Show Report: 2021 Puresan Stokkiesdraai Cup

Stokkiesdraai Restaurant and Equestrian Centre is one of the venues that riders from across the country will make an effort to attend. Located in Brits, North West, the family-run facility boasts quality arenas, stables, and equipment, and the environment is always relaxed and welcoming. The final weekend of February played host to the Stokkiesdraai Cup incorporating the Riders Grand Prix Tour and with Puresan re-joining the venue as headline sponsor, the event was set and ready to welcome the athletes.

The final day of competition began with the Junior 1.30m Championship competition. With 9 combinations ready to tackle the Anne-Marie Esslinger-designed tracks, the first round would see only 3 combinations able to complete the course with zero penalties. Into the arena for the jump-off first was Olivia van Rooyen on Jamie van Rooyen’s horse, Will. An early rail falling saw the combination pushing through the rest of the course quickly to ensure that their time would be highly competitive, and in 32.49 seconds, the pair would complete the competition in 2nd place. Kelly Du Plessis and Cincinati were next to go but with a rail taking a tumble in the combination obstacle, their quick time of 30.93 seconds pushed them ahead of Olivia and Will. The final combination stepped into the arena, Jeanne Celliers and Chakita and while their strategy was to go for the slow and steady clear round, a late rail saw them come home with 4 penalties in a time of 40.07 seconds to see them into 3rd.

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With the conclusion of the Junior 1.30m Championship, 35 entrants started the 1.35m Silver Tour Grand Prix. With the ruleset in place that resulted in either the top 25% of riders progressing to the 2nd round or all the clear rounds if more than 25%, 9 spots were guaranteed. But, a great display of showjumping from a very strong pool of riders meant that 16 combinations delivered clears and secured themselves a seat in the 2nd round.

With the course adjustments made and the time allowed set at 59 seconds, into the arena first was Aisling Triggol on her new partner, Callaho’s Kadice. While their round would not see them claim a prize, the experience gained was enough for Aisling. With riders aiming for the best time, of the 16 starters, only 7 combinations successfully secured a double clear. With time being the deciding factor, the 3 podiums were awarded to the 3 best competitors and, on that Sunday, the best rider in the field was Jason Slade and Data Sciences Jidah, who had an incredible round. Displaying tight turns and a fluid rhythm, they came home with a phenomenal time of 44.95 seconds. There were many who followed that managed to be quicker, but none were clear, leaving Jason the outright winner by some margin.

Finishing in second place, almost 3 seconds behind Jason’s time, were Kyla Brimacombe and Mampro Callaho Floyd whose round was impressively speedy with a time of 47.81 seconds but, unfortunately, not quick enough to dislodge Jason from his top seat. Rounding off the podium places was the always-competitive Neriske Prinsloo and GCS Max Laguna NPS who completed their round in a time of 49.94 seconds.

The 1.40m Gold Tour event was the 3rd competition event of the day at Stokkiesdraai with 18 starters vying for the victory and a cash prize of R15,000. The standard Grand Prix rules of 25% or all the clears going through to the second round meant that 5 combinations would be guaranteed passage. After the 18 competitors had concluded their initial rounds with poles spread across the course and several riders finding themselves stuck for time, 5 athletes progressed to the second round all carrying forward zero penalties.

The second round saw competitors compete in a reverse order of time which meant that the first to go would be the combination with the slowest first-round time. However, the order proved irrelevant as Bronwyn Dos Santos and Capital Levubu, who were slowest in the first round and thus first to go in the second, provided the only double clear affording them the win in the Gold Tour Grand Prix. In an interesting turn of events, second place was a tie between Bronwyn Dos Santos on her stellar mare, Bibisi, and Chatan Hendriks on Biogen’s Kolinko both with 4 penalties in a time of 52.43 seconds.

The Bronze section of the Riders Grand Prix saw 64 combinations taking on the 1.30m tracks that were similar to that of the Puresan Stokkiesdraai Cup. Eager to fight for the victory, the conclusion of the first round saw an incredible 17 riders deliver faultless rounds to see them into the second round and one step closer to R10,000 that was awarded to the winner, courtesy of Puresan. The first combination for the second round, Blue Turtle’s Capital Magic Boy and Ronnie Healy, rode a great round to break the finish beams in 48.13 seconds and come home double clear.

