Show Circuit Magazine - June / July 22 by Show Circuit Magazine

NEW ZEALAND’S ULTIMATE EQUESTRIAN MAGAZINE

SHOWCIRCUIT AMANDA POTTINGER

TAKING ON THE BIG GUNS AT BADMINTON HORSE TRIALS

INTERVIEWS TO KEEP YOU

THE LOWDOWN ON

PASTERN DERMATITIS

GET UNDER HIS SKIN

MARVELLOUS MUSCLES

JUN/JUL 2022

INSPIRED!

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WELCOME FROM MY DESK

Hasn't it been an exciting local and international competition calendar! Dressage has come of age with more riders competing on the global platform than ever before, and the eventing season has been as exciting as can be, lighting up our screens as we follow our New Zealand riders at events that are some of the world's best. This brings us to our cover girl, Amanda Pottinger. While she has a stellar record 'down under' both here in New Zealand and competing at 5* level at Adelaide, her first run at Badminton left us prouder than ever. Locally, primary school teacher Greer Caddigan is excelling with her equally talented horse, Ricker Ridge Pico Boo. We caught up with Greer shortly after selection for the New Zealand Young Rider team to take part in the Oceania Competition in Melbourne. As it turned out, not only is Greer talented, but she also puts her horse's welfare front and centre. After competing at Taupo, Greer made the gutting decision to scratch Ricker Ridge Pico Boo after he sustained a minor injury just before flying out. It's a lesson for us all - equestrian highs are exhilarating, and the lows can be right around the corner. I guess the take-home here is that there are always more competitions, and preserving our good horses should always be the top priority. Sarah Bevege’s love of Thoroughbreds inspires me! Not only has she sat on a whopping 3,500 Thoroughbreds at EventStars, but she is also now bringing that wealth of knowledge to the forefront in her own riding career. Be sure to read this humble but talented rider's interview on page 30. I always try to look a little more broadly than the FEI equestrian codes. In this issue, we feature ex-showjumper Greta van der Brink, whose career in polo is soaring. With parents who are both from horsey backgrounds, it comes as no surprise this family has a shared passion. We have two pony riders featured in this issue - Penny Borthwick and Lauren Mitchell. Both girls have been cleaning up in the awards and rosettes department and are certainly ones to watch. We have a special feature in this issue with four top riders, Brooke Edgecombe, Jo Craddock, Christen Lane and Cooper Oborn, sharing their top tips for maximising the offseason. They share their proven strategies for working towards a successful next season. If you are considering breeding your own foal, be sure to check out our interview with Sarah Catherwood, who is producing foals from top international sires via frozen semen here in New Zealand. Sarah's early success as a competitive swimmer who represented New Zealand on the world stage, including at Olympic level, testifies to the drive and determination she also exhibits in her quest to breed the 'perfect' foal. We are always in awe of the Para riders and their particular challenges, and Chelsea Burns is no exception. My goodness, what a positive and determined go-getter she is, continuing to compete in able-bodied eventing while she is still able. Pastern dermatitis is a curse! Our new writer Elise Cacace delved into this condition to find out what we can do for our horses to prevent it. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, happy riding, everyone!

Sheryll Davies - Publisher

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EDITOR Pip Hume

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DESIGN Sheryll Davies

CONTRIBUTORS Ashleigh Bolt Photography Ashleigh Kendall Belinda Pratt Photography Caitlin Benzie Photography Christine Cornege Photography Denise Flay Photography Elise Cacace Michelle Clarke Photography Ned Dawson Nico Morgan Media Rebecca Greaves

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ABOUT US

COVER IMAGE: Amanda Pottinger and JUST KIDDING Breeder: Chelsaus & Orpendale FUSAICHI PEGASUS (sire) x GYPSY PRINCESS (dam) Image - Nico Morgan Media

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Show Circuit magazine is published bi-monthly. The articles reflect the personal opinion of the author and not necessarily the view of Waiata Publishing Ltd. This publication cannot be reproduced in whole or in part in any way without the publisher’s express written permission. All contributions are submitted at the sender’s risk. Waiata Publishing Ltd accepts no responsibility for loss or damage.

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SUPA JOINT

IN THIS ISSUE JUNE | JULY 2022

AMANDA POTTINGER Taking on Badminton Horse Trials

22 GREER CADDIGAN Overcoming Adversity

30 SARAH BEVEGE Always Up For a Challenge

38 GRETA VAN DER BRINK A Shift in Focus

46 PENNY BORTHWICK The Magic of Ponies

54 LAUREN MITCHELL Making an Impact

MAXIMISING WINTER Top Tips from the Best

74 SARAH CATHERWOOD Purposeful Breeding

82 LUCY TURNER Creating Success

90 CHELSEA BURNS Against the Odds

98 MOLLY MOFFATT A United Front

106 OUR SHOPPING GUIDE What's Hot!

108-117 HEALTH Pastern dermatitis Marvellous Muscles

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ON THE COVER

Taking on BADMINTON HORSE TRIALS WORDS -Rebecca Greaves IMAGES - Nico Morgan Media

Riding up the centre line at Badminton is the dream for any aspiring event rider. We followed talented Kiwi Amanda Pottinger as she and pint-sized mount Just Kidding successfully navigated their first Badminton Horse Trials.

inning hearts and fans across the globe with their gutsy performance at Badminton, Amanda Pottinger and her small but mighty Thoroughbred Just Kidding (Ferg) have undoubtedly inspired the next generation of young Kiwi eventers. Turning in an exceptionally polished dressage test to place eighth equal after that phase, they came out and attacked a gruelling cross-country that caused its fair share of trouble, keeping a clean slate for jumping but taking one long option and accruing some time penalties. Unfortunately, the rails fell in the final show jumping phase, but their performance earned them World Equestrian Games qualification. Amanda is no stranger to top-level eventing, with plenty of strings to her bow here in New Zealand and 5* completions at Adelaide with Ferg, placing fourth and second. The combination was also the non-travelling reserve for the Tokyo Olympics. With a stint in the UK in 2021 under her belt, Amanda returned to New Zealand over the summer. In February, she flew back to the UK, along with her second horse Good Timing (Johnny), to prepare Just Kidding (Ferg) for the Holy Grail of eventing – Badminton.

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PRE-EVENT

We spoke to Amanda the morning before she packed the horse truck and got on the road to the hallowed grounds of Badminton. It was touch and go as to whether Ferg, a 15-yearold Thoroughbred gelding by Fusaichi Pegasus out of a mare called Gypsy Princess, would line up at Badminton, coming back from a minor injury. Even the week before the event, Amanda was unsure if they would have to scratch. "Provided he was feeling fit and ready, Badminton was the goal. Because he was coming back from a minor injury, he couldn't miss a beat; everything had to go to plan because we were on the shorter side of time." Amanda chose Badminton for Ferg, believing it was the kind of 5* that would suit him. "He's a great cross-country horse, and it's a good time in the season for an experienced horse as the ground conditions can be wet in the lead-in events, so you might not always get a huge number of runs under your belt beforehand. His prep runs have been wet, and he's missed one, but it's looking like the ground conditions will be favourable for the crosscountry day.

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Above - Amanda and JUST KIDDING (Ferg) during the first trot-up at Badminton Horse Trials 2022. Above right - The track on cross-country was not the track they were expecting at Badminton, Amanda thought it would be more technical.

"Badminton is one that's on everyone's bucket list. If you have a capable horse, it's one you want to go to. I say to people, it's like the Wimbledon of eventing. I think the Olympics would have to be the top for everyone, but when it comes to 5* events, you would say Badminton is top of the list, for sure." In the lead-up to the event, she felt the pressure that goes with such a prestigious event. "There are about 10 different emotions. It's stressful, very, very stressful, then there's a part that's the relief of actually going. I think there have been 15 horses withdrawn, and we've had a very touch and go week – we were pretty close to being one of those withdrawals last week. So, there's relief to actually get a horse to Badminton. "Then it's overwhelming, like 'holy crap, this is a massive deal'. The mental preparation to get there is huge." Other exciting news, but adding to the hectic build-up, was

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Johnny being named to go the Nation's Cup at Pratoni, Italy, held from May 11-15 – the week following Badminton. Johnny left for Italy on the Friday of Badminton, with Amanda flying over later to join him. While she was thrilled to have Johnny named, trying to coordinate two different horses going two separate ways compounded her stress. On top of that, former working pupil Kelli Frewin was due to fly over to help Amanda through this period but broke her foot two weeks prior and was unable to come. Having her partner Tom, mum Tinks (who herself rode around Badminton and placed fourth), and long-time family friend and 'second mum' Karen Niederer there gave her a boost. "It's amazing to have family support over here. People don't realise until they get here and see what you go through daily, on your own. It's hard. Just simple things like having Tom fix my lorry that broke last week, the little things make a big difference," she says. "To have people there, whether things go well - or probably more importantly if things don't go well - is huge." Getting to Badminton has been a rollercoaster ride for Amanda, with curveballs thrown at every turn. "You've just got to adjust. It's a hard path to get to ride down that centre line! I'm not at the excitement part yet." While she says Ferg hasn't had the ideal preparation, they've ticked enough boxes to believe they can be competitive. "He's feeling really good, and that is really important to me. Based on how he feels, I'm feeling confident I have a good horse under me. "He's fit, ready, and, for a 15-year-old, feels good in himself. The absolute dream would be a top 20 finish, but you never know with the field and track how it's going to go." Reflecting on her journey with Ferg, while they've been a team for over 10 years, she never thought he'd be the horse to take her to Badminton. "God, no. He was an overgrown pony we bought to on-sell as a Young Rider horse. He was never supposed to go 4*, let alone 5*. Every single day he surprises us. When you see him in the flesh, he's just a little Thoroughbred. He doesn't have a big scopey jump; he's just got a big heart.

T H E Y S AY,

NO SCOPE,

NO HOPE.

WELL, WE

D O N ’ T H AV E T H E S C O P E , B U T S O M E H O W, W E ’ V E Above - Amanda riding GOOD TIMING (Johnny) in his first 4* start as part of the New Zealand Nation’s Cup team in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup, in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy. They smoked the time on cross-country. Image - Massimo Argenziano Photography. Below - Amanda and JUST KIDDING (Ferg) during the formidable crosscountry at Badminton Horse trials.

STILL GOT THE HOPE!

SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

I T D E F I N I T E LY W A S

THE BEST T E S T

HE’S EVER

DONE IN AN ENVIRONMENT L I K E T H AT.

BADMINTON

IS A BIG ARENA,

IT’S ELECTRIC. Above - Amanda and JUST KIDDING (Ferg) produced an excellent dressage test at Badminton Horse Trials for a score of 25.9 penalties. Below and right hand page - Amanda and GOOD TIMING (Johnny) proved themselves at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup, in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy. Images - Massimo Argenziano Photography.

"They say, 'no scope, no hope.' Well, we don't have the scope, but somehow, we've still got the hope!"

DRESSAGE

Amanda and Ferg delivered a brilliant test, scoring 25.9, on the first day of dressage, a score Amanda felt was a good result given the atmosphere and pressure of the event. "It definitely was the best test he's ever done in an environment like that. Badminton is a big arena; it's electric. He's always been able to do beautiful dressage - for a Thoroughbred, he moves well and has that 'look at me' presence, but unfortunately, he has always struggled when it comes to a big ring. "I always knew he could do that test, but we've never been able to show it until that day." Their efforts left them in seventh place at the close of day one of the competition. In the finish, only one other combination was able to better them on day two of the dressage, and they finished the phase in eighth equal place. "By the end of the second day, it was almost irrelevant because we knew when we walked the cross-country that it wasn't going to be a dressage competition. I had a whole day in between, and I had to go home, ride Johnny and get him on the truck, which was a nice distraction. It definitely put the pressure on because we had finally got this test we knew we could do; we had better not stuff up the rest!"

CROSS COUNTRY

All the talk was of the Eric Winter-designed cross-country being reminiscent of an 'old style' Badminton track, big and taking some jumping. Early carnage proved this was not a course to be taken lightly, with some of the big names of the sport failing to complete. "Normally, I prefer to be at the beginning, stick to my plan, and not be distracted by what other people are doing. My approach was, 'I'll just watch a couple of good riders.' So, of course, I watched Tom and Nicola (Wilson). Nicola's fall was literally the last thing I watched before I got on. I didn't know the course had been held and got on way, way, too early, which is not ideal on a horse like Ferg. But at the end of the day, it's part of the curveballs this sport throws you. At the start of the day, just getting home was a good round,

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GETTING A L AT E C A L L U P WITH JOHNNY WAS VERY

EXCITING BUT DIDN’T GIVE ME MUCH TIME TO

PLAN FOR AFTER BADMINTON WITH FERG. NOW I’M

HOME A N D

LOOKING FORWARD TO

but in the end, you needed to be clear and fast to be competitive. "It was an interesting track; it certainly wasn't the Badminton I was expecting. To me, it felt a bit more like Burghley, which is renowned for being that massive rider-frightener track. I expected Badminton to be a bit more technical, which would have suited Ferg more than a big, bold track." But she knew the track was jumpable for Ferg and within his reach if she rode it well. At the same time, gaining their WEG qualification was in the back of her mind. "I thought that not many people were getting home, and the priority switched to getting home. Normally my attitude is, 'go hard or go home' on cross-country, so it was a mental switch." Ferg answered every question on cross-country, and it was a track that required you to ride by feel. "Yes, I had a plan, but being on a smaller horse, I had to

AACHEN.

ride off what I felt and what came up at the time. He's quite a brave little horse and doesn't back off much. At the Broken Bridge, he got halfway up and went, 'what is this?' he's never done that. I literally had to Pony Club kick him. You just have to react – cross-country riding is all about reactions." Amanda had planned to take all the straight routes, but quick thinking at the Nyetimber corners meant she did take the long option. "He sort of ran down the hill, and I went 'whoa' to balance him; we got to the top of the hill, and he exaggerated my whoa and almost trotted. I knew the next couple of fences were big ditches and rails, and as much as I was annoyed that I had to take the long route, it was the right thing to do. It's frustrating that it cost so much time, but that's because I'm so competitive." They came home safely with 18.4-time penalties - a good result on a tough crosscountry day - which left them in 27th place after phase two. "The feeling of getting through the finish line is amazing. I got three-quarters of the way around and knew the aim of the game was to get him home. I never knew if Ferg really was a Badminton horse, and, yup, he is! But that was definitely him maxed out; getting him round and home safe was 100% the top priority, and that was a great feeling."

SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

IT WAS

MIND-BLOWING

A N D AT T I M E S F E LT L I K E A

MASSIVE WEIGHT, B U T E Q U A L LY, A M A Z I N G .

THE SUPPORT W A S OVERWHELMING AND I WANT TO

THANK EVERYONE. I CAN’T DESCRIBE HOW

CHALLENGING IT I S B E I N G I N T H I S C O U N T R Y, A N D JUST KNOWING T H E R E A R E A L L THESE PEOPLE SUPPORTING YOU IS SUCH A

GOOD FEELING.

Above - Amanda and JUST KIDDING (Ferg) during the showjumping phase at Badminton Horse Trials.

