friend. Some people will love you because it’s you, and others will hate you because it’s you – and you just have to find your people. So I keep my circle of trust small and keep to myself mainly, and I just focus on my riding and loving and looking after horses, and the rest will take care of itself. I handle all my own social media pages professionally for my loyal and amazing sponsors to ensure they get the exposure they deserve through my conduct and results, but outside of that, I am very cautious about social media and keep my use to a minimum.
Q: How do you handle pressure during competitions?
LW: Chad (Cunningham) always tells me pressure is a privilege. I work with an NLP practitioner to help focus my mind, thoughts and reactions and have previously also worked with a Sports Psychologist as I believe controlling your thoughts is by far the biggest skill we need to learn as riders. There are lots of talented riders and exceptional horses, so what sets us apart will be our ability to control our nerves, thoughts and actions in the ring. I use breathing techniques and positive self-talk to manage the pressure, and, of course, I ensure I am as well prepared as I can possibly be mentally, physically and emotionally for each show. I work with a Sports Nutritionist to control my weight and lean muscle mass, and I work on the simulator and with a Biokineticist every week.
Q: Describe a challenging situation in your equestrian career and how you overcame it.
LW: In 2021, my Open Pony, Treat, tore his deep digital flexor tendon at Derby, four days after I had won the Open Pony Rider Spring Fair on him – and it was career-ending. I was absolutely devastated. I only had Treat and my family couldn’t afford to buy me another Open Pony, and there weren’t any good ones on the market at the time anyway. I spent time in the lower grades producing a talented pony called Blue Ivy, and only when my mum sold her car some seven months later to buy Callaho Madeleine did I return to the bigger classes and become competitive again. This situation was heartbreaking for me, obviously, as I lost the ability to ride my heart horse, Treat, but in waiting for Maddie and through my family’s sacrifices, I also learnt patience, gratitude and resilience. These were tough lessons for a competitive 11-year-old.
In 2023, I had a major confidence knock, which affected all aspects of my life. Not just my riding. I worked so hard with a psychologist, with the support of my family and with Chad, to regain my confidence and belief in myself and to start caring less about what people were saying and what they thought of me. It was a huge struggle and was one of the toughest moments of my life, but I have learnt so much from that experience, and I am definitely stronger and more mature for it.
Q: What keeps you motivated to keep riding?
LW: Pure love and respect for the horse. Regardless of my achievements, I love the animal so much, and that is what inspires and motivates me – to be around horses and to take care of their wellbeing.
I am very committed to my horses’ well-being. Their happiness is my priority, and I have been known to scratch many a class at the first sign of there being anything remotely off with one of them. Their love of jumping and love of their jobs is what motivates me and, of course, that feeling of jumping around a track successfully. I love everything about competing and the challenges that come with it. I don’t see myself in any other industry in the future, so as long as my horses are sound and happy and love competing alongside me, I will be out there doing what I love.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength as an athlete?
LW: Compassion and selflessness for others and for my horses. Even if I don’t do well or have a bad round or show, I am always the first to congratulate my friends and be happy for them. This is not something all riders in our industry do, and I am proud of his quality. I am also mentally resilient after my struggles in previous years, and resilience is a really important character trait in our sport, where we have many more failures than we do successes.
Q: What is the most important advice your coach has given you?
LW: At my lowest point last year, Chad told me that I am on my own journey and that I must not compare myself with anyone else. He said it’s okay to drop down heights to gain confidence and that it doesn’t matter what others around me are doing; only what I am doing matters. This really helped me and has been the most influential chat anyone has ever had with me so far in my riding career.
Q: Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
LW: Chad as the Coach, and Ronnie Healy as the rider. I want to ride like Ronnie. Thanks also to Chatan and Evi Hendriks for their continuous guidance, experience, and support.
Q: Who have been the most important people in your life?
LW: Chad and my family. Chad has, without a doubt, completely changed not only my personal life but also my riding career. He has taken me from my lowest point to my highest and has been one of the most important people in my life. I will forever be grateful to him.
My family is always there for me, always trustworthy, and always so supportive of my dream and what I want to achieve in life.
Q: What are your long-term goals?
LW: I would like to go to the Youth Olympics and represent my country. This goal is crystal clear in my mind and this is what I am working towards.
