Ken Borland

As head coach and one of the chief setters of goals for the Bulls, Jake White said he was content with their two successive United Rugby Championship wins over the Lions, although he felt they missed a golden opportunity for another bonus point in their 21-13 win at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend.

After a torrid first quarter, the Bulls look set to repeat their 34-10 triumph at Ellis Park a week ago when they stormed into a 21-6 lead after 49 minutes. But mistakes and a creaking scrum continued to plague their performance and they failed to add to their score as the gutsy Lions fought their way back into the game.

“I said to the players that if I had been offered nine points in two matches against the Lions in two weeks then I would have taken that based on where we were,” White said.

“We had to find a way to jump up the log. But we had enough chances to get the bonus point again, but we just couldn’t score again. Which was not ideal because we had set it up nicely.

“But the rain came when we had gone from 6-0 down to 21-6 up, which meant we went 21-0 in the middle block of the game, so you can’t be too upset, we were doing something right.

“I’m not satisfied that we didn’t get the bonus point, but we also can’t be arrogant. Two weeks ago we were under pressure and now we have nine more points against a Lions side that beat the Stormers in the Cape,” White pointed out.

The former Springbok coach also said that the Lions were adept at using the black arts to further frustrate his side.

“The Lions did a very good job of making the game as scrappy as possible, they were off their feet, not rolling away, hands in. And it worked because they got close to getting the result,” White said.

“But we are going to play games like this again, when the referee’s interpretations are different, and you’ve got to find ways to win when you’re under the pump.

“You’ve got to be good enough to adapt to whatever happens. And so many things happened. We just want consistency, but the same situations are being seen differently. There’s no common sense.

“But we have to be good enough to take the referee out of the equation,” White said.

Fence 3 at the Tokyo Olympics showjumping competition was called Kintsugi, “the golden splice”, celebrating the beauty of the scars of life or the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi.

Below the two poles were placed fractured ceramic discs and Kintsugi is a centuries-old technique in which these cracks are filled with an enamel sprinkled with gold, silver or platinum, turning the ‘scars’ into something beautiful. It is meant to evoke how imperfection can still be beautiful and valuable.

For leading South African showjumper Nicole Horwood, the United Aviation Group South African Derby that ends at the Kyalami Equestrian Park on Sunday has not been as perfect as the unmatched four previous editions she has won due to the Covid restrictions, but it is still nevertheless beautiful.

“It’s one of the events that every young rider aspires to win, and it always used to be a big social event too, it had plenty of appeal for the public. Winning it gave you the most exposure and it’s one of the titles I most cherish,” Horwood told Saturday Citizen.

“It’s usually quite a spectacle, but with limited tickets and no big crowd, it’s not quite the same. Normally there’s an electric atmosphere and the crowd carries you over the fences, they seem to ride every jump with you.

“But the United Aviation Group have put so much into the Derby, getting it live on SuperSport, so in terms of public exposure it’s probably the biggest and best ever, and UAG have had a lot to do with that.”

Three of Horwood’s four SA Derby titles came in consecutive years – 2012-2014 – joining the legendary Mickey Louw as the only other rider to pull off a hat-trick of titles in one of South Africa’s showjumping Majors. Horwood won the Triple Crown of the Derby, SA Championships and SA Outdoor Grand Prix in 2013.

The real estate agent’s steady flow of titles mostly came aboard Capital Don Cumarco, considered one of the great horses in South African showjumping history, but the famous stallion retired a year ago. Horwood is riding United Aviation Group Capital Hitoshi and United Aviation Group Capital Kronos this weekend at Kyalami and, while they are inexperienced and have just put one figurative foot in the water compared to Don Cumarco wading through the rivers of success, she has great expectations for both rides.

“I have very high hopes for some of the young horses I’m riding now. Showjumping is about constantly developing horses, and in a few more years I’ll be grooming ones to take their places. That’s my motivation to keep competing, to bring good young horses up to that level.

“Capital Don Cumarco and myself were like a team though, we really understood each other, we had a great bond. He was a legend who put me on the map, I rode him from when he was five to 18 years old, it was like he was living my life with me, and he is the only horse to win the Derby four times. Now he is enjoying the sun at Summerhill Stud,” Horwood said.

The 48-year-old Horwood says enjoying developing a relationship with your horse is a critical part of showjumping success because it is not all sunshine and roses.

“I had nothing but a pony growing up and I don’t own any horses, they are all sponsored. But to succeed you have to work hard and show your talent through your work ethic and motivation. You need to learn from your mistakes, take your ego out of it.

“You have to be passionate about it because it is a lot of work, but the journey is worth it. It takes a bit of talent too, you need skills and horsemanship and a bond with your horse,” Horwood said.

While her rides are officially just rentals, the one permanent feature in Horwood’s career has been her coach – the legendary Gonda Betrix, whose immense career saw her win 10 Majors and represent South Africa at the 1992 Olympics.

“Growing up in Durban, I only rode recreationally on a horse my Dad bought off the track at Kings Park Stables. I only started competing when I came to Joburg when I was 18 years old. All those years I have spent with Gonda and 30 years later she is still my coach. She taught me everything – the basics and especially work ethic,” Horwood said.