READY FOR NISSAN EASTER FESTIVAL: MARLENE SINCLAIR

Having placed 6^th in the 2017 Nissan SA Outdoor Grand Prix, Marlene Sinclair is looking forward to the 2018 competition, in which she hopes to better her 2017 placing.

Who are the horses that you’ll be competing at this years Nissan Easter Festival?

Camaro will jump in the 1.50m and hopefully the Outdoor Grand Prix, and Douglas M will jump the 1.35/1.40m classes.

Tell us about your horses’ personalities?

Camaro is a gentle giant, my partner, and my best friend. Douglas M is new to me, yet I know for sure that he is a very sweet yet very feisty little stallion. He has a great mind and huge heart.

How do you prepare in the weeks leading up to a show such as NEF?

As it is now the beginning of the year, we do a lot of fitness training and begin preparing the horses for the year ahead. We do a lot of flatwork, and train the basics for both the horse and the rider. I train at the gym, and boxing keeps me fit.

Tell us what goes through your mind on show day.

Show day isn’t different to training days for me. I always make sure I get a good sleep, I eat well, and that I focus on my horses and the job ahead come show day.

What do you love most about the Nissan Easter Festival?

The Nissan Easter Festival is one of our best and biggest competitions of the year. It is a big event with exceptional sponsorship.

How many times have you competed at NEF, and what are your memories of the show?

I have been in the country for eight years now, and picked up my riding again here in South Africa. I have competed at NEF for the past five years. I have jumped in the 1.50ms every year, qualifying each year for the big day. I have placed the last four years in the Outdoor Grand Prix.

Who are your favourite horse-and-rider combinations to watch?

The whole field are exceptional athletes. Horses and riders – they are all brilliant.

If we played music as you entered the arena, what music do you think your horse would want and why?

I suppose as much as I’d love to say a Led Zeppelin song, I suppose the National Anthem for the United States would be the choice as I am an American citizen and represent them here in South Africa. Oh, I like that song by David Guetta, Alphabeat.

Tell us something about you that nobody knows?

Hmm, I am not sure. This is a big world but small community. I think most of my life is known. Perhaps my age?! Haha! I am 50-years-old. I am a single mother, and I have been a vegetarian all of my life. My riding career was put on pause at 21 and resumed at 42!

Text: The PR Machine. Copy edited by HQ.