Quick-fire questions
Q: Who is your equestrian idol?
LW: Steve Guerdat – Switzerland.
Q: Who is your favourite Showjumping horse (past or present)
LW: Locally, it is Cornet’s Mandarino and, internationally, Leoni Jei.
2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final
Q: How did you prepare to compete at the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final?
LW: I competed my own horses right up until the weekend before we left, and Chad lined up multiple other horses that go in various different ways for me to ride. I also worked with Natalie at NLP for my mental preparation. I also bed down on my diet to strip away any fat and have clean muscle weight only for the show. I also worked on the simulator twice a week (instead of once) in the last few weeks before I flew out to ensure my balance in the saddle was correct.
Q: What were your first impressions on arriving at the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final?
LW: That the quality of horses was very high and that the host nation and FEI were super organised and hospitable.
Q: What were your fellow competitors like?
LW: Everyone was like-minded, and I really believe I made some incredible friendships that will last a lifetime.
Q: Did you meet any well-known riders, coaches or officials?
LW: No, just the venue owner, Riccardo Nizri, who was incredible with us and whose hospitality was next level.
Q: How do you support your fellow SA rider when competing as an individual in a competition like this?
I think it’s very important to offer support and encouragement and to be open to sharing any tools you have with your teammates. Although you are competing as an individual, at the end of the day, you all ride at home at the same shows, and there really is enough sun for everyone—and I never like to see other riders struggle.
In the very first warm-up in Mexico, it was clear to me that Ela was struggling with her chosen horse (which she later substituted), so I immediately entered the warm-up and tried to help her stay calm and focused by talking to her and suggesting a few things she could think about/try. Like in SA, I have often done the same for Ela at shows and for many other riders who I sensed were struggling, and they have always been appreciative and grateful. It’s never nice to see anyone struggling, as I have been there myself, and so whether in SA or abroad, I will always offer my help and make suggestions. This will never change as it’s just who I am and who I have always been. I am supportive by nature.
Q: What was the most important advice Chad gave you for the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final Competition?
LW: Chad knew my head was in the right place and that I was calm and ready, and he just ensured I knew he believed in me, that he was proud of me and that I had the potential and the ability to go and do something amazing.
Q: How did you handle the pressure of competing at a competition like the final on a borrowed horse?
LW: You are never going to get a borrowed horse that totally suits your style of riding or is the same as your horses at home, so I believe the trick is to accept the horse you have chosen and get on with getting the very best out of the horse you can possibly get without trying to change it to suit you or to expect it to be like your horses at home. Although a schoolmaster and a very kind and gentle gelding, Volendam was not the kind of ride that I would usually enjoy. At 22, he for sure lacked the speed and energy of the other horses in the field, but my focus was on getting the best out of him and allowing him to go in the way he was accustomed to. I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror each night after each show round and say that I rode stylishly and accurately and that I didn’t make any mistakes. I wanted Chad to be proud of how I conducted myself in the ring and for him to tell me that I rode each round well. That was what was important to me – and I achieved that.
Q: What was it like qualifying for the final when you were in Mexico?
LW: It was the most unbelievable feeling to know I made the top 16 from 32 riders and that I would be competing in the Final. I was so proud and excited, and I just wanted to continue to show that I could confidently and stylishly ride on the world stage on a borrowed horse under pressure and that I had what it takes to keep it together and make the best of it.
Q: What was the most challenging part of the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final competition?
LW: Getting used to a new horse in a short period of time, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and adapting to get the best out of them.
Q: Do you have one lesson/experience from the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final to carry forward in your career?
LW: You have to take responsibility for your actions and control how you handle events as they unfold. This sport is unpredictable and extremely humbling, and you have to adjust and quickly adapt to what is in front of you and underneath you.
Q: What were your personal goals for the 2024 FEI Children’s Classics Final, and do you think you achieved them?
LW: Before the show, I wanted to get onto the podium, but I reset my goals and expectations after the draw to then make the final and get into the jump-off. I also wanted to ensure I rode well without any mistakes in every round.
Q: What made the event extra special for you?
LW: Finishing in the Top 8 in the world from 32 starters, and getting to hang my country’s flag on my back for all the world to see, and then coming home with a beautiful ribbon.