THE 2023 UAG MICRO-DERBY – A CHAT WITH THE WINNERS
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A chat with the winners
Text: Amelia Campbell-Horne
Photography: Merlynn Trichardt
The Micro Derby, or perhaps more appropriately, the Speed Derby, was the highlight of Saturday at the UAG SA Derby. The Micro Derby is run under ‘Table C’ rules, meaning 4 seconds would be added to the time for every rail a horse had down, rather than penalties. A refusal would not incur penalties either but would obviously increase the final time. Two refusals would still constitute an elimination. To put it simply, the ‘Micro Derby’ winner would be calculated by who could complete the course in the fastest time. It is the ultimate test of the balance of riding carefully to not incur knocks and time penalties but riding fast enough to win it!
Kevin Spratley built a solid track with clever alternative options for riders to choose between. This allowed horses that were perhaps less confident with derby elements to complete the round but also provided options to save on time. At number four, riders could either jump up the steps or do the small steps on a curved two strides to a small vertical. The dyke was also an option, potentially also to save the footing for the next day. Riders could either jump the last two elements of the dyke, which were built to height or jump a double of angled verticals with water trays under them, which was potentially the time-saving route. The last option for shaving off a few seconds was to jump the road-crossing normally or to jump across it with a vertical on a bounce stride; all combinations elected to jump the road-crossing on the direct route.
With some riders having issues at the jumps with options, we did confirm with the course builder that if a horse refused at ‘option A’, they were allowed to attempt ‘option B’ instead.
As the class was run in reverse order of classification, it was unsurprising that the first few combinations had a tough time. Several struggled with the balustrades at the top of the slope, and this was potentially the bogey fence across all grades throughout the show. Horses either felt unsure and uncomfortable with jumping into the downhill or would drop their hind legs over it and take a rail.
HQ had a quick chat with our podium placing riders and some of their support team after the competition.
Third place: Kelly Searle and EquiFeeds Just Al
Taking the bronze medal in the Micro Derby this year was a combination who had travelled all the way up from George, Kelly Searle, and EquiFeeds Just Al. In the words of their supporter, Colin; “If they’re good enough, they’re big enough”, and that is certainly true of ‘Al’. At just 15.3hh this barefoot Thoroughbred jumped an incredibly speedy round, coming home in 101.52 seconds with only one rail, ending up on 105.52s.
We asked a very emotional Kelly about her special partner, Al and their round.
Kelly: I got Al off the track; I knew the owners in Cape Town, and they said I should watch him race, so I turned on Teletrack and saw this little Thoroughbred that was flicking toes, and I wanted him! For a year after that, I messaged the owners every couple of months, asking when my horse was coming off the track. Then one day they phoned me and told me to fetch him the next day. I had two horses in livery, and I actually didn’t have space for another one, but I went there all excited, and when I got there and realised he was 15.2/15.3hh (and I am very tall), so I thought, ‘oh no’…. But I got on, and I rode him, and he rides big and forward and had a beautiful canter and trot, so I took him home as they gave him to me for free. I evented him up to 1m and showjumped as well up to 1.20m. He moved on to another rider for a year, and then she kindly gave him back to me; I am very grateful for that!
HQ: Tell us about today.
Kelly: We came all the way up from George last week. He has had a water tray issue for a long time, and I took him for water tray training three days ago, and I couldn’t get him into the arena, and then I couldn’t get him near a water jump! But today, he put his game face on and did his job. He’s pretty much followed in my other horse’s footsteps, and I couldn’t have asked for more (Kelly is a previous Micro Derby Winner, having won in 2014 with Ultra Montani Ganesh).
HQ: It just shows if a horse and rider have a bond, they can do anything (including jump a double of verticals over water trays and then open water!)
Second place: Tracey Carney and Locarno Nikita
Taking home silver was Tracey Carney with her own Locarno Nikita. They got home just 0.02 seconds inside of Kelly’s time (despite having one rail), so they finished up on 105.50 seconds.
HQ: Can you tell us about Locarno Nikita and your round?