SHOW JUMPING

This phase proved influential and clear rounds inside the time were hard to come by. Unfortunately, this was not the finish Amanda had hoped for, with four rails and 3.27-time faults leaving them on a total of 61.9 and slipping down the placings to finish in 35th place. "Badminton is quite a taxing track; it's undulating, and it was certainly the biggest and longest cross-country track he has ever run in his life. What's frustrating with the show jumping is that he did feel quite good to start with. Particularly the first three fences, he was jumping quite well. "The part that annoys me is that fourth fence. That was my rail, not his. It's frustrating as a rider when you know you can do better. Maybe he lost a bit of momentum, and then we had a couple down in a row." The showjumping track was big and technical with three doubles, she says, and although Ferg doesn't find it easy, she can't help but wonder if things might have been different if she'd ridden the first line better. "What would the consequences have been? I will say that I learned a lot from that round. I had that rail because the canter was a lot bigger than I expected, so that's something I will know for the future. I can pick it apart, but there's always room for improvement in this sport, so I guess that's where we need to go home and work."

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ON REFLECTION

Amanda learned a lot from her Badminton week, and there are things she would do differently next time. She admits she's far too competitive to say she was happy with the performance, but she knows where there's room to improve and be better. "Usually, cross-country is our strength and where we go up the placings, not backward. It was a massive week of learning. As hard as it was, I got a lot out of it. I think one day I'll look back and be happy we completed Badminton!" With little time to draw breath after Badminton, Amanda was jetting off to Italy to ride Johnny in his first 4* as part of the New Zealand Nation's Cup team, where they put in an impressive performance, and the Kiwi team finished in fourth. "Getting a late call-up with Johnny was very exciting but didn't give me much time to plan for after Badminton with Ferg. Now I'm home and looking forward to Aachen. It's an event I've always wanted to go to. The time is always influential on cross-country, and I think a horse like Ferg could do well there, and it will suit him. "I call Aachen HOY on steroids, and he has always run well at HOY. I think it will be a good stepping stone to set him up and prepare for whatever long format I decide to do with him later in the year." Amanda wanted to make special mention of the huge amount of support from New Zealand she received during Badminton. "It was mind-blowing and at times felt like a massive weight, but equally, amazing. The support was overwhelming, and I want to thank everyone. I can't describe how challenging it is being in this country, and just knowing there are all these people supporting you is such a good feeling." Amanda is grateful to be sponsored by Prestige Equestrian, NRM Horse Feeds, Moores Riding Wear, Dapple EQ, Point6Socks, and NZ Thoroughbred Racing. n

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EVENTING spotlight

22 - SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE

OVERCOM I NG

adversity WORDS - Rebecca Greaves IMAGES - Christine Cornege Photography

It has taken a long time for Greer Caddigan to believe in herself and her ability. Being named in the New Zealand Young Rider team for the Oceania Competition to take on the Aussies in Melbourne has provided welcome recognition for this humble young eventer.

Wearing the silver fern

has been a long-held dream for 23-year-old Greer, but her road to the top has been a rocky one, demonstrating her resilience and ability to overcome adversity. Juggling completing a university degree and her career as a primary school teacher with her riding aspirations means long and busy days for Greer, but she has a level-headed approach to balancing riding and teaching, saying she likes to give her all to both. Living just west of Hamilton, she is based at

the family’s 18-acre property with her three horses. “We moved to this property last year, and I have a hill now! I got my truck license early so I could do my own thing. I don’t have an arena now – I’m using cow poo to do my laterals, and I think it has paid off. It makes you work harder, not having an arena.” Horses are in the blood; her father, Jock, was a jockey and her mum, Fiona show jumped to A grade. Greer got her first pony from fellow eventer Sarah Young at about four. “Sarah is someone I’ve always looked up to.”

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Greer and RICKER RIDGE PICO BOO (Beckham), purchased from Sam Lissington. Below - Greer’s Pomeranian dog, Poppy, is hilarious around the stables and was determined to be featured in photos! The draw of eventing comes from the satisfaction she gets from seeing improvement across all three phases. “Most times, it doesn’t all come together, but it’s worth it when it does. When I achieve my goals in each of the three phases, I know that I’m ready to move up a level. Eventing is tough, but I think that’s why I like it. I’ve learned a lot about resilience. I also love the people in eventing; it’s a community.” Greer has one year to go to gain her teaching registration and is currently relief teaching at Southwell School in Hamilton. She’ll be full-time again from Term 3. “I was full-time last year, and with also working three horses, you just run out of daylight. It was tricky. I took a step back from teaching this year to focus on the horses. I love the challenge of both, but it’s hard work.” A typical day involves riding one horse before leaving for work at 7.30am, returning home at 4pm, and often packing the truck to head to training before getting

24 - SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE

home around 7pm and finishing her stable and paddock jobs. “I never want to do things by halves; I want to give everything my whole. It’s what you give to the students. You’ve got to bring your pizazz to the classroom, so creating that balance between my work and riding is important for me, and I think it’s paying off.”

Greer’s top horse, and her intended mount for Melbourne, is Ricker Ridge Pico Boo (Beckham), the former ride of UK-based Sam Lissington. Beckham is a 17-year-old gelding by Picobello out of a Thoroughbred mare, and the combination is currently at 3* level. Sam rang Greer a couple of days before flying to the UK and asked if she was interested in finishing Beckham’s rehab from a tendon injury and taking the ride. “It was a real honour for her to ring me.” Greer says she’s an opportunist, and this opportunity was not to be missed. On completing Becky’s rehab, they made their

EVENTING IS TOUGH, B U T I T H I N K T H AT ' S W H Y I L I K E I T. I'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT

RESILIENCE. I

ALSO

LOVE THE PEOPLE I N E V E N T I N G , I T ' S A C O M M U N I T Y. Above - Greer and RICKER RIDGE PICO BOO (Beckham), during the Gardner Family Trust CCN3* cross-country at the NZ3DE in Taupo, May 2022. Image - Belinda Pratt Photography.

way back up the grades, starting at 1.05m before stepping up to 2*. “I really liked the horse; Sam was in England and wanted to sell him. I already had two horses, and it was so busy that now I can’t believe I even tossed up the idea. Luckily Mum and Dad gave me the opportunity and said we would buy him. I’m so happy I took the opportunity because he’s a really special horse.” Since stepping up to 3*, they have placed at every start, and Greer describes Becky as an incredible horse who will do anything for her. “He’s cheeky and likes to play games in the paddock. He loves his food – he’s very food driven – and is the boss of the yard, completely.” Her goal with Becky is to step up to 4* next season. Greer and Becky had the perfect preparation for Melbourne, with a win in the CCN 3*-S National Class at Taupo Three-Day-Event recently, finishing on their dressage score of 29.4. “It was about finishing on a sub-30, double clear under time and ticking off every single goal I had set. Getting a pretty ribbon at the end was nice, but it was about those goals pre-Melbourne and finishing the New Zealand season on a high. It was a good confidence building run over a tough track.” It was to be Greer’s first time representing New Zealand, although

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The rugs, rosettes and garlands remind Greer that getting to the top has been worth it, but equally what it took to get there. Greer riding RICKER RIDGE PICO BOO (Beckham) in the Giltrap Agrizone CCI2*-S cross-county taking the win for the class. Image - Ashleigh Bolt Photography.

she was the non-travelling reserve with her mare Gymnastik Showdown (Gabby) in 2018. In 2021 Oceania was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. “There was an overwhelming amount of joy and excitement; I actually cried when I found out I had been selected. I’ve had this goal since I was 15 and always remember watching Sarah Young and Bonnie Farrant in the Trans-Tasman Young Rider competition here and going, ‘wow, that’s incredible; they’re so smart and professional’. Even being selected, being recognised, and just knowing that other people believe in you - that’s huge for me.” Sadly, this was not to be Greer’s time. Becky sustained an injury not long before they were due to fly out, and she made the difficult decision to withdraw from the competition. “Resilience is a key word in my vocabulary these days. I’ve had quite a lot of downs and you learn to accept what has happened and move on. It was very upsetting - more gutting than disappointing. The horse owes us nothing, he’s sound and happy but he deserves the best. We will rescan him in a few months and make a plan from there.” Still wanting to be part of the experience, Greer plans to travel to Melbourne to support the team and groom for teammate, Mackenzie Marlo. Greer also has up-and-coming seven-year-old PHS Hilton (Jerr), by dressage stallion Jazz C out of a 4* Aberlou mare, purchased from James Jackson as a five-year-old. “Jerr is French; he’s named after James’s wife’s brother.”

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EQUILUME STABLE LIGHT HEALTH • PERFORMANCE • WELL-BEING

WHAT IS IT? The Equilume Stable Light is a fully automated lighting system that replicates the benefits of sunlight for the stabled horse, providing biologically effective levels of blue-enriched light by day and restful red light at night to:

• • • • • • •

enhance coat condition promote muscle development stimulate immunity and healing positively influence mood & behaviour reduce bacteria in stables permit rest & enhance recovery improve overall well-being The Equilume Stable Lights keep our performance horses in top condition and their coats glowing! The red light at night allows for optimum rest and recovery, and they are more relaxed in their stables overall. Equilume plays a key role in keeping our horses healthy, happy and performing well. We highly recommend them.” Chris & Gabi Chugg, Chuggy Equestrian, AUS

Amandine@equilume.com Max@equilume.com 0800 002 607 www.equilume.com

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Jerr is related to Greer’s special mare Gymnastik Showdown (Gabby), also bought from James. “Mum adored Gabby. She never got over selling her (although we have her back to retire now), so she went out and bought her nephew.” Jerr is competing at 95cm, and Greer’s goal was to place in or win the 95cm class at the Taupo 3DE. “He has endless scope. I think that having the basics established, he will move through 1.05m quite quickly and go straight into 2* next season. He’s pretty special, and I think he could go quite far, which is super-exciting.”

As a teenager, Greer

was fortunate to have the gorgeous grey Fletch.com, the former 4* ride of Simon Gordon, as her first schoolmaster. “I got him when I was 14, and he was probably the horse of my lifetime.” Competing in the Junior Rider at Central Districts, the combination was leading going into cross-country. Greer confesses she’s a bit of a princess on cross-country and doesn’t often chase the time. “Because I was in the lead, I felt pressure to go for the time. I was so inexperienced, and I came through the forest to a jump, cut the corner on too much of an angle, and he drifted and misjudged the jump. His boot caught on the barbed wire beside the jump, and we flipped.” Mercifully, Greer can’t remember anything of the accident, being knocked out and breaking her arm. Tragically, Fletch sustained major injuries, including a broken neck. They were able to stabilise him enough to get him home, as was their wish, where they sadly put him to sleep. “It was a horrifically traumatic experience, and I totally thought about giving up. Luckily, I don’t remember it. There was a fantail at home with him, and

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he followed me to the new place. I swear he watches me!” After the accident, Greer’s first event back was on Gabby in the 95cm at Taupo, and she cried the whole way around the cross-country. “I was nervous and scared and thinking about Fletch, but I did it. Deep down, I knew I had to carry on. I loved it (eventing) so much, and I just had to get past it.” Earning the silver fern is special to Greer, but her riding highlight came the year after the accident when she won the same Junior Rider eventing class at Central Districts on Gabby. “It was super-challenging for me to jump the same jump Fletch had flipped at. I listened to a motivational speech before I went out. Winning was a special moment I will cherish for my whole life and is another reason why it’s nice to have Gabby back for her retirement. “I’m still very conscious, time-wise. I’ve lost a lot of events because I’ve had time faults. Mum always says, ‘see you at the finish,’ before I leave the start box; that’s our little tradition. The important thing is we both come home happy and safe.”

M U M A LW AY S S AY S,

‘SEE YOU AT THE FINISH’ B E F O R E I L E AV E T H E S TA R T B O X , T H AT ’ S O U R L I T T L E T R A D I T I O N .

THE IMPORTANT THING IS WE BOTH COME HOME HAPPY AND SAFE.

Greer has trained with Vaughn Jefferis for 14 years, since she was nine, and says he is more than just a coach. “He’s my mentor, a friend, and just a genuine person. I’m really lucky to have him. Normally he answers my questions before I even ask them! He’s such a horseman and an incredible rider; I respect him and take on board what he says.” She trains with Christine Weal for dressage and credits Donna Smith with transforming her crosscountry riding. “I like to make things look nice and get perfect strides. She taught me to have that hunger and drive and that it’s not always going to look pretty on the cross-country. We’ve practised lines and taking more direct approaches.” In training, Greer would rather someone tell her straight and give constructive criticism she can learn from. “It’s taken me a long time to believe in myself and be confident about it, though.” Her biggest supporters by far are her parents, who have always been there and never once said no to an idea. “Mum and Dad have supported me incredibly through my career, and I want to be able to give back to them and not need their help any longer. That’s where my career comes in, to be able to fund it myself.” n

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EVENTING spotlight

always up for Sarah Bevege is

A CHALLENGE WORDS -Rebecca Greaves IMAGES - Christine Cornege Photography COMPETITION IMAGES - Denise Flay Photography

This young eventer honed her craft and discovered a love of Thoroughbreds as a stable rider for EventStars. She estimates she sat on a whopping 3,500 horses in her three years there, gaining a wealth of experience that she now brings to producing her own event horses.

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THOROUGHBREDS SEEM TO HOLD

THEIR ENERGY. YOU GET TO THE END OF A CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE, AND THEY’RE S T I L L S AY I N G ,

‘LET’S GO!

Sarah loves riding NGATAMAHINE JJ AIRTIME (Willy) over the hills on the farm for fitness work. Dressage training is done in the bull paddocks where is it is flat.

Sarah was eventing

before she was even born – her mum evented while pregnant with her – so it’s no surprise Sarah inherited her mother’s love of the sport.’ “Mum was pregnant with me while still eventing; I think she had hopes of riding to quite a high level, then I came along. Mum and Dad always had horses, and Dad show jumped to A-Grade and now course designs to a high level.” The 22-year-old is pursuing her other love, farming, with a shepherding job on a 2,200-hectare property in Te Kuiti. The farm is divided into three blocks, and Sarah is the head shepherd on all three, with full responsibility for the smallest block. She works for Jo and Allen Johnstone, a local family, who have been supportive of her riding and allow her to have horses on the farm with her. “I’m lucky. My boss doesn’t like horses, but he likes them when they’re getting used. I do all my fitness work on the farm; it’s great for eventing. Those King Country hills get horses pretty fit pretty quick!” Sarah grew up not far away on her family’s farm in Aria, which is half sheep and beef, half dairy. Her end goal is to eventually go home and take over the farm. Sarah got her first pony as soon as she could sit and hold herself up, starting with a sheepskin and surcingle – the right to have a saddle had to be earned. “You had to have pretty good balance! My sister Jenny and I used to ride all over the farm together; we’d head off on adventures and come back a couple of hours later.” Their parents were sticklers for making sure the basics were well-instilled. The girls did dressage, show jumping, and hunted a lot in winter. “I recently got back into hunting. I did get a bit precious about the eventers - they’re worth a lot of money and take time to produce. But I rode second for the huntsman the

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Above - The A1 cup that Sarah won on NGATAMAHINE JJ AIRTIME (Willy) now sits proudly with the rosettes that have been won this season. Opposite page - Sarah holds THE FLASH (Flash). He is her current horse and she thinks his attitude is outstanding.

SIT QUIETLY, K E E P M Y HANDS STILL, M A K E Y O U N G T H O R O U G H B R E D S NICE A N D CALM A N D GIVE THEM A N I C E S TA R T O F F T H E T R A C K , MAKING IT A S E A S Y A N D COMFORTABLE F O R T H E M I LEARNED TO

AS POSSIBLE.

