Ronnie Healy and Gillian van Orshof
Text: Amelia Campbell-Horne
Photography: Merlynn Trichardt Photography
HQ had an opportunity to chat with the 2023 Derby Champion Ronnie Healy, fresh from his first big title win on Gillian, and their first Derby together.
HQ: Ronnie, this really was one for the books! What did this win mean to you?
Ronnie: The win is everything! I actually had a good friend message me yesterday, who reminded me about when we used to go and watch Derby when it was at Inanda in Sandton. I have dreamed about it since then, so it has really been a lifelong dream. I think if you were to ask any rider, it’s the one they would want to win more than anything. It’s still surreal. It’s my biggest win, and it’s the one I’ve wanted the most, so it’s really special.
HQ: And to have won it on Goofy?
Ronnie: Sjoe, that’s even more special. Obviously, I was given him by Ronnie (Lawrence) at the beginning of the year. We jumped at President’s Cup, and it was sketchy; then we did Outdoor Grand Prix, and I retired him; and then I think it started to click around Midrand World Cup when we had moved across to be coached by Gonda (Betrix). I had a couple of poles down in the World Cup, but I could feel where I was going, and that, I think, was my turning point in understanding him. I also think that Ron was sick for a while before I took the horse over, so it just took Goofy some time to build his fitness. Until then, I had been starting to doubt we were the right combination; I didn’t want to do the horse any disservice and thought maybe we were not the right for each other, but then it clicked. So ya, for the win to be on him, and so soon, is was very special.
HQ: Ronnie Lawrence had a unique way of riding, and Goofy was obviously used to that, so did you have to adapt your way of riding or help him learn to go in your way?
Ronnie: I think both. When I first got him, he jumped quite right, and Ron used to ride him slowly and then attack the last three strides. I ride a little more American in a sense, with a little more canter through the turn, so I think we were having fences down because I rode Goofy a little quicker than he was used to.
In the beginning, I also didn’t have as much contact. I was taught to ride a lot softer, and Goofy was used to a lot of contact, and I think that’s where Gonda helped so much. Her words just ring through my head: “Contact, contact, CONTACT!!!” That’s where I think my riding changed a lot, and that’s where he adapted; he got straighter, and he doesn’t dive to the right anymore.
I also found he was short-striding in the beginning; he would land and get back to you immediately, and I wanted to land and canter, then hold a bit, and he would get flat at jumps. So that’s where we were figuring each other out.
He has got stronger, more confident, and freer; not that he was bad before – he was always incredible. I never wanted him to change, so I learned to ride him better and he adapted to me.
HQ: And he is starting to look like one of your horses!
Ronnie: He is just the nicest horse; he sees you, and he wants to be in your pocket. It has been an absolute privilege to have him and ride him and be part of his journey, rather than him being part of mine. He’s obviously won some big things, but my last promise to Ron, was that I would win Derby for him. I said I would win it this year, and I thought afterwards, “Shucks, Ronnie, that’s a big promise to make”. But it was like Goofy knew Derby was coming; at SA Champs, he was incredible, and he was second in the World Cup to Magic Boy, and he could have quite easily won it. He’s been there knocking on the door, and I knew that he was on form, and I thought to myself, “We’ve been building for this, just don’t mess it up, ‘cause you’re going to let the horse down”, but it all fell into place.
HQ: No pressure! So, we noticed some of the horses across all the levels would jump the first half of the track incredibly well, then run out of steam. Your horses both looked incredibly fit and ready; how did you prepare them for this?
Ronnie: They are quite fit anyway, but we started to do a lot more track work. As I went in, Anne-Marie Eslinger said, “Your second round starts after the dyke, so take a deep breath and carry on”. I jumped out of the dyke, took a deep breath, and carried on.
HQ: That is very interesting, as we saw many combinations start to take rails after the dyke!
Ronnie: Ya, things start to fall away from the planks, which are big and wavy and on flat cups, then the water, and you get all long and sprawled out to the water, and then the last three jumps are big and bold, but also fiddly little jumps.
