Gauteng riders Lara Neill and Lorette Knowles-Taylor and local favourite Jade Hooke lead a strong line-up of South Africa’s top showjumpers at the Liberty Life FEI World Cup Qualifier at the Port Elizabeth Riding Club this weekend.
The series of eight FEI World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa form part of the World Cup Series, one of the most prominent events in international show jumping and the local equestrian calendar.
Port Elizabeth is one of seven venues to host a leg of this series in South Africa from 14-17 July.
“It will be interesting to see if the men can step up the challenge this weekend or if the ladies will continue to reign supreme,” said Knowles-Taylor.
Ranked South Africa’s top female rider in 2010, Knowles-Taylor lived up to her star billing when she rode Nissan Watch Me P to victory at the second qualifier during the Durban Shongweni Club Winter Classic in June.
In May, Neill showed her class at the first qualifier at Kyalami Equestrian Park to win on Delmon Something Special.
“There is a lot at stake for the winner of the FEI World Cup series,” said Knowles-Taylor. “I expect the men to come out strong this weekend. We are great friends but the gloves come off when we go up against each other in the ring. The guys won’t take being upstaged by the ladies lying down.”
The World Cup Series launched in 1978 and South Africa joined in 2005.
The series tests the determination and skill of the best riders in the world and culminates in a yearly final to crown the top rider of the season, a prestigious and much sought after title.
“The World Cup series is very important to the South African riders,” Neill explained.
“It gives us the chance to test our abilities over challenging international standard tracks, which are identical to those in the other 16 countries participating.
“The winner in each participating country then has the option to travel to the world final. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to compete internationally and that’s what we all work hard for.”
The country’s top riders will fight it out for the number one position with a view to improving their ranking in the overall series. Pieters leads on 29 points from Gauteng’s Anne-Marie Esslinger on 27 while Dominey Alexander, winner of the qualifying series last year, lurks on 22 points.
Getting inside the top five on the rankings is one of Knowles-Taylor’s goals.
“Last year the four best results of each rider counted, but we could have seven qualifiers this year, so you have to try to place consistently throughout the series, if you hope to win the final rankings,” she explained. “I won Shongweni, but I didn’t win on my nominated horse. This cost me some valuable points in the rankings.”
The leading ladies will be squaring up against brothers Shaun and Gareth Neil from Randvaal, who have claimed nearly every showjumping title on offer in South Africa and have dominated the South African rankings in recent years. They will also have to hold off Barry Taylor, winner of the SA Outdoor Grand Prix at the Nissan Easter Festival last month.
On the local front, young riders Hooke and Carey Pohl hopes home ground advantage will help them to keep the title at home.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to host this event at home and I’ll be doing my best to win this one for the Eastern Cape,” said Hooke, the 2009 AVIS Derby winner.
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