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Sarah’s working dog team is made up of three Heading and three Huntaway dogs. Pictured above are Trace (2yrs), Roxy (4yrs), Inca (2yrs), Dream (9yrs). other day and might have got the bug again!” Sarah chose to focus on show jumping, but a bad accident in one of her first Pony Grand Prix classes when she was 16 put her off jumping, for a while at least. “I broke my collarbone and had a suspected fractured neck. I swore I wasn’t jumping again and even told Mum and Dad I wanted a dressage pony! I didn’t jump for about five months, which was a lot for me.”

When Sarah got a young Thoroughbred, Twix, from Gina

Schick at EventStars, she got back into jumping and eventing. “That horse - man, it was so clever. You knew you were going to get over anything. That’s where my love of the Thoroughbred started.” That year was the first year of Beyond the Barriers, a competition to showcase the talents of off-the-track Thoroughbreds, and was invitation-only at that point. “Twix was to be my first hack, and my sister and I were going to train her together. She was bold as, straight off the track. The very next day, we were out in the paddock jumping logs bareback, and I was like. ‘yeah, this is my horse’.” In the end, Jenny didn’t get much of a look-in with Twix, as Sarah quickly stole the ride. Sarah produced the mare slowly up to PreNovice, but as Twix was small and Sarah is tall, she was eventually sold. Sarah then planned to head to Massey to study to become a vet tech and drove down to attend an open day. “On the way home, I said to Mum, ‘I don’t want to do that; that’s not for me’. So, I messaged Gina (at EventStars) and asked if she had a job for me.” She started as the junior rider with EventStars in February 2017 and was there for three years, leaving in early 2020. Sarah has

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Above right - Sarah and NGATAMAHINE JJ AIRTIME (Willy) during the show jumping phase at the NZPCA Eventing Champs held in April 2022. She represented the winning Waikato team and also won the A1 cup. Below - Sarah was extremely pleased with how NGATAMAHINE JJ AIRTIME (Willy) performed throughout the event.

worked out that she rode about 3,500 different horses in that time. “You really find your type.” “Josie, the other rider, taught me so much about being patient with the young horses. I learned to sit quietly, keep my hands still, make the young Thoroughbreds nice and calm and give them a nice start off the track, making it as easy and comfortable for them as possible.” Sarah loves the attitude and trainability of the Thoroughbred. “You can put a lot of pressure on a Thoroughbred. Flash is my current horse; his attitude is outstanding. Trying to get a Warmblood (like my other horse Willy) fit and well-conditioned can be a challenge. It’s easy to make the time on Flash, whereas with Willy, you really have to push him – he’s not built for speed. “Thoroughbreds seem to hold their energy. You get to the end of a cross-country course, and they’re still saying, ‘let’s go!”

Leaving EventStars,

the plan was to study for a Diploma of Agricultural Science, but another riding accident put the brakes on that. “Two weeks after I finished at EventStars, Willy tripped in the paddock and gave me a concussion, which put a spanner in the works. We were just trotting around; that one was a really pathetic fall!” Two days before the first Covid lockdown, she returned home to the farm with her parents, and the horses were turned out. “I had started thinking I wanted to have a crack at farming and was lucky to purchase an older heading dog called Dream. That started my love of shepherding, and I gradually built up a team. I’ve got six dogs now.” Two months after moving home, she landed her job with the Johnstones, where she has been there ever since and loving it. Days on the farm can be long, and she will usually get up early to ride one horse before work, ride the second after work, and get inside by about 8pm. “Occasionally, I take them to the local track; it’s good as I can ride one and lead one at full gallop safely. I go to the local domain at Piopio once a week for a jump; there’s an arena with jumps and a full cross-country course up to 1.05m.” Her two competition horses are The Flash (Flash), a 9-yearold 16.1hh Thoroughbred by Fastnet Rock, and Ngatamahine JJ Airtime (Willy), a 12-year-old 15.2hh Holsteiner gelding by HPQ Faffnior. “He is out of Mum’s dressage mare JK Lady Luck and is owned by our family.” Both horses have been very consistent in recent years, and Pony

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Club Champs has been a big focus for Sarah. She took Flash to Cromwell in the South Island last year, where they were third overall in the A1 2*. This year Champs were held in Hawera, Taranaki, over Anzac weekend. Sarah took both horses, winning the A1 cup on Willy and being part of the overall winning team for Waikato. “That was my end event to aim for. Both horses did well this season and are pretty even, consistent, and consolidated at 2* level.” Other season highlights included Willy winning the 2* Plus at Brookby and Waikato, while Flash was third in the 2* at both Brookby and Kihikihi. Flash was an EventStars ‘boomerang’ who returned to Gina after developing a bad stop. “I adored him when he first came off the track and would have loved to buy him but missed out. I like a challenge, and that appealed to me, so I took him on. To me, he has a really good attitude, movement and jump – he has a phenomenal jump.” Willy was bred by Sarah’s parents, and her sister rode him until he was nine. “He was an absolute rogue to start with, but she produced him to 2* level. He developed some soundness issues and ended up back at Mum and Dad’s place. Somehow, I acquired a lame, bucking horse! It took about a year and a half to sort, but he’s an absolute freak, and you can always trust him going into the show jumping.

T H AT H O R S E - M A N , IT WAS

SO CLEVER.

YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO GET

OVER

ANYTHING.

T H AT ' S

WHERE MY LOVE OF THE

THOROUGHBRED S TA R T E D .

Above - Sarah holding NGATAMAHINE JJ AIRTIME (Willy) and THE FLASH (Flash). “He’s so clever, you’re never going to get into trouble, and he tries not to touch anything – he’s seriously reliable. On the cross-country, he’s not that fast; we always say he’s short and fat, but he’s good at taking long spots, and his rhythm never changes, so he can really eat up a cross-country course.” Both horses were recently turned out, and Sarah will focus on her young horses over winter, but she hopes both Willy and Flash will step up to 3* next season. Her two young horses are both homebred. Legs is a three-year-old grey Warmblood who already measures more than 17hh. “He hasn’t done much, just some hacking around the farm and flat schooling. He has a phenomenal attitude and is so quiet. He’s a big old gentleman and a firm favourite. I hope he’ll be my next eventer.” Then there is two-year-old Sarge, out of Sarah’s Grand Prix show jumping mare and was meant to stay a pony. At about 15hh now,

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Sarah hopes he’ll grow a bit more and become her eventer, too. She just started breaking him in as a winter project. Sarah’s parents have always been a big help and pushed the girls to seek professional coaching. Sarah has trained with Debbie Barke for dressage for the past eight years and credits her as hugely influential on her riding. “Dad helps me with all my jumping. He jumped to a high level, and because he’s a course designer, he not only teaches how to ride a course properly but also shows you how the designer has designed the course to be ridden.” Long term, Sarah does have the Olympic dream mindset, but she knows there’s a long road to get there. The reality is that the farm is where most of her passion lies, and “there’s only so much time you can be away from a farm”. Sarah is grateful to be sponsored by Equestrian Central. n

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“We’re loving Turmericle! It keeps the dressage and showjumping horses freer and looser in their movement, with less fill in their legs after travel and being stabled.” Rebecca, McKee Equestrian SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

POLO spotlight

A SHIFT IN

focus WORDS & IMAGES - Caitlin Benzie

Between racing down the field playing polo and high-flying stunts on movie sets, Greta van den Brink certainly isn’t one for living life in the slow lane.

Having parents who met

on the hunt field, it was inevitable that Greta’s life would involve horses in one way or another. In her case, her riding career began at the ripe old age of two with a little paint pony called Toby, and together, they competed at many ribbon days. “I enjoyed riding as a kid, but I don’t think I was anywhere near as passionate as Mum hoped I would be. Our wonderful family friends who lived up the road would come and give me lessons, but from what I remember, I was far more interested in playing games on my pony than learning the ins and outs of riding him properly. Luckily Mum persisted in the lessons,” Greta laughs. “When I was ten, I went to my first hunt, and my interest in riding was piqued when I found jumping. When I first started hunting, my biggest highlight was getting to stock up my saddle bag with fruit bursts and cream buns at afternoon tea – still a very important ritual, of course! Once I started jumping, I loved it and had a great group of friends to spend all day chasing the Master.” Based on a picturesque waterfront property in Karaka, Auckland with her parents, Chrissy and Tony, throughout her early years of riding Greta was a member of Pointways Pony Club, allowing her

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to try out virtually every discipline. She competed for her area at the NZPCA Zone Mounted Games, show jumping and dressage championships and came second in the Abbot’s Cup Show Jumping team competition. While still at Pony Club, she began competing in A&P Showing on her next pony, Cherokee Allstars, who came from the Fraser Family. “I had two great ponies, Cherokee Allstars and CS Rough Sketch, who took me to Horse of the Year competing in the Saddle Hunter and Dressage rings. Eventually, I was completely bitten by the show jumping bug, but Mum made sure I did my time in the Show Hunter ring, and when I look back, it was hugely beneficial for my riding. I competed with a beautiful palomino, who was initially a polo pony, but Mum saw her in the barn and stole her from Dad, and I also rode a lovely home-bred called Burberry Couture. But all the while, I just wanted to get into show jumping. “I remember watching my best friend Emelia Forsyth, who had competed in many ribbon days alongside me when we were young kids, jumping her pony in the Pony Grand Prix. I was in absolute awe and desperate to go out and do the same.” Greta flew up the grades once she made the move to show jumping, competing in the Junior Rider series

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on her first horse, Wickliffe Vinnington. She eventually progressed to her gorgeous grey mare, Silver Lady (Sadie), an Irish Sport horse by Chippison and out of a Brilliant Lad mare, bred by John and Marie Burke from Clare Equestrian in Ireland. Together, Greta and Sadie competed through to 1.30m and Mini Prix; then Chrissy competed her in dressage and showing. Billy Sparky, a mare by Cevin Z and out of Urrahills Sparky (Cavalier Royal) bred by the famed Billy Stud in England, was a late addition to Greta’s team in 2017 and competed with placings up to 1.30m. “I love Sadie to pieces. Alongside Billy Sparky, she was my final showjumper before I moved into a different part of the equestrian world. Those two horses taught me so much about riding, but also about trust and even life in general. I remember being in the warm-up ring at many shows and feeling sick, believing that other people were looking at me thinking that

Great holding SILVER LADY, an Irish Sport horse by CHIPPISON out of a BRILLIANT LAD mare. Below right - Greta riding at the Auckland Polo Club. Image - Ned Dawson

Right hand page - Greta and BILLY SPARKY in the Equidays Young Rider Series. Image - Christine Cornege Photography I had these beautiful horses and didn’t deserve them; that if I went well, it was because I had great horses and if I didn’t it was because of my poor riding. Looking back, I wish I could have told myself that people are generally thinking about themselves. The more important thing is to enjoy the gift of getting to ride and spend time with these beautiful, talented creatures.”

At the end of her

gap year in 2018, Greta had the opportunity to work on the Disney-produced movie Mulan as a horse wrangler. In awe of the battle scenes and the industry in general, she decided that it was the place for her, and in 2019 began studying in The Actors Program, a one-year intensive acting

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course, intending to carry on in the film industry. “After completing The Actors Program, I started training with stuntman Thomas Kiwi whom I met on Mulan, and he got me my first stunt double role on the Netflix show Cowboy Bebop. Since then, I’ve been working in stunts on a few other projects, but unfortunately, I can’t name them until they air; we sign many nondisclosure agreements! I have learned so much, and I am humbled by being a beginner learning Taekwondo, Brazilian Jujitsu, weapons training, and even Parkour.”

Above - Greta riding at the Auckland Polo Club. Image - Ned Dawson

WORKING WITH

HORSES IS THE MOST

HUMBLING T H I N G , TA K I N G YOU TO THE

GREATEST HIGHS, LOWEST LOWS AND THE ENTIRE

SPECTRUM OF EMOTIONS.

After finishing her study at The Actors Program, Greta

found that she still had an intense drive which now had no direction. Her dad and one of her brothers play polo and had plenty of ponies for her to ride, so she decided to get stuck in. Greta’s team of ponies generally consists of Flea, Spring, Ruby and Tinkerbell. However, depending on her playing level, she occasionally steals a pony or two of her older brothers. The van den Brink’s polo yard is expertly run by Nick Keyte and Indi Bennetto. Indi also runs the Auckland Polo Academy for those looking to get into the sport. “Polo has turned into a real family affair now; Dad, two of my brothers and a nephew play. It’s a funny game because there are

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so many moving parts, and you are constantly putting new pieces of this huge puzzle together. It can take a while to get your eye in to hit the ball, and then you have to add in speed, the other players trying to hook your stick, and you also need to take a man and defend. However, once you begin to settle in, it’s the best feeling. I guess there’s something very primal about chasing someone on a horse with a big stick,” Greta laughs. “I love that polo is a team sport, and you can go out there and have fun, maybe make some mistakes, but still have enough time to make up for them. It’s not like show jumping, where if you take the first rail, you’re screwed. “Even though I love the thrill of the game, some of my favourite polo memories are riding at the yard, particularly on my little

REGARDLESS OF THE

DISCIPLINE, W E

ARE IN THE SPORT OF

TRIUMPH A N D HEARTBREAK, AND I BELIEVE IT’S

INESCAPABLE WHEN YOU CARE THIS M U C H A B O U T W H AT YOU DO. SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

home-bred Flea. Also, in the mornings, when it’s a little cold but you can tell it’s going to be a beautiful day; those are the moments when I feel deeply present and overwhelmingly grateful that I get to connect with these animals.” While Greta has dealt with her fair share of heartbreak over the years, the future looks incredibly exciting for her. With such talent in so many different equestrian pursuits, the world is truly her oyster. “Working with horses is the most humbling thing, taking you to the greatest highs, lowest lows and through the entire spectrum of emotions. The number of tears I have cried over horses could arguably fill oceans. Regardless of the discipline, we are in the sport of triumph and heartbreak, and I believe it’s inescapable when you care this much about what you do. However, hindsight is the greatest gift,

Of course Greta is part of the Brinks Polo Team, where she has found her true love for horse riding. Below right - Greta riding at Ryburn Park Polo. Image - Ned Dawson

and without those moments that hurt so much, I wouldn’t be where I am today. There is a beautiful saying, ‘every heartbreak makes space for a greater capacity to love’, and I feel that rings true for me.