Though I must say that as much as the horse’s fitness matters, riders also get tired. Through experience, I was surprisingly calm, which is important as when you are nervous, you waste energy. I felt very strong for both my rounds, better than I ever have. I think most people have their horses fit enough, but they get nervous and when they turn after the dyke they gasp and think we are nearly home, and you often see riders having a few poles down in quick succession.
This year was also a weird Derby as there were a lot of newbies – both new riders and new horses. Many horses have retired, and it was almost a changing-of-the-guard type thing. Not that the standard was lower, but just that experience at Derby pays off. It was my stallion’s first time; he could have jumped a clear, but I didn’t expect him to, but he got better around the track. He had a few early mistakes but jumped his best jumps from the stile to the end. I think he was too fresh; I probably could have worked him harder on the Saturday, but again, that’s what you must figure out: what your horse can and can’t take before the Derby. So, you learn from experience. My stallion was also a bit more anxious about the environment than the first few days, but Goofy just lapped up the excitement. I didn’t hear or feel anything; I blocked it out, but Goofy must have heard it because I was told afterwards that it was deathly quiet while we jumped, and he felt incredible, like he would not touch a fence!
HQ: So, you were the top qualifier and last to go, then Jeanne went and had the one rail, so you had to jump clear. You mentioned earlier in the week that you win Derby in your mind, so how did you mentally process it all?
Ronnie: You can just as easily lose Derby in your mind! On Friday, the qualifications came out, and I was the first and second top qualifier, and I was like, “Oh no, no one ever wins it from the top qualifier”. I said this to Gonda as well, and her response was, “Oh brilliant!”, and I said, “No one ever wins from the top qualifier”, and her response was: “Well, I did! You either embrace it and win it or fall away and let the pressure get to you.” That made a lot of sense to me, so I just didn’t let it get to me. Both my horses and I were on form, so I embraced it.
I always held the unpopular opinion that it would either be a four-fault jump-off or it would be won on a clear. Jeanne had the plank down, which was really unlucky – my heart went out to her – but she will win it one day, and there is no one more deserving than her. I watched her go through the finish, knew I definitely needed a clear and I just knew what I had to do.
We train all our lives for these moments, to either rise to the occasion and jump a clear, or you can crumble. I’ve lost it from those positions, too! I lost the Outdoor Grand Prix this year with time faults, and I lost President’s Cup on Eldo when I needed a clear and had one down, so from experience, you learn! You have to go through very difficult moments to enjoy the big ones. I was so angry at myself for having lost the Outdoor Grand Prix, but to win at Derby, I can understand why it happened. You have to take the good from the bad; I was calm, relaxed and knew what I had to do.
HQ: It’s like that saying, “You either win or you learn”
Ronnie: Exactly, but I wasn’t going to lose again; it hurt too much!
Top tip from Ronnie
You don’t actually have to take much notice about being the top qualifier. If you get nervous, reframe it as a positive! You can learn to love being top qualifier; it simply means you and your horse are on top form, and at least you will know what you have to do!
HQ: You’ve ridden a few Derbies yourself and some people have said it was maybe bigger and tougher than usual; what do you have to say about that?
Ronnie: I’m, of course, going to say that it was the biggest one yet, the hardest one ever… (laughing)! I thought Anna’s course last year was bigger. However, I think it rode difficult this year, but maybe not as big; different parts of it were tougher. It’s difficult to judge, though, because there were a lot of new combinations, but then again, Levubu and last year’s winner both finished on eight faults in this Derby, so it was tough enough.
Number three (the Liverpool) was possibly the biggest I’ve seen it and in a strange place and the planks were huge. The white hedge oxer at the top was also a lot bigger and bushier than it has ever been, and that fell a lot, but the dyke rode better because of the brown poles as opposed to the traditional white poles.
One of the other things is that in past years, the bank has had a ‘wing’ type element to it, whereas this year there were just flags. It seemed very open, and I think that’s why the horses had big eyes. I don’t think the horses knew where they were going, and it made it harder to jump. Magic didn’t really have anything to lock on to, and he tried to canter off the side and I thought I was going to fall off the top; that was not enjoyable for a few seconds!
In the warmup, we were all feeling sick and thinking, ‘Why do we do this?’, and then you do it and come out feeling like it’s the best thing ever. Then you spend all year getting amped for these classes, and you get to them, and you think, ‘Why am I doing this?’
