Kokova Magazine

Last weekend it was a delight to finally walk around the impressive Derby course at the Hickstead showground and watch some of the world's top showjumpers compete to win the Hickstead Derby, instead of simply watching it on TV.

Kokova Magazine took a trip out to Hickstead to get a first hand feel for this event and to see what Derby Day had to offer.

Hickstead is by far one of the easiest showgrounds to visit in the South East. Even from London once you are out of the M25 confines it is a straight run down the M/A23. Ample parking and plenty of parking assistance means fast moving queues and a stress-free entry to the ground themselves.

Once inside on Derby Day we were met buy a huge array of stalls, selling everything from horsey items to strawberries and cream, Pimms by the glass (or jug), real cider and hot ostrich burgers, a food hall serving olives, cheeses and a variety of breads and sweets or a simple ice cream - in two tone flavours!

The showground has more than one show ring, with smaller jumping and showing classes running throughout the day but our focal point was the main ring, where the Hickstead Derby course was ready for walking.

After the competitors have walked the course there is an allocated time slot opened for the public to join in and take a look around the obstacles for themselves.

The famous Derby Bank stands at 10ft 6in tall and is the highest competition bank in the world. On the top is the smallest jump on the field but this is often rolled off its rails as riders pull up in anticipation for the drop down the bank.

This year saw quite a few horses refusing to descend the bank - and for those that did, many lost their riders or could not gather themselves together to make the two strides needed to clear the white rails at the bottom.

The Devil's Dyke is another obstacle that poses an elevated challenge. Being all in the same colour it can look like one big obstacle to the horse as opposed to a triple combination - and although the rails coming out measure only 4ft 8in high, the sloping ground makes them nearer 6ft.

With water jumps, brick walls, ditches and doubles plus the Derby Rails and an extremely upright maximum height Black Gate, the Derby course is much longer than your average showjumping course.

Over the years, with 2013 being the 53rd running of the world famous British Jumping Derby, it is a true testament to the difficulty of the course that there has been only 56 clear rounds in all of that time.

The latest horse and rider combination to add to that list of clear rounds being Phillip Miller, who won last weekend on Caritier Z.

Even if you don't follow the riders and have little understanding of the events you would be hard pressed not to appreciate the sheer size of this course, the height of the fences and the challenge faced by horse and rider.

Hickstead provides ample seating for spectators around the main event arena and from here we spent the time in the run up to the Derby being thoroughly entertained with the The Osborne Refrigerators Celebrity Scurry.

The high-speed scurry racing is a test of time and accuracy. Each team has to negotiate their way through a course that consists of pairs of cones with balls on the top of each. As fast as they can, without knocking any balls off the tops of the cones, they need to complete the course in the shortest time to win. If a ball is dislodged from a cone seconds are added to the overall time.

The teams also have to negotiate a slalom and box, making tight 180 degree turns with just 20cm margins to spare on each side. There is very little room for error as they gallop around the course and they all had the crowd on the edge of their seats from the off!

It is fair to say that aside from all the fun of the Scurry, the delight at sampling some delicious food and the ample opportunities to shop, most people are here on Derby day for the main event and this year it was as exciting as ever.

Phillip Miller was the only rider to clear the course, which he did just as the heavens opened. In the pouring rain he managed to complete his round without fault to take the lead, which he retained until the end.

We caught up with our competition winner Diane Cotton and her husband John to ask for their views on their day out at the Hickstead Derby.

Hickstead – what can one say? Having not gone there before, we were amazed at the sheer size of it. We thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful food, atmosphere and the whole day.

Diane Cotton

The next event for Hickstead is the Longines Royal International Horse Show (RIHS), running from Tuesday 30th July - Sunday 4th August 2013.

For more information and to book your tickets visit www.hickstead.co.uk