“Acting is my passion, so getting a role that

involves horses and a bit of action would be the dream. My work leads me to live very much in the present moment. I could get a call tomorrow asking if I can be in another country filming for six months, so I can’t always plan my life out clearly. I guess it’s like driving at night with your headlights, you can only see a short distance ahead of you, but you still get to your destination. I think my younger self would be pretty stoked about what I get to do and the amount of fun I have. I love that horses have found their way into all areas of my life. At the end of the day, my mum is pleased she was so insistent that I did all those riding lessons with our family friends when I was small and significantly less grateful. On reflection, so am I.” n

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COUNTRY HOMES

BARNS

S TA B L E S

ARENAS

FARM DEVELOPMENT

CON TAC T laurad@harrisonlane.co.nz

VISIT www.harrisonlane.co.nz SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

SHOWJUMPING spotlight

TH E MAGIC of ponies

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Wairarapa teenager Penny Borthwick and her two ponies proved virtually unstoppable at Pony Grand Prix level this season, amassing an impressive 13 wins between them and placing first and second in the Country TV Pony Grand Prix Series. WORDS - Rebecca Greaves IMAGES - Belinda Pratt Photography

When asked about her riding talents, Penny

Borthwick doesn’t say much, but the results speak for themselves. This quietly determined young show jumper, who largely funds her ponies through raising calves on the family farm, is undoubtedly one to watch. The 15-year-old St Matthews Collegiate student lives on the 1600-acre family sheep and beef farm in Gladstone with her ponies. The Borthwicks have stables and an arena, an airstrip and flat paddocks perfect for fitness work. The stables are old, but they do the job and date back to the days when Penny’s great-grandparents had Thoroughbred yearlings on the property. Mum Sarah rode when she was younger and has a showing background, but out of the three siblings, Penny is the only one who got bitten by the horse bug. She got her first pony at age three and never looked back. Like many top show jumpers, Penny gained a good grounding in the Show Hunter ring first and won the Category B title at Horse of the Year in 2018 on Ashbury Robin Hood. At that time, Show Circuit interviewed then 12-year-old Penny, and they had recently purchased eight-year-old Joulie, a green project pony. In the interview, Penny said she hoped the pony had the potential to go to Grand Prix. “My dream back then was to do a Grand Prix.” Fast forward three years, and not only did Foxdens Merlot (Joulie) go to Pony Grand Prix, but she also won the 2021/22 series with stablemate Rednalhgih Cowan (Jimmy) hot on her heels in second overall. Although she’s firmly focused on show jumping now, Penny says the Show Hunter ring taught her a lot. “You have to have a good rhythm, and it taught me to use

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JOULIE WON THE SERIES THIS YEAR. IT’S EXCITING, KIND OF A DREAM TO BRING HER U P A N D H AV E S O M U C H SUCCESS WITH HER. WE KNOW EACH OTHER R E A L LY W E L L , I N S I D E O U T. W H E N I W A L K T H E C O U R S E S , I K N O W W H AT I CAN AND CAN’T DO. SHE TRUSTS ME, AND I TRUST HER. This page Penny with REDNALHGIH COWAN (Jimmy). my corners and arena. It helps you get a good eye because you have to have an even rhythm. Show Hunter is a good basis for everything.” But it’s the fun and excitement of show jumping that appeals to her competitive nature these days. “Show jumping depends on how you go on the day. It’s how you ride and how you and the horse go together as a team. And you get to go fast in the jump-off! “I like the sense of achievement when things go right. Working with horses and animals keeps me busy, which I like. They’re my mates and achieving things with them is really cool. I like competing and going to shows too.” Penny’s first competitive show jumping pony was Galaxy Goldrush (Rain), a young, green full-sized pony she produced herself through to 1.20m and Mini-Prix as a five-year-old. Rain got Penny started at that height, and, at the same time, she was slowly bringing Joulie on. In the early days, she had a lot of lessons with Sarah Jocelyn. “Sarah gave us courses, lines, exercises, and a lot of flatwork that helped strengthen and improve Joulie and me.” Foxden’s Merlot is by a Thoroughbred stallion, Drumbeat, out of a Stationbred mare called Roxy. “Rain and I were doing Mini Prix, and Joulie was ticking along at 1m – 1.10m - we slowly progressed up to Mini Prix over three years. She was

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Above - Penny and Merlot during the Pony Grand Prix at Jumping Wairarapa Labour Weekend SJ & SH Champs.

always a very keen jumper, careful and scopey. I was hoping to get to Grand Prix, but we weren’t sure.” It was a case of slowly but surely with Joulie, now 11. She had two seasons consolidating at 1.15m–1.20m before stepping up to her first Grand Prix last season – the first start at that level for both pony and rider. Joulie was green but consistent, managing to place sixth in the series for the 2020/21 season. “Joulie won the series this year. It’s exciting, kind of a dream to bring her up and have so much success with her. We know each other really well, inside out. When I walk the courses, I know what I can and can’t do. She trusts me, and I trust her.” Penny professes not to have a favourite between Joulie and Jimmy, saying she loves them equally. The bond with Joulie is special, though, having had her so long and taken her up the heights. She got 12-year-old Rednalghih Cowan (Jimmy) at Series Finals in Masterton last year. Bred by Susan Falconer, he is a crossbred by Windward Rebel out of a mare called Moana and was already established at Grand Prix level. “He’s the first pony I’ve ever had that had been campaigned before. I had always loved him and watched him on the circuit. I had sold my other pony, Bespoke, and only had Joulie left. I just liked the pony and still had a long time left on ponies. If you’re taking one to the shows, why not have two? SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

“I worked on getting to know Jimmy and getting that bond on the flat all winter, without jumping a jump, and it paid off. We got to know each other well, and that helped throughout the season. It’s important to have that relationship when you’re in the ring and trust them to do their job, which allows me to help them. It’s a two-way relationship – what you put into them is what you get out.” Between the pair, they racked up 13 Grand Prix wins for the season eight to Jimmy and five to Joulie – though Joulie pipped Jimmy for the overall series win. “It was a season I never thought would happen. They were always very consistent and tried their best.”

Motivation, determination

and the ability to self-evaluate and work things out herself are traits that have stood Penny in good stead. Penny and Sarah make a good team, with Sarah assisting on the flat a lot. Penny doesn’t have a trainer as such. However, she had a lesson with Jesse Linton at the beginning of the season, and both he and Wendy Jacobs are a big help to Penny at shows, often helping her warm up. But Penny’s ability to self-evaluate is something that gives her an edge. Sarah comments, “Jesse and Wendy are amazing, but Penny will sit down and evaluate her videos. She knows when she gets it wrong, and she’ll go home and practice that over a pole. I’d love for her to have lessons every week, but it’s hard with the lack of instructors available in the area and getting to lessons with her school commitments too. “She’s very self-driven, but she’s also relaxed. I don’t know anything about show jumping, I’ll go down to the arena and support her and put poles up and down, but I can’t help her out much. We just tick away at home.” Penny says she will go home and practice anything that didn’t work out in the ring on competition day, either over poles or out in the paddock. She’s also not afraid to ask people for advice, so it’s a combination of self-teaching with the support of Left - Penny riding REDNALHGIH COWAN in the Pony Grand Prix at the Metalform Southern & Central Hawkes Bay SJ & SH Champs.

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I like the sense of achievement when things go right. Working with horses and animals keeps me busy, which I like. They’re my mates and achieving things with them is really cool.

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IF THE OPPORTUNITY CAME ALONG, I W O U L D TA K E I T, B U T I’M KEEN TO HEAD OFF TO UNI AND WORK O N O U R FA M I LY FA R M WHEN I’M OLDER. I LOVE HOW FARMING IS OUTDOORS, BUSY AND YOU WORK WITH ANIMALS.

Fitness work in the paddock for Penny and REDNALGIH COWAN (Jimmy). knowledgeable people around her. Next season will be her last on ponies, and Penny’s goal is to keep both ponies consistent at Grand Prix – and she hopes to finally get a crack at Pony of the Year for the first time. “Joulie has never even seen the Premier Ring. It is just another show. You could go out there and drop a rail so you can’t put that pressure on yourself, but it would be a cool thing to tick off. It would be nice to have a run, just get to compete.” While she’d love to have a big team, the rule is a limit of two. They’re having a serious think about first hacks and where to from here, as Penny is keen to get into jumping the Junior and Young Rider classes. “We would like to do something, but the horse market is just so hot at the moment; it’s insane,” Sarah says. The family farm is a big part of life, and it’s farming rather than horses Penny is leaning towards career-wise. In typical level-headed Penny fashion, she is pragmatic about making a living from horses. “I don’t think I’d make a career out of horses; horses are a hobby. If the opportunity came along, I would take it, but I’m keen to head off to uni and work on our family farm when I’m older. I love how farming is outdoors, busy, and you work with animals.” In a way, Penny’s farming is already funding her riding hobby; she does all the orphan calves each year to fund her ponies and her season. She has bought all her gear over the years, and ponies, through her calf rearing enterprise which she somehow fits in before and after school, as well as caring for and riding her ponies. n

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SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE - 53

SHOW HUNTER spotlight

MAKING AN

impact WORDS - Ashleigh Kendall IMAGES - Show Circuit Magazine

Taupaki teen Lauren Mitchell has been forging a name for herself in the Show Hunter ring on both ponies and hacks, this season being her most successful yet. Lauren managed to bag three series wins on three different horses despite being sidelined for half of the season due to the Auckland lockdowns.

Lauren quickly acknowledges that it

wouldn’t all be possible without the extensive support network of her family. “I wouldn’t be able to do all this work and have these results without Nana, Mum and my boyfriend Elliott,” she says. “It’s not just me doing the work, it’s them too, and there is a lot of work behind the scenes no one sees. There are so many people involved in what I do.” Her mum, Denise and nana, Kathy, go away with Lauren to every show, while her dad, David and grandad Gordon usually stay behind to keep everything running at home. She adds, “Elliott has learned a lot about horses over the past couple of years. He’s good at holding horses ringside; he knows when things need to happen and is so helpful at shows.” Lauren has a twin sister, Victoria, who now competes in Show Jumping. “There’s a lot of sisterly rivalry between us,” Lauren laughs. “I actually moved off ponies when I was 12 because I got tired of competing against Victoria all the time, and I am tall enough that I could ride hacks. We’re both really competitive, so it was good for me to move out of the pony ring, and now she has also moved from Show Hunter to Show Jumping it has been good competing in different disciplines.”

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Lauren also has an older brother, Alex, but there’s no risk of sibling rivalry there as Lauren can’t remember the last time he was close to a horse. The two sisters rode from a young age. “We started riding when we were three years old and were hooked from the beginning,” Lauren reminisces. “Dad knew when he went to pick up the first ponies that it would be a long road! We did dancing and netball too when we were younger, but as things became more serious, we had to choose, and we just loved horses too much.” Lauren started competing in ribbon days when she was around four or five and then moved on to dressage at about eight years old. A short while later, she debuted in the Show Hunter ring, where she fell in love with the precision and technicality of the discipline. “I am a bit of a perfectionist, so Show Hunter suits me in that way. You have to ride good rhythmical lines, and it all has to flow, which really appeals to me. I love the technicality of pulling off a winning round.”

Her current team of horses

is led by her ‘heart’ horse and one in a million, Sonny Bill. “He’s never leaving; he is the stable king and just a best friend. Everyone who meets him falls in love

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Lauren holding and riding CRAIGHAVEN BLACK HEART (Rum), who has quite the personality. The mini inherited when the farm was purchased is the most feisty out of all of the horses on the property. Lauren riding CRAIGHAVEN BLACK HEART won the NRM Open High Points Series 1.10m sponsored by Printcraft & Design Hive and the Kyrewood Park Saddlery Horse Open 1.00m HOYQ at Glistening Waters. Image - Belinda Pratt Photography.

with him. He’s just such a cool horse,” she beams. “He’s 15 now, but I think of him as younger. I’ve had him for five years - Mum found him when I was deciding to move off ponies. He’s 17hh and seemed huge; he felt really strong compared to what I was used to! But I was absolutely convinced he was the horse for me.” Since then, the pair haven’t once looked back. “He’s just the best horse, Mum rides him down the beach, and he’s an all-round star. I dread the thought of losing him; he’s a large part of my journey and success. Winning the Sport Horse Junior High Points on him this year was a great achievement for Sonny and me.” Second in her team is Craighaven Black Heart (Rum). Lauren has had her for four years and says, “She is a sensitive mare and the kind of horse who has her own personality. It has taken three seasons to get to know her well, but we’ve really come together as a team this past season. She’s highly strung, but I am enjoying the

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challenge of working with her in the way she needs me to.” When asked if Lauren is a mare person, she laughs and replies with a resounding, “No! I am a huge gelding person, I get a bit tense when I ride the mares, but I always feel I gel quickly with geldings. The mares give everything, but the geldings love a cuddle.” Marokopa CJ is Lauren’s baby, and he hadn’t done much when she bought him. “We weren’t really looking for another horse, but Mum saw him at Taupo, and we fell in love with him. He is like owning a human; he takes everything personally and is very sensitive; you can’t get angry or tell him off, and he is like riding a little baby around. He’s also the biggest jokester you will ever meet,” she explains. “He was pretty strong for me when I got him, and I have been working on the basics.” While he has offered challenges, he is the most rewarding horse to train Lauren has had. “As he is sensitive, if I get upset with him,

he gets upset too, but then there are rounds where it all comes together, and it is just an amazing feeling. He has taught me a lot. He has just needed a lot of time and for me to be gentle and quiet.”

Two years ago, during the first COVID

lockdown, Lauren had a change of heart and decided that she should look at getting another pony. “You only get to do ponies once, and I didn’t want to regret moving off ponies young and missing out on that fun, so I got Mahachi Gold Rosado KF (Honey). She was five when Lauren got her and full of sass. “We instantly clicked. She is a little

rocket with an amazing canter and jump,” she says. “There aren’t many ponies like her you can get on and do well on straight away. She is extremely sensitive and fiery, and when you get to know her, you realise she has little quirks, but I just love her.” Sadly, she is on the market, but Lauren enjoyed two fantastic seasons with many wins and placings, finishing with the overall win in the Aniwell High Points series (her first-ever series win) and second in the ESNZ Pony Rider Equitation series. What made that success even sweeter was being just pipped the season before on Rum in the ESNZ Junior Equitation series. “It was really tough

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especially after I won the high points. I felt nervous, which was strange because normally, I am very confident in Honey. I don’t think I took a breath the whole way around!” She reflects on her disappointment at letting her nerves take over and felt Honey would have felt the nervous energy too, but the formidable pair still won the series.

Lauren is pragmatic when

it comes to adversity and the inevitable highs and lows of horses. “All I do is try my best. Many things can go wrong, and a lot can go right. Some judges like my horse and me; some don’t. It’s just how it goes sometimes. I can only try my hardest, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. The judges are all different, and they like different types of horses and riding. It’s just part of it,” she reflects. She doesn’t jump her horses at home, only at shows, preferring schooling, hacking and stretching during the week. “Cleaning two greys and a pinto takes a lot of my time before a show, too,” she laughs. “I don’t have time to think about being nervous at the shows because I have to get on and off so many horses in a day, but I do always feel better after the first round when I can get a good gauge on how they are feeling and how I need to ride them. I am always pretty

Top image - Lauren leading CRAIGHAVEN BLACK HEART (Rum), into the stable area at the new farm in Taupaki, West Auckland. Above - Lauren and MAHACHI GOLD ROSADO KF won the ESNZ Show Hunter Pony Equitation class, Langlands Motorcycles Cat C Open 90cm HOYQ and the CAT C Intro 80cm at Glistening Waters. Image Belinda Pratt Photography. Right - Lauren in the gator with the latest additions to the family, the Labrador pups bought for the twins. Lower right - Lauren was not looking for another horse, then came along MAROKOPA CJ spotted at Taupo by Lauren’s mum. Next minute he was hers! the season before because we were just half a percent off winning the series. Sonny had gone lame, so Rum had to step up to his work. It was down to the last round, so to miss out by half a percent was tough. It made me more determined to work harder, and I was happy to win the series this year,” she reflects. Like many, Lauren was affected by the Auckland lockdowns for the first half of the season. The minute they could leave Auckland, they were off to shows most weekends. “It was a battle with show cancellations. Sonny doesn’t make the big trips anymore, but he won and placed in everything we did, so we decided to take the trip to Masterton because we don’t know how much longer I will have competing with him at this level,” she explains. “It was just an amazing show! I won pony and hack classes on three different horses, which was a bit of a surprise, and I did feel a bit of pressure in the pony classes,

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I H AV E A F U L L R O U T I N E O F W H AT I D O . S O M E T I M E S I T I S

STRESSFUL I F I H AV E THREE HACKS IN THE SAME

CLASS, BUT EVERYONE AROUND ME IS

AMAZING AT

HELPING AND SUPPORTING ME. T H E Y K N O W W H AT I N E E D A N D W H E N I N E E D I T, S O I T R U N S

VERY SMOOTHLY.

