Tamsyn Muller won the South African Micro Derby in 2015. Originally from Cape Town Tamsyn moved to Johannesburg to pursue a career in show jumping. We recently chatted with her about her preparation for this year’s event.
CV: What are your top 5 tips for preparing for an event such as the South African Micro Derby?
TM: 1.The Micro Derby is a 1.35 track and I think it is important that you are comfortable in that spec before the show. Making sure that you practice this as much as possible ensures that you will be able to take on the course as naturally as possible.
- It is very important that your horse must be fit for the event. I like to keep Mozart as fit as I can all year round in order to ensure that he is at his optimal health and fitness levels – that way he is ready to compete and will be as comfortable as possible. A fitter horse is less likely to be injured.
- Your own personal fitness is also important in the lead up to eventing. I make sure that I prioritize this as well.
- I have confidence in knowing that my horse is on a great supplement such as GCS-Max so that always puts my mind at ease.
- My horse, Mozart, gets physiotherapy before and after his big shows to make sure that he is always in good shape.
CV: How do you get into the event mindset – do you do anything specific with your horse to help prepare him for this?
TM: Before Derby I make sure that we practice the different types of jumps in order to prepare my horse as much as possible before we go into the bob charter. I am also lucky enough to have evented Mozart several times before and have found him to be brave and careful – the perfect combination for Derby! I also have a fantastic Coach who gives us the correct training right up until to the event. For Mozart and I, it’s all about the confidence as well as the partnership we have together which has brought us success in the past.
CV: Can you give us some insight into your experience of the 2015 South African Derby?
TM: I won the Micro Derby 2015 and it was (and still is) the best moment in my horse-riding career so far! I was fortunate enough to be able to jump my first Micro Derby on Mozart, who I had trained up the grades. I feel grateful and lucky to have a horse like him: I don’t always get it right but he just seems to take it in his stride. We have a fantastic relationship and partnership, and our win was a testament to that. Mozart loves to jump and always gets excited when he gets into the ring! I have previously won the 1.35 Burlington Cup Championship which took place after my Micro Derby win and this is also a highlight for me in my career. Mozart always gets lots of carrots and biscuit treats as special reward after his brilliant performance!
We wish Tamsyn and our other sponsored GCS-Max riders every success ahead of the 2016 Derby competition!