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However, with several speedy combinations in the lineup, that time was not enough to see them on a podium. Instead, the competitor to claim 3rd place was Jonathan Clarke on the Silhouette Park-owned Morgan van’t Heike as they sped around the track in a time of 45.62 seconds. 2nd place was claimed by Seeis Le Champ and Kerry Rees, who recently acquired the fantastic 1.50m gelding, Capital Cameroon, in a time of 44.66 seconds, while the top spot and R12,000 prize money was claimed by a super round from Bianca Pitt and Bakato who came home in a time of 43.59 seconds.

The main event of the afternoon was the 1.45m Puresan Stokkiesdraai Cup. With a spectacular R28,000 going to the winner, the competition was fierce as 15 entrants put their best feet forward to walk away victorious. Run as an ordinary one round with a jump-off competition under FEI Article 238.2.2, only clear rounds would be eligible for the jump-off. At a speed of 375mpm, the time allowed of 79 seconds proved to be exactly right as only 2 combinations missed out on a spot in the jump-off due to a time fault. Due to the size and relatively square shape of the Stokkiesdraai arena, and the technical tracks designed and built by Anne-Marie Esslinger (FEI 3*), the competition saw rails falling at regular intervals. However, with the final horse through the finish beams, the first round drew to a close with 4 riders on zero penalties. 

The jump-off was a great test of agility and speed for the 4 combinations as with each rider, the excitement from the surrounding, socially-distanced, crowds grew. First in for the jump-off was Jonathan Clarke and the Slade Equestrian-owned, Data Sciences Enouche RK who, once again, impressed all onlookers as she flew around the course with the guidance of Jonathan Clarke to secure a 2nd place finish and the R18,000 in a time of 36.65 seconds. Chris van der Merwe stepped into the arena with a look of determination on his face and started off his round rapidly. Unfortunately, the tight turn to the final fence caught Chris’s mount, Domino van der Boswinning, slightly by surprise causing him to refuse the obstacle.

They concluded their round with several time penalties incurred, as well as the faults for the refusal, to see them claim the 4th prize and R5,000 courtesy of Puresan. Jonathan’s second horse, Data Sciences Hummer van het Bevrijdthof, opened up his stride to ensure a quick time, but with a single rail taking a tumble, the pair concluded their round with 4 penalties in a time of 40.91 seconds – enough for a 3rd place finish and prize money to the value of R8,000.

The Capital Warmblood Stud stallion, Mark White Nissan’s Capital Hitoshi, put forth a stellar performance as, partnered with reigning South African Campion, Nicole Horwood, the pair threw caution to the wind. With all the turns executed perfectly and the additional pace that Hitoshi is renowned for, the pair claimed the top spot on the podium and the R28,000 prize in a time of 35.20 seconds to be crowned the 2021 Stokkiesdraai Cup champions.

All in all, it was a wonderful competition to witness as some of the best riders in the country strutted their stuff ahead of a jam-packed show season. 

-Special Mention-

Great success is attributed to a combination of factors including the people you chose to surround yourself with. Your support team is vital for your mental focus and one of your greatest assists is, arguably, your coach. That single victory in the competition arena is the result of hours spent behind the scenes training and a great coach can make all the difference. The Puresan Stokkiesdraai Cup was a fantastic weekend for one coach in particular, Chad Cunningham, as his pupils were victorious in all 3 of the Riders Grand Prix competitions, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. His pupils also claimed victory in the Junior 1.30m Championship as well as the Pony Rider 1.10m Championship. While Chad was not in the saddle over the weekend, the results achieved by his pupils are a great testament to his ideologies and philosophies.

Congratulations to all the winners, to Chad Cunningham on the success of his pupils, and Thank you to Puresan for once again joining the Stokkiesdraai Cup as the headline sponsor.

-The JumpOff-

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