Above - Hacking out around the new farm with its long laneways, pond and open paddocks, is a pleasure. Right - Competing MAROKOPA CJ in the Sport Horse Junior High Points at Glistening Waters. Image - Belinda Pratt Photography. Lauren with her prizes from the Glistening Waters ESNZ Series Final Show in Masterton where she won the Junior high points, Aniwell Cat C High Points and ESNZ junior equitation. Image - www.kampic.com

confident with my horses because I know them so well.” She also feels very at ease at shows because she is in her own mindset. “I have a full routine with what I do. Sometimes it’s stressful if I have three hacks in the same class, but everyone around me is amazing at helping and supporting me. They know what I need and when I need it, so it runs very smoothly.” Success to Lauren is not just about how many ribbons she wins but how happy her horses are, alongside being able to train hard at home to go and produce rounds she is proud of, bringing it all together. As driven as Lauren is in the Show Hunter ring, she is also a dedicated student and very academic. Next year, she plans to go to university and is tossing up between studying medicine or becoming a vet. She attends Westlake Girls High School, where she takes two science subjects, maths and English. “ It is a bit up in the air with what I will study, but I am very committed to going straight to university from school. Ideally, I would prefer to go to uni in Auckland to continue riding and maintain the number of horses I currently have,” she explains. Her day-to-day routine varies depending on what she has on, but she likes to get up early and ride one or two horses before school. Then, when she comes home, she rides the remaining. Her advice for others is, “Just never give up, there will always be tough times, bad days, bad rounds and shows, but those days give you the biggest learning. I don’t always come home thinking that it was a great show. Sometimes it was horrible, but I just went home and kept trying.” n

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SPECIAL feature

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR

Winter?

As the competition season winds down and the days get shorter, it can be hard to find the motivation to ride. But winter is a great time to train your weaknesses, improve rider strength and fitness, set new goals, or find inspiration online. Rebecca Greaves spoke to four riders from across the disciplines about their top tips for maximising winter.

OUR EXPERTS SHOW JUMPING

EVENTING

DRESSAGE

SHOW HUNTER

BROOKE EDGECOMBE

CHRISTEN LANE

COOPER OBORN

JO CRADDOCK

Current Olympic Cup holder Brooke and her husband Oliver are based on their farm near Waipukurau, Central Hawke’s Bay. They ride and produce show jumpers to the top level and have a relationship with breeder Ewen Mackintosh of LT Holst Sporthorses, breaking in and producing many of the young LT Holst horses. With her lovely mare LT Holst Andrea (Andrea), Brooke won the Olympic Cup in 2020, and the combination has also won World Cup qualifiers and placed second overall in the New Zealand series twice. Last winter, they spent time in Australia, where they also placed in a World Cup round.

Christen is an accomplished event rider and was recently named in the Senior New Zealand team for the Oceania Competition in Melbourne with her top mount, Thunder Cat. She previously represented New Zealand in the Trans-Tasman competition in 2012 and is an ESNZ High Performance Potential Squad member. Looking forward, Christen has plans to start Thunder Cat in the 5* at Kentucky. Based at Waiwhare in Hawke’s Bay, Christen is a full-time rider and, with her husband Tom, farms at Te Konini Farm. Her current team of four competition horses ranges from 95cm up to 4* level, with young home-bred horses coming on.

Originally from Adelaide, Australia, Cooper is now based in Palmerston North, Manawatu, on a 50-acre property. Days are balanced between the 8-10 horses in work and coaching around the lower North Island and Auckland. With horses ranging from Level 1 through to Grand Prix, Cooper’s riding highlights in New Zealand include winning the Grand Prix and Reserve Champion at the recent North Island Championships with his top horse Aphrodite and taking out out the Grand Prix Super 5 Series this season and last season. A particular highlight was winning the North Island Championships Grand Prix last season with a personal best above 71%.

A late starter to riding, picking it up in her 20s, Jo is a former New Zealand swimming representative and lives in Waimauku, near Kumeu, with her family and team of five horses. She quickly developed an affinity for Show Hunter and, together with her lovely mare Dawn, won both the Amateur and Open Show Hunter of the Year titles at HOY in 2018. She also spent two years as President of Waitemata Show Hunter Group. With her background as an athlete, Jo is big on goal setting and places a high priority on the welfare of her horses. Making sure they are happy and healthy is paramount.

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Show jumping horses

WORKING HORSES IN WINTER

With a stint in Australia on her top horse, LT Holst Andrea, planned, winter training looks slightly different for Brooke, who is still very much in competition mode. Andrea had a lighter second half of the season in preparation for her trip to Australia. She had a week off to freshen up and about five weeks with no shows. After Series Finals in April, she had another 10 days off to freshen up, then went straight back into her everyday work routine. “She’s naturally a bit lazy and fat, so she’s one that doesn’t benefit from being out in the paddock for six weeks – she would balloon. She’s 13 now and runs quite well on having a freshenup or a little break and then going again. She’s conditioned to travelling and competing. “Because she’s a good doer and older, I’d rather she maintains a manageable weight throughout the year.” The rest of the competition team are predominantly aged six or under, so their shoes have been removed, and they are turned out. “They’ll have a couple of months in the paddock just being

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horses. I think, at that age, it’s a lot to be going to shows every weekend or every other weekend. When they’re in, they’re shod, covers on, paddocked alone, in and out of boxes.” On the farm, they are fortunate to have space and large paddocks to turn the horses out, where they can learn to walk up and down or around hills or jump a creek - something Brooke sees as managed risk. “Horses are expensive, and we do tend to wrap them up in cotton wool a bit. It’s nice to put them out in a nice big paddock with other horses – we’re not scared to do that – taking shoes and covers off if they haven’t been clipped. Just letting them go back to being a horse, especially at age seven and under, is good for their brain to relax.” Brooke doesn’t return from Australia until July 4, and Oliver is joint Master of Dannevirke Hunt, so his focus turns to hunting over this period. “Oliver just has the hunters in work. However, if there’s a horse that hasn’t done a full season as it’s younger or has just done a few shows, it might have a shorter break, come back in and then have a second break to freshen up before the season.” As well as the hunters and Andrea, Brooke has a two-year-old she is breaking in, and there’s also a four-year-old still in work who has not been out during the season. “For anything young

IMAGE Denise Flay Photography

BROOKE EDGECOMBE

I T ’ S N I C E T O P U T T H E M O U T I N A N I C E B I G PA D D O C K W I T H O T H E R H O R S E S – W E ’ R E N O T S C A R E D T O D O T H AT – TA K I N G S H O E S A N D C O V E R S O F F I F T H E Y H AV E N ’ T B E E N C L I P P E D . J U S T L E T T I N G T H E M G O B A C K T O B E I N G A H O R S E , E S P E C I A L LY AT A G E S E V E N A N D U N D E R , IS GOOD FOR THEIR BRAIN TO RELAX. that needs breaking in or a bit of riding time, now is the time we do it. “If we do have any horses in work over winter, usually it’s to train them in something specific. Oliver has a six-year-old that might come in earlier as he needs to have flying changes worked on. If there’s something specific to work on, winter’s a good time for that. After the last show, we might keep them in work, train them at home, and then turn them out.” Once the competition horses come back into work at the start of July, they focus on fitness work. “We have a steep farm and a good main track over the hills, so we work on base fitness. Once they’re nice and fit, it’s more arena work, training, and jumping.” Brookes says they don’t travel hours to attend training shows in winter. They find that for young horses, going down the road to a friend’s arena for some different jumps is just as beneficial an outing as attending a show.

MAKE A PLAN

Once the competition programme is out for the coming season, Brooke makes a plan for each horse and what she is targeting. For example, Andrea will be targeted at World Cup Shows, Horse of the Year, and Takapoto.“ When the card comes out, we sit down and plan the shows and the main things we want to achieve and do well in. If we have a horse coming back from injury, we will plan how to bring it back into work, arena work, farm work, taking it to the beach, and how much competing it will do for the season. “I identify key events for each horse and, from there, work my way back to what shows they will attend and when they might have mid-season breaks and freshen up. For the young horses, they will be aimed at the Young Horse Show and island champs.”

just his tendency, and the Fixine has maintained him and helped his gut. “It’s also a good idea to run routine bloods on horses once a year to see their levels. It’s not hugely expensive, and then you know if they do need anything.”

CHECK REGULARLY

When the days are nice and sunny, covers are pulled off, and the horses are checked. “We monitor them, as some might need a bit more or a bit less feed. It also means we check for cover rubs and other minor injuries as well.” If horses are unclipped and the weather isn’t too inclement, they are turned out with no covers at all. “It’s one less thing to worry about. Ours were clipped before series finals, so they have one cover, no neck rugs.”

Below - Brooke Edgecombe rides LT HOLST ANDREA in the Grand Prix at Glistening Waters ESNZ Series Final Show, Masterton, Friday, April 22, 2022. Image -KAMPIC / Kerry Marshall

NUTRITION

Feeds differ depending on each individual horse. They all still get hard fed during winter, although frequency drops from two feeds a day down to just one. Those horses that are turned out are on maintenance feed to ensure they still get all the minerals they need. During the season, the horses are on a high-energy racing feed, Hygain Tracktorque. In the off-season, they get Hygain Allrounder as a basic maintenance feed. “We still want them to get their minerals and keep condition. We feed and work them a lot during the season and don’t want them to go backwards and drop weight in winter. Trying to then feed them up and put weight on, as well as trying to exercise and get them fit, is a battle. We like them to hold their condition when turned out.” Supplements: The horses get minimal supplements, just Fixine probiotic and a scoop of fine ag salt. Brooke tends to think ‘less is more’ and points out that most pre-mixed feeds carry the correct mineral requirements, so if you are feeding at the correct rate, it’s not necessary to add anything extra. She finds the Fixine probiotic is good for horses that are ulcer-prone. “I have a horse with ulcers, and he has a double dose. He’s been scoped and had ulcer treatments, which did settle him down, but it’s

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Show Hunter horses

JO CRADDOCK WORKING HORSES OVER WINTER

Jo’s team are all at different ages and stages of training, from home-bred youngsters to 15-year-old Dawn. All of the horses have a three-week break in July before coming back into proper work in August to prepare for the coming season. “With the older ones, my focus is on relaxation, keeping them moving, supple and happy, but having a mental break from the intensity of competition. I do like to keep their bodies moving and don’t turn them out for months on end, so they stay supple and don’t lose too much condition.” Jo treats each horse individually and, at the end of each season, will take a step back to evaluate what they need to work on over winter leading into the next season and set rough goals. She plans what she will do with each horse for the next six months. “It’s always fluid, though, as things can change. For example, young ones might take longer than you thought to develop strength and balance.” Dawn does a lot of hacking over winter, and is ridden in the arena once or twice a week for a gentle, easy flatwork session or pole work. “I might bring her in and give her a massage, some treats, and just try to treat her kindly and maintain our positive connection to each other.” Generally, Jo doesn’t jump her horses much over winter, though the young ones will do a bit more for training. “There are only so many jumps in a horse, and I am mindful of longevity - I want them to have long and happy careers.” Her two young horses are at different stages of training. Her five-year-old home-bred Warmblood measures more than 17hh, and Jo is taking him slowly. Over winter, her goal is to expose him to as many different venues as possible. “I will take him out, maybe pop him round some small courses, tie him to the truck, walk him around, just make sure he’s happy and relaxed. It’s education in terms of exposure before the pressure comes on. That’s my main focus with him. “If you want them to be happy and, ultimately, to have a safe partner and maintain longevity for their joints, take it quietly and make sure there’s a really happy result at the end of each outing. I’m not interested in rushing out to get ribbons. I think the most success comes from putting the horse’s best interests first.”

DIFFERENT SURFACES

Jo is big on taking her horses out and about, preferring not to drill them constantly in the arena. “This is an integral part of conditioning and mental relaxation and, in my opinion, one of the best ways to build a trusting partnership. We might go for a gallop on the beach, do

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It is a family affair with Jo Craddock riding DAWN wining the Supreme Champion Show Hunter Horse and daughter, Jaimie Botha riding MINKS taking out the the Supreme Champion Show Hunter Pony at Waitemata Championships in 2017. Image - Show Circuit Magazine. hill work in the forest, which has a sand base, or go to good, rolling, grass farmland. We try to hunt down some hardpacked surfaces to walk and do some short trot work on every week or two to help them cope with hard ground. Even 5-10 minutes on a smooth road in the forest helps. “I’m mindful of mixing up the surfaces they work on to help them be more resilient to the different conditions they might meet. This conditioning means they’re a little more prepared for differing ground conditions in summer.”

HAPPY HORSE

“The most important thing is mental health. If a horse is not happy, I take it seriously and try to get to the bottom of it. Currently, I have five happy, relaxed, well-conditioned horses, and my focus is maintaining that.”

FLATWORK KEY

The precision of Show Hunter - the perfect blend of excitement and accuracy - is what drew Jo to the discipline. But she also has a soft spot for dressage, and it’s something she feels complements Show Hunter well. “A lot of my training is focused on precise flatwork. I enjoy the Equitation classes, which might call for a walk-to-canter, a really good square halt, flying

T H E R E A R E O N LY S O M A N Y J U M P S I N A H O R S E , A N D I A M M I N D F U L O F L O N G E V I T Y - I W A N T T H E M T O H AV E LONG AND HAPPY CAREERS. changes – I love training for that. “Flatwork is really important and is something I think many riders in the jumping ring don’t do enough of. Training to be able to do a competent Prelim or Novice dressage test is so beneficial.”

SET GOALS

“Because I was an athlete before I began riding, goal setting is something I’ve always done. You have to plan your year, identify your weaknesses and break them down into minuscule steps you can easily achieve. Bit by bit, those small successes will lead to greater ones, and your big goals will get closer and closer. “Rome wasn’t built in a day! “Set yourself goals. It might be getting a balanced rhythmical canter, getting to HOY, or going to your first registered show. Look at where you are now and what steps you need to take to get where you want to be. Work alongside a good instructor if you can.”

ONLINE INSPIRATION

Jo loves online training for inspiration, especially on those rainy winter days when you might not be able to get outside. “I do a lot of online training, watching international riders I respect or masterclasses. There is always something to learn from everyone. I am like a sponge - I love soaking up knowledge from people I admire.” Some of the platforms she uses include: • Riderly App: a great tool for organisation, keeping track of workouts, planning training sessions, and with a library of short videos from the likes of Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. “They’re fantastic bite-sized videos. I would recommend the app to anyone; it’s not expensive and is great for goals, uploading photos and competition videos and keeping track of things like farrier visits, etc.” • You Tube: Beezie Madden’s YouTube platform. John Madden sales features plenty of Beezie content – all for free. • Websites: Noelle Floyd is also good for excellent masterclasses with top riders. She covers a wide range of topics, including mental health coaching.