Tracey: He is affectionately known as Nicolas. I bought him as a 7-year-old from Steve Atkinson; Johan Lotter found him for me. He turns 17 in November and was ranked the top 1.35m horse in SA last year. I’m so glad I managed to give him a podium finish this year at Derby.
Winners Courtney Webber and Opal de la Bastide
The winning combination was KZN rider Courtney Webber aboard Opal de la Bastide, owned by Courtney and Shelley Moore. HQ had a quick catch-up with the pair and some of their support team.
HQ: Can you tell us about Opal and his partnership with Courtney?
Shelley Moore: I bought him as a three-year-old from a small stud in Belgium, where we saw him free-jumping while scouting for horses with Grant Langley. His breeder, Florence de Potter d’Indoye, had bred another horse (Bon Esprit de la Bastide) that I owned and produced myself up to Open level from scratch and then sadly lost to a traumatic injury. Opal produced one foal, a filly Foresyte Onyx out of a Nintendor mare, who is currently jumping in the 1.20m with Grant before we had to unexpectedly geld him.
Opal was backed and produced by the Foresyte team for me, and I rode him for a while, but he is quite a sensitive horse, and after Courtney jumped him in the 6 Bar at Shongweni and fell in love with him, I decided to give her the ride on him.
She has a great bond with him and gets the best out of him. We briefly contemplated selling him, but the thought of not having him in my barn broke my heart as I just adore him, so Courtney now co-owns him, and he is staying! Courts has done the most wonderful job with him, and they’ve already jumped a few 1.50m classes together.
I love watching her ride him, and I was over the moon at their beautiful winning round in the Micro Derby. Her mom and I came up from Durban to watch, and it was so exciting to be here to see it in person. She deserves this as she is such a hard worker and truly loves her horses. I’m looking forward to seeing them go on too many more wins together.
HQ: Lynette (Mom), how are you feeling after that win?
Lynette: Not being the most impulsive person, messaging Shelly, “Let’s go and watch Courtney ride”, was the best decision this year. To see your daughter achieving her dreams is such a joy. She loves her horses, and without Grant and Shelly at her side, it would literally just be a dream.
HQ: And Courtney, how did you get into riding?
Courtney: My mom and sister rode horses, and apparently, from a young age, I was obsessed. I started riding at the age of six and went to ride with Grant Langley when I was eight years old. I was such a baby when I started with Grant – as everyone knows from Zdenek Muchna mentioning that every time he is on the live stream! Grant has changed my riding, and I couldn’t be more grateful that he believed in me and pushed me to achieve goals I never thought were possible.
HQ: Congratultations! Tell us about your round.
Courtney: I honestly never expected to win; all I was hoping for was to go into the arena, ride as best as I can, and give Opal the best opportunity to jump clear. I was so nervous before I went in; I was third last to go, and some very fast riders had already gone. I thought I stood no chance, but Opal felt so good and had lots of energy.
As I started, he just felt so insane over number one and then everything was just there. I didn’t even think I was fast and as I landed, I saw on the board, ranked first and that just made my day. I’d like to give the biggest thank you to my horse Opal, my groom Ticha, Grant Langley, Shelly Moore, my parents and the whole of Team Langley rooting for me back home. It was my first win on Opal and a win I will never forget!
HQ: Surely the first of many! If you had to do it again, would you prefer to ride the Speed Derby or ride it as a Competition?
Courtney: I would definitely ride the Speed Derby again; it was intense, as you have no time to chill, but I realised that Opal enjoys that tempo and jumped his best.
HQ: What are your plans from here?
Courtney: My plans for the next few years are to jump a few more 1.50 classes with Opal. I hadn’t done a Derby on Opal before but realised after this show that he is so brave, so I’m very keen to keep doing Derby with him and do the 1.40m Derby next year! I’ve also been on the team for Foreyste Auctions, so I’m very excited to get planning for our next auction in the new year.
What a win!
Congratulations to our podium winners – such a wonderful representation of KZN, Gauteng, and the Cape!