I suppose, it was just different, and that’s why we have different course designers every three years. But it was not an easy Derby; I’ve jumped enough, and it doesn’t get easier! I’d probably summarise it and say it was maybe not the biggest Derby, but there were different questions in different places.
HQ: SA Derby or Hickstead bank, which one is worse?
Ronnie: Sjoe, the Hickstead bank is more difficult, but I have never had a pole down at the bank there, and I jumped it five times. SA Derby has planks, which makes it tricky, whereas Hickstead has poles, but there is also a 1.20m vertical two strides before the bank at Hickstead, which sucks. So Hickstead is harder with the jump then the bank and SA Derby harder with the planks.
HQ: You’ve done Hickstead and SA Derby; have you done Hamburg?
Ronnie: Yes, Hamburg is the hardest because there is one stride at the bottom. It is also the most technical Derby I have ever ridden. I’ve only done it once; there was a four-fault jump-off, and I tied for 3rd on eight faults. I had stupid faults, though; I had the plank down because I actually didn’t know how to jump it, and in hindsight, I would know to slide all the way down to the bottom rather than jump off it like we do here. Weirdly, I also had a fault going into the dyke because there was a big camera hanging overhead and my horse was so busy looking at the camera he didn’t look at the jump! But Hamburg is very technical, but Hickstead and SA Derby are very similar.
HQ: That’s so interesting and nice to know we are on par with Europe! There seemed to be less time penalties this year than in the past; why do you think that was?
Ronnie: I think everyone is riding quicker. In the qualifiers, all the horses looked much quicker in their canters. We are having to ride much quicker in our normal shows, and I think it helps. Also, on the grass there is so much distance between fences that you really get going; there are less pulls.
HQ: Do you do anything extra to get yourself fit enough for Derby?
Ronnie: I obviously ride a lot and get some fitness from working on the track, but I also do boxing. A guy called Raf, whose competition name is “War-Child” (so that says it all), comes and trains me between riding and coaching; it’s brutal, but you need to be in pain and suffer. Last year I was sick and hadn’t trained so much, and I turned after the dyke, and I felt sick. I was on Cornet’s Mandarino in his first Derby, and he’s strong and I thought to myself, ‘I never want to feel like this again, so I better train’. It’s a horrible feeling, realising you are not fit enough, and I wanted to vomit. But I rode two this year, and I felt like I could go again. You have to be fit; mistakes happen when you are not.
HQ: Your plans with Gillian for the rest of the year?
Ronnie: We have the World Cup at Heartlands coming up, and he’s been on such form I will probably choose him as my nominated horse, but I may only do the Grand Prix and the World Cup. I was lying third in Showjumper of the Year behind Campbell, who has retired, and Bibisi, who did not compete in Derby, so I need to see where we are on the rankings after this because that comes into it. I don’t think I can win the World Cup Series, so hopefully, my wife can win that. I would love to win another World Cup as well.
HQ: And then Derby next year?
Ronnie: 100%. I’ve won my first one, and I told Gonda I am coming after her record of six Derby wins. But if I can get half, that would be enough. Nicole won three in a row, so why not? I’d love to do it again on Goofy, but Cornet’s Mandarino is also back, and Capital Magic Boy has shown he can do it… I have a great team of young horses coming through, and I’ve got the first one under the belt, so the pressure is off to some extent. I have great horses that I know can do it, so I would love to go and get another one.
HQ: Well, we will be rooting for you! Lastly, Junior Derby is around the corner; what advice do you have for the younger generation?
Ronnie: I hope all the adult riders motivate the younger generation. We are also at a point where we have to give back, and I hope we inspire the younger generation. I had so many little people coming up and wanting autographs, and it was so special. I hope the future generation of Derby champions were there watching. I was one of those kids who watched the Derby years ago and wanted it then; I saw Ronnie win on Panaché and Barry and wanted to be like them. You have to dream it, want it and work for it. It takes hard work, and what you put in is what you get out. You can have the most money in the world, but you must also work hard. You can buy the best horses in the world, but if you don’t work, it’s all for nothing. So, dream big and work hard!