• •

• • •

used to feed the sweet-smelling meadow hay with clover; now they get the plain old stalky boring hay with Timothy and brown top. It’s nicely stored and dry. Since changing, my horses have started to look like puddings! It’s just a good source of fibre, and I’ve learned boring is better when it comes to fibre.” Prydes: Jo swears by Prydes and has fed it for years. “The horses look amazing and go so well on it.” Probiotic: All horses get Fixine with their feeds, morning and night. “With the Fixine, you end up feeding less hard feed and get more condition as it helps digestibility, plus a great probiotic helps with gut and skin issues.” Magnesium: Regularly, once a week. Mycosorb: Daily. NPC Gastro Soothe: This is fed regularly to help combat ulcers if the horses are at all girthy. If Jo suspects an ulcer problem, she will also do a course of Gastropel.

Jo and DAWN won Amateur and Open Show Hunter of the Year titles at Horse of the Year in 2018. Image - Michelle Clarke Photography

WORK ON YOURSELF

Winter is a good time to work on your strength and flexibility as a rider. Think about what you might need to improve on, for example, core strength. Jo is a fan of yoga and finds it beneficial for riding.

NUTRITION

Nutrition is crucial, and the horses get the same basic recipe yearround, with quantities adjusted depending on the level of work. Jo focuses on top-quality hard feed, pasture management, and the type of hay fed. As temperatures dip in winter, or if you have clipped your horse out, you might like to assess, and possibly increase, the quantity of feed your horses get. Make sure you take their covers off, even when they are turned out, to assess body condition and adapt accordingly. • Hay: “I changed my hay supply in December, and it’s made a huge difference to my horses’ condition and temperament. I

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Dressage horses COPPER OBORN

than others, so they need to go out more often.” Cooper likes to build variation into his work, so the horses might get, for example, three days of schooling, one day out hacking, one day on the lunge, and days off. “It’s not just riding, riding, riding. We need to make sure they stay fresh in their minds.”

PLAN TO SUCCEED

Planning something Cooper is trying to prioritise more and more. He says it pays to sit down and write out a plan, including how you will get there. “I definitely think there’s huge value in writing down your plan for where you want to be next season, how you’re going to get there, and what you need to work on.” He encourages his students to write a ‘cheat sheet’ for their tests, breaking it down into how they will achieve each movement. “For example, trot in, shorten trot and prepare to halt - little cues to nail that test. If you write it down, it sticks in your head better. I often make students write their notes and bring them to clinics, so they have to do it.”

CREATE A ROUTINE

Cooper is a big believer in creating a routine for his horses and sticking to that year-round. “My best advice would be to create a routine. I tend not to put the horses out for a spell for too long. I might ride for six weeks, then give them two weeks off and do a cycle like that. Two weeks is enough to freshen up; otherwise, you lose a lot of fitness and strength.” He points out that if riders want to consolidate or move up a level the next season, you don’t want a big interruption to training - even in the off-season. One of his big tips is to ride tests once a week or once a fortnight over winter to stay in touch. “You can fall into the trap of focusing on training to improve the quality of work, but you should still make yourself ride the tests, too, to avoid getting rusty. There should be an equal focus on both. You are always training to step up, so you need to keep pushing towards the next level tests. Over winter is also a good time to work on any weaknesses. The focus is more on training than competition, so there is a shift, but for me, I need to make sure I ride tests too. “At the moment, we are doing winter training shows with young ones. Some are hotter

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WINTER CARE OF HORSES

Again, routine is king, and the daily routine looks very similar to that of the competition season. Cooper has just two horses boxed, preferring them to be out in the paddock. He says it’s healthiest for the horses to be as natural as possible. He is lucky to have good winter and summer paddocks with a sandy base and minimal mud, which means skin issues are largely avoided. Grass is generally plentiful year-round. Horses are clipped, reducing the time it takes to dry them after exercise. “For animal health reasons, I don’t like turning them out with rugs on when they’re wet, as it can cause fungal problems and rashes. If there are any skin issues, it’s easier to manage them with short hair, too.”

M Y B E S T A D V I C E W O U L D B E T O C R E AT E A R O U T I N E . I T E N D NOT TO PUT THE HORSES OUT FOR A SPELL FOR TOO LONG. I MIGHT RIDE FOR SIX WEEKS, THEN GIVE THEM TWO WEEKS OFF AND DO A CYCLE LIKE T H AT. T W O W E E K S I S E N O U G H T O F R E S H E N U P ; O T H E R W I S E , Y O U L O S E A LOT OF FITNESS AND STRENGTH.

NUTRITION

The feed regime is mainly unchanged in winter, although the quantity of hay might change. “We are so lucky with the paddocks and always having grass. We’re not going to feed hay if they’re not eating it.” Horses are hard fed twice a day, and consistency is the name of the game. Rather than making big changes, Cooper prefers to monitor the horses closely and make small daily adjustments depending on whether a horse needs more or less energy, fattening up or slimming down. His top horse, Aphrodite, is sometimes fed three times a day as she is challenging to keep weight on, especially during the season when she can drop weight quite quickly. “She’s a bit fussy and prefers smaller feeds. I prefer to give her three smaller feeds rather than two large ones. We just try to accommodate her and make sure she’s as happy as possible.” The young horses get lucerne chaff, Fibre Boost, and Dunstan Fibre Grow. Aphrodite gets lucerne chaff, Fibre Boost, Hygain Showtorque, and Tru Gain. As far as supplements go, less is more. Cooper says many feeds these days are very well balanced and contain everything a horse needs. “I try to keep it as simple as possible, but you can’t cut too many corners with feed, not if you’re serious about it.” However, he is a fan of Fixine probiotic for gut health and its properties as a toxin binder. “Stomach ulcers are very common in performance horses, and we do whatever we can to try to prevent them.” They will feed electrolytes as needed and, if horses are grass affected, the SOS and GrazeEzy products from Calm Healthy Horses.

RIDER FITNESS

Cooper says that looking after yourself is as important as taking care of your horses. Things like physio, seeing a chiropractor, and going to the gym are crucial parts of his programme and complement riding. “I feel that riding is not very good for your body, if you are only riding. When you ride, you are very static, not using your whole range of motion. For example, your hamstrings are shortened for extended periods. Also, there is a lot of impact on your hips in dressage. The only thing that supports your hips is your glutes. Cooper is riding a large number of horses but also goes to the gym as often as possible, usually 4-5 times a week, as well as seeing a physio for maintenance once a fortnight. This combination works well for him. “Five years ago, I started seeing a personal trainer for my posture, and she recommended I see her physio.” It turned out that Cooper’s hips were making him crooked, and after seeing the physio once a week for six months, he started achieving personal best after personal best in competition. “The physio asked me how I felt, and I said I didn’t feel any different; I was just making fewer

Both images - Cooper and REVELWOOD SHOWTIME in the Waikato Equine Veterinary Clinic FEI GP at Oro Dressage by the Lake at Takapoto Estate. Images - Show Circuit Magazine. mistakes and not getting in the way. It’s very hard to sit still and do less; it takes a lot of strength to sit still. The essence of dressage is to look like you’re doing nothing.” Cooper incorporates the gym and physio year-round, not just in winter, but suggests that winter could be a good time to start focusing on rider fitness or implement a training programme for yourself if you’re not already doing it. “My theory is good form leads to good function.”

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Eventing horses

CHRISTEN LANE

WORKING HORSES OVER WINTER

The work Christen does with her horses over winter depends on the level they are at. Those that competed at the Taupo ThreeDay-Event in May will have a month off while her focus switches to their young home-bred horses, those that need to be broken in, or horses coming back into work after a spell. In mid-June, the horses that have been turned out will come back in and do a lot of hacking and light schooling. She finds winter a good opportunity to iron out any weaknesses in the competition horses too. “For horses that have a particular problem during the season, winter is a great time to address those training issues. For example,

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Henton Armada is one of the most talented horses I’ve sat on, but she couldn’t get flying changes; she had a massive block. Winter’s a good time to focus on those little things that can be frustrating. She has been out after a floating accident but will be coming back into work soon.” Christen doesn’t travel a lot during the off-season but likes to support small local events and training days in winter. “It’s fun and keeps me motivated. I’m a person who needs to have an event or goal to aim for, even if it’s a small show. It’s easy to not bother in winter, so I set little goals.” She’s lucky to have a big farm with plenty of hills and river access, so the young horses get a lot of mileage in wide, open spaces without having to leave home. She’s a big believer in exposing young horses to plenty of positive outings with minimal stress before they attend an actual competition.

FIND A BUDDY AND PLAN A FUN, LOW-KEY OUTING SOMEWHERENEW Y O U W A N T T H E H O R S E T O H AV E A P O S I T I V E E X P E R I E N C E A N D ENJOY GOING PLACES. WITH THE YOUNG HORSES, WE JUMP LOGS, B A N K S , O R D I T C H E S O N T H E FA R M . “Sometimes, when I go to Taupo for squad training, I take a young horse because it’s a trip and it’s not a stressful situation. They learn about standing at the truck or in a yard. Winter is also a perfect time to book a local arena and have a play. When we lived in Auckland, we used to take them to the beach or the forest - it doesn’t necessarily have to be an arena.” Christen says horses learn by having fun. “Find a buddy and plan a fun, low-key outing somewhere new. You want the horse to have a positive experience and enjoy going places. With the young horses, we jump logs, banks, or ditches on the farm. I’m more inclined to train over little solid obstacles so they learn about footwork, rather than drilling them with coloured poles. That’s how we do it anyway.”

PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Planning is key, and Christen likes to map out her targeted events for each horse for the season and work backwards from there. “Look at the season ahead and dates, what level you want to do, and when they will need to be ready. Thunder is a heavy coldblooded horse, and being upper level, he can’t afford to have six weeks off because then you’re just playing catch up.” Set your big goals for the season and work backwards from there. Christen says it’s essential to make a plan, no matter what level you are at, and to write it down. Break it down into steps – how you will get there – and put a timeframe around it. “I do that for each horse. Things might not go to plan, often it doesn’t with horses, sometimes it goes better! But when you write things down, it becomes real.”

HORSE CARE IN WINTER

Christen likes to clip all her horses, with the type of clip depending on the work level. She prefers not to work horses with hairy coats, as they don’t dry well and can catch a chill after exercise. This does mean taking a bit more care with rugging over winter, but she believes there’s so much benefit to the horse that it’s worth the extra effort. “We’re lucky we don’t get too much mud here, and riding over the farm, the ground conditions are perfect. If you are on a property that is muddy in winter, see if you can give the horses a break in a yard or stable to make sure their legs are clean and dry. This helps minimise foot problems and things like mud fever. Here, we can bring the horses in during the day, work them, and turn them out at night.” A product Christen has found highly effective for mud fever in the past is Dynavyte Stop Greasy. “That’s a good product to have in your tack box. It’s a product we like using; it’s pretty magic..”

NUTRITION

Forage is an important component of winter nutrition. Since moving from Auckland to Hawke’s Bay three years ago, the Lanes have experienced differing winters and levels of grass. They usually have plenty of grass and don’t need to supplement. However, when they

Left hand page - Christen riding THUNDER CAT during the CCI4*-S cross-country at Taupo 3DE. Image Belinda Pratt Photography. Below - Christen with home-bred THUNDER CAT. Image - Christine Cornege Photography do, they feed both hay and balage. All horses from youngstock up are hard fed daily, and a big reason is to ensure that horses are monitored and checked regularly. “We like NRM Equine Balancer, a concentrated mineral supplement, so even the ones that don’t need a hard feed are getting a concentrated vitamin and mineral pellet - everything they need, without the calories.” Christen is also a fan of McMillans Grain Free, which they feed across the board as a safe and palatable feed, great for keeping weight on horses without giving them too much energy. “For me, a big part of it is that we are really paying attention to each individual horse by feeding them and going around checking them each day. We check legs and feet and keep an eye on their weight. We want to maintain a stable weight throughout the year. “You don’t need to feed a lot, but daily feeding is a great way of paying attention to your horse. You train your eye to pick things up; for example, we have had horses with eye scratches, and you might just notice a bit of cloudiness in the eye. Once you start looking regularly, it becomes easier to pick up. You become more aware.” C

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BREEDING feature

SOME OF THE FOALS I’VE BEEN

BREEDING H AV E

G O N E T O S O M E I N C R E D I B LY

ACCOMPLISHED N E W ZEALAND RIDERS, AND I’M VERY

EXCITED T O

SEE

WHERE THEY END UP IN THE

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FUTURE.

& WORDS - Caitlin Benzie IMAGES - Christine Cornege

Always one to set big goals for herself, early in life Sarah Catherwood aspired to compete in the New Zealand swimming team at the Olympics. Now, it’s to breed the perfect designer foal, capable of its own Olympic journey.

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Where did you grow up? I was born and grew up in Christchurch.

Do you have any children? Yes, I have a daughter named Vienna with my partner, Callum Jones, the stud manager at Trelawney Stud. Vienna is almost two and looks like she’s going to be pony-mad (which I’m very excited about!). She had her first pony ride a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She’s a very brave little thing, so she might want to be an eventer (that one I’m not so excited about!).

Where did your love of horses come from?

Sarah pictured with SWEET DREAM EFF (L) and VOGUE EFF (R)

I’ve always loved horses, and my parents think my love of them came from my Mum’s mother; she used to ride her horse to the pub! My extended family on my Dad’s side are sheep farmers, and my first memory of riding was on my Uncle’s horse, Dusty. I wanted a pony as a kid, but my parents wouldn’t let me have one - once I became good at swimming, I definitely wasn’t allowed to break my arms! So it wasn’t until I retired from swimming at 25 that I decided to get riding lessons.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

THEY RELAX ME, AND I F I N D T H AT M Y B AT T E R I E S D E F I N I T E LY F E E L

RECHARGED A F T E R A G R E AT R I D E . W H E N I ’ D R AT H E R RELAX INSTEAD, I L O V E W AT C H I N G DRESSAGE VIDEOS AND R E S E A R C H I N G S TA L L I O N S O N R A I N Y D AY S .

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When I was younger, I wanted to go to the Olympics for swimming. That was my sole dream, and I decided I was going to achieve it one way or another. I was a member of the AquaGym Swim Club in Christchurch, and, at 16, I was the youngest member of the New Zealand swimming team when I swam at the Atlanta Olympics.

Your swimming achievements are pretty extensive. Can you give us a run-down of the major events you’ve attended? It’s a bit of a list, sorry! New Zealand Tri-Series Age Group team 1994, 1995, 1996, Australian Age Group Swimming Champion 1994, 1995, 1996, Atlanta Olympics 1996, World Cup Short Course Series 1996 and 1997, Pan Pacific Games 1995, 1997, 2002, Oceania Games 2002 and finally the World Short Course Championships in 2004.

Best training advice you’ve ever received? The best advice I’ve received would have come from a couple of top Olympic swim coaches; ‘once the physical training is done, it’s the top four inches that matter.’

What’s the proudest achievement of your equestrian career? Ridingwise, it’s probably jumping around a five-year-old show jumping class on the first horse I bred and trained myself. Breedingwise, I’m pretty pleased with the two foals I’ve bred this year, one being a For Romance I filly and the other a Sezuan colt; I think they both have the potential to be something super special.

When Sarah’s mares cannot use frozen semen, she supports local stallions. Yearling filly ELLA VATION EFF (CENTAVOS - LANSING).

How do you relax and recharge?

What do you think the best attributes in a horse are?

Hanging out with my horses! They relax me, and I find that my batteries definitely feel recharged after a great ride. When I’d rather relax instead, I love watching dressage videos and researching stallions on rainy days. I also breed stud Texel sheep under the Northern Dawn prefix; not your standard hobby! Texel sheep originated on the island of Texel, near Holland. The island they originated from in the 90s provided pretty harsh living conditions, which means Texel’s have become very efficient at feed conversion.

The most crucial attribute in a horse would have to be its attitude. I don’t mind if they’re hot, as long as they want to work with me. I want them to be trainable and enjoy being around me; if they hate their job and would rather be as far away from people as possible, what’s the point of breeding such beautiful, flamboyant horses as we are now?

THE MOST

CRUCIAL ATTRIBUTE I N

How many horses do you have? Um… too many. I don’t think I can put this in writing for Callum to see; he might leave me!

H O R S E W O U L D H AV E T O B E I T S AT T I T U D E .

Yearling filly SWEET DREAM EFF (SECRET - DREAM BOY). SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

so I promised myself I’d never have another the same and thought I’d make one for myself instead. Of course, having worked in the Thoroughbred industry, I had only had experience choosing sires based on live covering. When I tried frozen semen, I realised that from the same mare, I could improve the quality of foal I was breeding significantly – and now I’m absolutely hooked! I also love the handling and training of foals, they are complete blank canvases, and I feel a real responsibility to set them up the best I can for their future careers.

What made you purchase the New Zealand section of Elite Frozen Foals?

Yearling filly VOGUE EFF (VALVERDE - DANCE XX).

What made you become interested in horse breeding? I had worked at a stud farm for a number of years, so I had always had a bit of an interest in it. I began breeding myself, though, because I couldn’t afford to buy a nice horse. The first horse I bought had so many physical and mental issues (he also gave me several concussions over the years),

Foals like these fillies from frozen semen are the future of dressage.

Elite Frozen Foals had already been so well set up by Jane and Peter Bartram that it was an easy business to buy into. Jane still runs and owns the Australian side of the business, while I own the New Zealand side. I bought Elite Frozen Foals because I was already spending all my spare time researching stallions and pedigrees, so it seemed the obvious choice to turn it into a business; either that or I just wanted an excuse to spend more time doing it! I had also had a bad experience using frozen semen the year before I bought Elite Frozen Foals, so I decided I didn’t want other breeders to experience the same thing. I don’t want to sell clients semen that doesn’t work, so I only have stallions on my books that I trust.

What’s the most challenging part of your job? The most challenging part of my job is that there are no guarantees in breeding horses. Sometimes it goes so well that you end up with a healthy mare and foal who displays all the potential to be a world-beater in the future, but it can also go horribly wrong. With every foal, someone somewhere used their much-loved mare, spent hours researching the perfect stallion to put her to and then spent countless dollars giving her everything she needed to welcome her baby into the world, and it still isn’t always enough. I’ve felt the devastation when all of the hard work goes wrong, so that’s definitely the hardest part of the breeding job. In the end, it’s about reducing the risks to as small a margin as possible, so there’s a higher probability things will go well.

Who are your favourite stallions? I have a few favourites, and the list seems to grow by the day. The first is Sezuan, who was named the Stallion of the Year by the Danish Federation in 2020. Sezuan won the World Young Dressage Horse Championships as a five- and six-year and then went on to win the seven-year-old title by nearly nine percent. He was ridden by Dorothee Schneider and Patrik Kittel and trained through to Grand Prix but was then gelded and disappeared from the competition arena. His progeny have also sold for record amounts, with the colt Strandagergards Sirocco being auctioned for 74,000 Euro (NZD $122,000) in 2014.

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I BOUGHT

ELITE FROZEN FOALS BECAUSE I WAS ALREADY S P E N D I N G A L L M Y S PA R E

TIME RESEARCHING S TA L L I O N S A N D P E D I G R E E S , SO IT SEEMED THE

OBVIOUS CHOICE TO TURN IT INTO A B U S I N E S S ; E I T H E R T H AT OR I JUST WANTED AN EXCUSE TO SPEND MORE TIME DOING IT!

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The foals Sarah has bred demonstrate her passion for using frozen semen from top bloodlines to produce outstanding horses. Above - SENSAI EFF (SEZUAN - ANAMOUR). Below right -Yearling filly, SWEET DREAM EFF (SECRET - DREAM BOY). Oldenburg stallion For Romance I is another favourite; he almost always passes on his spectacular attributes to his offspring, with over 30 licensed sons and over 80 premium mares. Next is another Oldenburg; Dante Weltino was the first Reserve Champion of the 2009 Oldenburg licensing in Vechta and (for those chestnut dislikers out there!) does not have a red factor, which means he’s homozygous and passes on only dark coats to his progeny. Last on the list is a super old favourite from when I first started developing an interest in dressage breeding, who needs no introduction, Desperados FRH. Desperados was the Hanoverian Stallion of the Year in 2016. His rider Kristina Bröring-Sprehe won medals at the 2013 and 2015 European Championships, the 2014 World Championships and the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. I also love Jovian, and although he comes with his own controversy being a carrier of WFFS, I believe that as he and Andreas Helgstrand make their way around more Grand Prix, he will become ever more popular.

Having achieved so much success in your life, are there any goals you’re still chasing? It would be a pretty sad existence if there were no goals left to chase! I’d love to breed a foal that goes through to Grand Prix or even onto the world stage! Some of the foals I’ve been breeding have gone to some incredibly accomplished New Zealand riders, and I’m very excited to see where they end up in the future. I’d also love to ride Grand Prix myself one day - on one I’ve bred myself would be the icing on the cake! n

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EVENTING spotlight

Creating SUCCESS WORDS - Ashleigh Kendall IMAGES - Michelle Clarke Photography At 22 years old, Cantabrian Lucy Turner has set the eventing circuit alight since she made her breakthrough into 2* at just 14 years old on her pony Tallyho Mystic. Since then, she hasn’t slowed down, taking many more wins at national level in eventing and show jumping.

Based in Lincoln, just out of Christchurch,

Lucy lives on her family’s lifestyle block. Working full-time as a vet tech at Selwyn-Rakaia Vets, she juggles riding her three horses before and after work and also enjoys playing club hockey a couple of nights a week to fill her jam-packed schedule. “Thankfully, we have lights on my arena, which makes things a bit easier, but I work everything around my job,” she explains. She is supported by her mum Julienne, dad Graeme, older sister Anna, and her grandparents Bill and Beth Drayton, the primary owners of her top horse Astek Victor. Lucy is also grateful to have sponsorship from Hygain New Zealand, which supplies her with feed and advice. Lucy’s love for horses began when she was about eight years old when her parents happened to purchase a couple of miniature horses from an auction to mow their lawns. “My sister, Anna, got into horses first. She loved the minis; her friend would come over, and they would spend all day playing with them. I didn’t have as much of an

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interest,” she recalls. “Then I went out with them one day, and it snowballed from there.” She first found success only a couple of years later on board the pocket rocket that was Ellangowan Zach, a 13hh powerhouse she competed to 95cm eventing before grading out. “Back then, you could only win a certain number of times before you had to move up. Being so small, we didn’t push him up higher, but he was a really cool pony, and we won a lot,” she reflects. She then moved on to Tallyho Mystic, who, despite her small stature at 14.1hh, competed up to 2* level and Pony Grand Prix show jumping. “I had a lot of success on her at Pony Grand Prix. We won at Show Jumping Nationals once, the South Island Pony Grand Prix title, and won the Canterbury Champs Pony Grand Prix. “One year, we made the trip up to Puhinui to compete at 2* and came second behind my other horse, Carbon. I wasn’t expecting to win first and second at Puhinui that year. Going into the show jumping, I was about midfield on Mystic, but then

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Hacking in winter is something ASTEK VICTOR (Victor) loves. Right - Lucy and ASTEK VICTOR during the NRM CCI 3* - L cross-country at Taupo 3DE. Image - Belinda Pratt Photography. Lower right hand page - ASTEK VICTOR (L) and HALF TO MIDNIGHT (R).

THE

BIG GOAL W O U L D

T O TA K E H I M O V E R S E A S , A N D HE HAS

THE GOODS.

I WANT TO DO A 5* ON HIM W H E T H E R AT A D E L A I D E

NEXT YEAR O R

ANOTHER

EVENT OVERSEAS.

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everyone started taking rails, and of course, I was on a Grand Prix show jumping pony doing 1.15m, so she cruised around clear,” she reports. “On the way home, we competed at the Taupo Christmas Classic and won the Pony Grand Prix there too! She was an amazing pony.” Her highlights on Carbon include coming fourth at the Taupo Three Day 3*, winning the South Island Three Day 3*, winning two national Young Rider titles, and she took him to Adelaide in 2018 to compete in the 3*, where they finished fifth in the National Young Rider class. “I was 14 when I rode 2* on Mystic and 16 when I rode 3* on Carbon, so I had to get age dispensation to compete,” she remembers. “There was a time when I was doing equally well in eventing and show jumping, and I did love show jumping, but the variety and challenge of mastering three phases of eventing are what I love most. I enjoy each phase equally.” Lucy’s top horse currently is Astek Victor (Victor), a 17.1hh Warmblood x Thoroughbred gelding. While he is talented, he has battled with minor injuries recently, but the pair are confidently enjoying success at 3* level with plans to move up to 4* next season. Their highlights include winning the South Island Three Day Event 3* in 2019, winning the National One Day Champs Young Rider, and making the Trans-Tasman Oceania New Zealand Young Rider team in 2019. “He has a cool character; he’s a quality horse who I think will go a long way,” she says. “The big goal would be to take him overseas, and he has the goods. I want to do a 5* on him, whether at Adelaide next year or another event overseas.” Completing the team are a couple of off-the-track Thoroughbreds

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Lucy has been carefully producing. Half to Midnight is a sweet five-year-old 15.2hh mare that she got about a year ago. Since then, she has been learning the ropes of her new life as a Sporthorse and has had some starts at 80cm eventing, 90cm show jumping and has even won in the Show Hunter ring. “She is going to be cool, she just needs time and mileage, but so far, she has shown real quality,” Lucy says. She also has had seven-year-old Raff for about a year. “He raced until he was six years old, and he’s a really good jumper,” she says. “Of course, he needs a bit more time and mileage, but he is really scopey and will be a super horse.”

Understandably, it takes careful time

management for Lucy to fit it all in, and her success hasn’t come without sacrifice in other areas of her life. “When I was younger, I played a lot of sports. I played in the National Hockey League, so that was five days a week, morning and evening training,” she reflects. “There were times when I questioned riding because I never had any free time, and I would have preferred not to have ridden before school, but I always loved horses and competing, so that pushed me through.” She continued representative level hockey until she was 21 and then decided to pursue horses as it was a struggle

Left - Lucy riding ASTEK VICTOR during the NRM CCI 3* - L crosscountry at Taupo 3DE. Image - Ashleigh Bolt Photography Right hand page - One of the newer members of Lucy’s team, off-the-track Thoroughbred HALF TO MIDNIGHT is learning the Sporthorse ropes. managing both. “I love hockey; it was tough to step back, and there was a stage where I was playing quite well and thought about giving it a good crack. I could come back to horses later as age isn’t a real factor with them, but I always had reasonably good horses in the paddock, so I didn’t want to throw it all away. I also didn’t know whether I would have enjoyed playing hockey full time, so I chose horses and to play hockey for fun.” While Lucy enjoys winning, she loves the training and progress and journey of the sport. “Being really happy with how my horses are going, how I am riding - watching a video and being happy with how it looks - are all markers of success for me,” she explains. “Happy horses are a big thing for me; managing them well, giving them a good life and variety in their work are all important factors.” One of the most rewarding horses Lucy trained was a wee paint called Spray Point Station Pirate, bought about three years ago and sold earlier this year. “When I bought him, he hadn’t done anything and wasn’t in the best shape,” she says. “He was meant to be a project,

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OF COURSE, HE NEEDS A BIT

MORE TIME AND MILEAGE, BUT HE IS

REALLY SCOPEY A N D WILL BE A SUPER HORSE.

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Lucy wth her top horse, ASTEK VICTOR (Victor), a 17.1hh Warmblood x Thoroughbred gelding. telling me how to ride and what horse to buy next. In the beginning, my sister and I were just Pony Club kids who did everything we could, but as we got older, we both pursued eventing, and Emily has been a huge support in my journey.” Lucy also trains with Christine Weal for dressage and Jeff McVean for jumping when she can.

When reflecting on the journey, Lucy explains that the highs

but he arrived when Victor was injured, so he stayed longer than planned. A lot of my time when into Pirate, and in just over two years, he went from not knowing anything to competing consistently at 2* level when he was seven years old, so it was hugely rewarding. Selling him was sad for me because he is just such a cool horse.” Lucy has been mentored over the years by Emily Cammock, “She has always been someone I look up to,” she explains. “I had a few lessons with her when I was younger, and she influenced my direction,

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and lows of eventing are the most challenging for her. “You can put in so much training and preparation for all of it to go down the drain in a flash sometimes. But then when you can come back from that, it’s really rewarding. My biggest thing is to look for the positives over the negatives. If I have a bad ride and it’s not going well, I try to turn it into something positive and a learning experience. I ask myself, ‘how can I get better from this?” Leading up to a show, Lucy is not one to change what she does. “I like to stick to my routine and not change anything. Everything is kept the same as usual, and I just get on with it. I do get nervous, but it’s more driven by excitement to get out there and do it. I am always so happy to be there,” she says. “I like to work hard. I think anyone doing this sport isn’t afraid of putting their head down and getting on with the hard work. I don’t mind putting in the extra hours behind the scenes to get it done. Working fulltime and doing the horses is tough, but I fit everything around work. If you aren’t afraid of the hard work to get results, you will eventually enjoy them. Even if you are struggling and it isn’t working out at times, it will always pay off in one way or another.” Long-term, Lucy would love to work part-time and ride part-time. “Having a balance, doing the horses well on a small scale and working in another area is my goal. Riding full-time isn’t quite for me, but I do love it, and I want to do it more. Many people don’t know that I studied at Canterbury University for four years and got my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Sociology minor, so perhaps there is something for me in the future in that field as well.” n

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PARA DRESSAGE spotlight

AGAINST ALL

odds WORDS & IMAGES - Caitlin Benzie

Growing up in a city living, motorsport-mad family couldn’t stop Chelsea Burns from finding her passion for horses and running with it.

As the only child of parents Jenny and Paul, dragracing was the family’s first love, something that has continued for Chelsea throughout her life. She is currently a board member of the International Hot Rod Association (one of the governing bodies of Drag Racing in New Zealand) and an area steward at the Napa Raceway in Meremere. However, Chelsea’s horse-riding journey began when she was gifted riding lessons for her birthday. She has never looked back, and 20 years later is still chasing her other passion in life. “I grew up in Otahuhu, South Auckland. It’s a very urban area, so there was certainly no room for a pony, but that didn’t stop me from being absolutely pony crazy as a kid. For my 10th birthday, I was given ten riding lessons and, unfortunately for poor Mum and Dad, I have been riding ever since,” Chelsea laughs. “I had lessons at Sonshine Ranch in Ardmore and started Pony Club there when I was 12 on their lease ponies.”

When Chelsea was 15 and studying at St Mary’s College, she got her first horse of her own; a Thoroughbred gelding called Jacob’s Creek (Jake), who took her around her first Pony Club one day events and gave her a taste of eventing. When Chelsea

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headed to university to study teaching, Jake retired, and she began riding other people’s horses, one of whom was Hey Bro. “Jake was part of the family for over nine years, and he sadly left us in 2011 at the grand age of 27. I was so gutted to have to retire him when I went to university, but through this, I was lucky to meet the gorgeous Ridge (Hey Bro) owned by Laurence O’Toole and Steph Liefting. Once I graduated from Auckland University with my Bachelor of Education, I was straight onto the phone with them to buy him, and everything with my riding snowballed from there! “At that point, I had my heart well and truly set on eventing, which we spent the next few years doing, although I do have to admit we sometimes weren’t very good at it,” she laughs. “However, when I was 17, I had been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and as that progressed further, it became clear that my body wasn’t agreeing with my upperlevel eventing plans. Jeanette Benzie, whom I knew from coaching her daughter at Pukekohe Pony Club, suggested I look into dressage, particularly para-equestrian dressage. Ridge and I started at Novice level, and then our para journey began. Devastatingly, I lost Ridge at the end of March when

WHEN I WAS 17, I HAD BEEN WITH

DIAGNOSED

RHEUMATOID

ARTHRITIS,

A N D A S T H AT

PROGRESSED FURTHER, IT B E C A M E C L E A R T H AT

BODY W A S N ’ T

AGREEING

WITH MY UPPER-LEVEL EVENTING PLANS.

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E V E N W I T H E V E R Y T H I N G T H AT ’ S

GONE WRONG OVER THE YEARS, MUM,

WHO ALSO HAS RA, H A S A LW AY S B E E N M Y

BIGGEST SUPPORT THROUGHOUT EVERYTHING.

he had a sudden heart attack when I was bringing him in from the paddock. He had been such a big part of my life for so long, and the gap he has left feels like a huge chasm.”

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints, typically resulting in swollen and painful joints, often worsening following rest. In Chelsea’s case, and most commonly, the wrist and hands are involved, with the same joints typically involved on both sides of the body. RA is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors, as it can often affect multiple members of one family. The underlying cause is the body’s immune system attacking the joints, which results in inflammation and thickening of the joint capsule. It also affects the underlying bone and cartilage, causing fused or, without treatment, deformed limbs. Chelsea’s bad luck wasn’t finished with her RA diagnosis; in 2013, a fall from a young horse resulted in a dislocated and broken

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Chelsea is out competing in able bodied eventing classes while her body allowes her to. Right hand page images - Rockin Horse competing at the CCN95 at Northern Hawkes Bay Horse Trial.

hip and femur. With her leg in a brace from ankle to hip and no weight bearing allowed, recovery was slow, and it took just over six months for Chelsea to get back on a horse. “Even with everything that’s gone wrong over the years, Mum, who also has RA, has always been my biggest support throughout everything. My confidence took a massive knock from this fall, though, so when it came to choosing a horse to get back riding, it had to be something super sane and sensible. Ridge would have been the perfect option, but he was getting older and had started having some soundness issues. I was fortunate to find JDF Master Dee, a wonderful little brown Thoroughbred. Dee was the perfect wee gentleman to get me back up and running, and we had a very successful 2014-2015 dressage season together. We competed in the FEI World Dressage Challenge, where we finished fourth in New Zealand and fourteenth in Oceania in the Preliminary section. Also, we came sixth in the Thoroughbreds in Equestrian Sport Dressage series.

I WANT TO DO AS MUCH

JUMPING AND EVENTING A S

I CAN

WHILE MY BODY STILL ALLOWS ME TO BECAUSE,

UNFORTUNATELY, I

KNOW

T H AT I T ’ S N O T G O I N G T O B E

POSSIBLE O N E

D AY.

Now based in Whitford i

n Auckland, Chelsea competes on two horses: Prestige Pete and a new addition, DSE Lannister. Pete is a 14-year-old grey New Zealand Stationbred gelding by Shannon and is owned by Stephanie Liefting with Chelsea. Before becoming a para-dressage horse for Chelsea, Pete had successfully competed up to 2* level eventing, with his last win in the CCN2** at Brookby Horse Trial. Together, Chelsea and Pete have competed in Grade V Para, show jumped up to 90cm and evented at Training level. “DSE Lannister (Troy) came to me recently from my trainer, Abbey Thompson, who had evented him up to 3* level. He was ready to retire from jumping the big stuff, and I’m very grateful that I was seen as a suitable rider for him to come to! He is an 11-year-old bay Thoroughbred, by No Excuse Needed and out of a King of Kings mare and was bred by the Humphries family. Pete and Troy are the perfect all-rounders for me to

SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

I WANT TO DO AS MUCH

JUMPING AND EVENTING A S

I CAN

WHILE MY BODY STILL ALLOWS ME TO BECAUSE,

UNFORTUNATELY, I

KNOW

T H AT I T ’ S N O T G O I N G T O B E

POSSIBLE O N E

D AY.

be able to go out and do a bit of everything. I want to do as much jumping and eventing as I can while my body still allows me to because, unfortunately, I know that it’s not going to be possible one day. I’d love to have a start at Pre-Novice/1* level eventing in the next couple of seasons while I still can.”

Para-dressage is much

Bottom right image - Chelsea and ROCKIN HORSE during the CCN95 at Northern Hawkes Bay Horse Trial.

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the same as able-bodied dressage, except with a difference in tests and the ability to have compensating aids. There are five levels in para-dressage, and the competitor’s mobility, strength and coordination are assessed by the FEI to establish their grade level. People with similar functional abilities are grouped in a range from Grade I for the most severely impaired to Grade V for the least impaired. With these split levels, the competition within each Grade can therefore be judged on the individual rider’s skill, regardless of their impairment. “The grade V tests that I compete in can be likened to an able-bodied medium level test, including shoulder-in, half pass, walk pirouettes, counter canter and simple changes. I have limited strength and

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I TRY TO BE AS

INVOLVED

AS I CAN IN THE AREA GROUPS T H AT I ’ M A PA R T O F ;

WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS, OUR SPORT WOULDN’T BE P O S S I B L E , S O I A LW AY S F E E L L I K E IT’S

IMPERATIVE T O

GIVE BACK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

Above and right- Chelsea has big plans for DSE LANNISTER (Troy) and hopes to get him to Nationals and Horse of the Year next season.

movement in my wrists, hands, hips and knees, so I have the use of a few compensating aids, which include loops on my reins to help me hold onto them, magnetic stirrups to keep my feet in them, and my stirrups are also tied to my girth to help stop my legs from swinging around too much.”

Even with her RA diagnosis at 17, Chelsea has always been one to look to the future in a positive light. While she has had to listen to her body and dial back on the amount of riding she can occasionally do, she refuses to let it get her down and has become even more involved in organisational roles with horses. “I try to be as involved as I can in the area groups that I’m a part of; without volunteers, our sport wouldn’t be possible, so I always feel like it’s imperative to give back as much as possible. I’ve also taught at many Pony Clubs throughout the years and am

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currently the Head Coach at Meadowbank Pony Club; I recently got nominated for an NZPCA coach’s award for this season, which was very exciting! While I am still able to keep riding, though, I have big plans for the boys; next season, I aim to get them both to Nationals and Troy to Horse of the Year. Longer-term, I’d love to compete in a CPEDI in Australia, or even England as the ultimate dream. I’m very grateful to have the support of Smith Transport New Zealand, Prestige Equestrian Ltd, AMS Saddlery and Southridge Equine on my para-dressage journey and can’t wait to see all the things we can achieve together in the future!” C

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EVENTING/SHOWJUMING spotlight

A UN ITED

FRONT WORDS - Rebecca Greaves IMAGES - Michelle Clarke Photography

A can-do attitude, determination to succeed, and the ability to thrive under pressure have taken this Canterbury teen to the top in both eventing and show jumping, and she has plenty more goals she’d like to achieve.

Molly Moffatt has surrounded herself with great people and coaches, not least her mum, Amanda Brown, who previously represented New Zealand in eventing and helps Molly with her horses. Eventing to 3* level and show jumping Pony Grand Prix as well as Junior and Young Rider classes, Molly has certainly proved she’s versatile – and successful at both disciplines. Horses are a family affair, with many weekends spent travelling around the country. Molly’s parents, younger brother Sam and both sets of grandparents regularly attend almost every event with her. “They’re all so supportive, and it gives you that extra encouragement and makes going to shows so much more enjoyable. It lifts the atmosphere and makes it more fun. You might think it would be more pressure, but it’s great because if you go well, you can share the win with everyone, making those times more special.” Molly’s grandmother Jeanette Brown has Ataahua Stud, producing many lovely show ponies over the years. They recently moved into breeding racehorses and are now breeding some

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of their own horses. “Ataahua Stables is our stud, I guess you could say.” The family lives on a 50-acre block at Ohoka, near Rangiora, and Molly, 16, is a day student at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in Christchurch. Her dad is a farmer and also quarries silica sand used for horse arenas. “Mum did quite a bit of riding and was on a few New Zealand teams. She had hopes of going to the Olympics for eventing, but she sold that horse, Sugoi, to Heelan Tompkins, who took him to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Mum went and groomed for Heelan at the Olympics, and when she got back, she had my brother and me.” Molly says she and her mum make a great team and have a lot of fun doing the horses together. “Mum is great; she helps me a lot during the week with my training and the young horses. Mum is my all-round coach; we have a great partnership, and we’re on the same page. We’re always thinking of new ideas and bringing different things to the table. Coaching with Mum is awesome.” She’s quick to credit her other coaches, who include Penny Castle and Nicola Maley for dressage and Greg Best for show jumping.

I T G I V E S M E A B I T O F VA R I E T Y A N D , F O R

EVENTING, I T ' S G O O D

T O K N O W H O W T O B E A G R E AT

SHOW JUMPER. I L I K E D O I N G L O T S A N D M A K I N G T H E M O S T O F I T, N O T P I C K I N G B E T W E E N T H E M T O O E A R LY.

Molly says that NGAHIWI MAKEM is sharp, very aware, and very smart, with an incredibly good technique.

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Molly and her mum make sure the stables are kept up to date on a daily basis.

At the recent Taupo Three-Day-Event, Molly had a win in the 2* with her eventer Ngahiwi Makem. Leading heading into the final day, she knew she needed to jump clear in the show jumping to take the title, which she duly did. She immediately paid tribute to those who had helped her during the week. “While we were in Taupo, we were lucky to stay with Penny, and Matthew Grayling helped me walk my courses. Before the event, I had some lessons with Greg, which were influential and made the difference in my show jumping.”

Molly has always competed in both eventing and show jumping, and she can’t pick a favourite. “I enjoy doing both. It gives me a bit of variety and, for eventing, it’s good to know how to be a great show jumper. I like doing lots and making the most of it, not picking between them too early. “Show jumping is fun. I like that you have the jump-offs and can jump bigger jumps with a well-trained horse. You can do multiple rounds in a day, whereas in eventing it’s very serious, and each day counts significantly. In show jumping, if something goes badly, you can move on to the next round.” Molly enjoys the pressure of eventing and, like most eventers, loves the crosscountry phase. “I enjoy dressage; it’s a satisfying feeling with the right horse. Show jumping on the last day is a lot of pressure. At Taupo, I had to go clear to win, but I handle pressure well – it makes me wake up and ride better.”

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I ENJOY

DRESSAGE; I T ' S A

S AT I S F Y I N G F E E L I N G W I T H T H E R I G H T HORSE.

SHOW JUMPING O N

T H E L A S T D AY I S A L O T O F P R E S S U R E .

Above - Molly and NGAHIWI MAKEM. This combination has notched up some impressive wins. Left - Molly and GLENMARK winning the Junior Rider at South sland Show Jumping Champs 2022.

Molly has a large team of horses, including a number she rides for other people. She believes riding as many different horses as possible will develop her riding and stand her in good stead later. Ngahiwi Makem (Makem) is a 15-year-old Stationbred x Holsteiner mare (Bay Indoctro Colt/Rickton) who is quirky on the ground. “She’s quick - sharp, I guess - but I think that’s what makes her so good. She’s very safe on cross-country and always tries. She’s tough on the ground, and you’ve got to be aware, but she’s awesome to ride.” Previously campaigned by Ashleigh McKinstry to 3* level and then Holly McDonald, Molly got the ride when the mare was recovering from a paddock injury. She liked Makem so much that they bought her, and they have forged a strong partnership. The combination has notched up some impressive wins, including the 3* short format at the South Island Three-Day-Event, the Junior Rider title at Puhinui, the Canterbury/South Island Accumulator Series, and the New Zealand Junior Rider Series for 2020/21. “She’s sharp, very aware, and very smart, with an incredibly good technique. She’s not the greatest mover on the flat, but she makes up for it on cross-country and in the show jumping.” Molly’s goal with Makem is to stay consistent at the 3* level. On the show jumping front, she has had the ride on the Geddes

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MUM IS

GREAT; S H E H E L P S

ME A LOT DURING THE WEEK WITH MY

TRAINING A N D T H E

YOUNG HORSES. MUM IS MY A L L - R O U N D C O A C H ; W E H AV E A G R E AT

PARTNERSHIP,

A N D W E ' R E O N T H E S A M E PA G E . W E ' R E A LW AY S T H I N K I N G O F

NEW IDEAS A N D BRINGING DIFFERENT THINGS T O T H E TA B L E .

Middle left - Molly riding TE NGAIO RAGGAMUFFIN in the Pony Grand Prix at Show Jumping Nationals 2022. Below left - Molly and the family dogs - Rascal the Labrador and Roy the cheeky Jack Russell. Right hand page - Molly leading FREESTYLE TWIST AND SHOUT (Whisper). family’s Te Ngaio Ragamuffin (Rags) for three seasons, wth the pair being remarkably consistent at Pony Grand Prix level. Rags is an ex-polo pony who showed talent for jumping, switching codes with considerable success. “She’s quite an opinionated mare, though. She knows what she wants, is brave and very forgiving, and tries her hardest all the time.” Next season is Molly’s last year on ponies, and while she’d love to win a big class like Pony of the Year, she’s realistic about their chances. “It can be the luck on the day. Horses can be different every day, but if I can be consistent and have a good season, that would be pretty cool.” A new ride is Freestyle Twist and Shout (Whisper), owned by the Bisset family. Having ridden him just once before Nationals, Molly was thrilled to win the 1-1.10m Championship. “I’ve got the ride on him for next season. He’s a very talented jumper and has a strong character - he’s very cheeky! I hope to get him back up to Pony Grand Prix and compete him in Pony of the Year.” Bellagio GNZ (Barney) is also owned by the Geddes family, and the pair compete in Young Rider and Junior Rider classes. The horse most dear to Molly’s heart is their own Glenmark (a Thoroughbred cross by Kinnordy Gym Bello/Sir Sian), who her mum rode and competed to 3* before handing the reins to Molly. The pair had competed to 2* before an injury spelt the end of his eventing career.

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Above - NGAHIWI MAKEM (Makem) is a 15-year-old Stationbred x Holsteiner mare (Bay Indoctro Colt/Rickton) who is quirky on the ground but extremely talented under saddle. Below - Molly riding NGAHIWI MAKEM at the Canterbury 2DE in 2021.

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“Now I do the Junior Rider and Young Rider show jumping classes on him. This season will probably be his last. He’s the most amazing horse and will be one of my favourites forever. He’s so kind, really puts 110% into everything, and I’ve hardly ever seen him with his ears back.” Molly has some lovely youngsters coming through, including five-year-old Emerald (by Reliable Man out of Camellia), a Thoroughbred they bought from Vicky Browne-Cole. Four-year-old Zorro (VDL Grand Slam x Waitangi Laptop) was recently purchased from Waitangi Sporthorses - she hasn’t decided whether Zorro will be an eventer or a show jumper yet. “I’m busy, but I like being busy, doing lots. We have goals for each of the horses; they are all different. Every horse has its own personality, and it’s nice having a partnership. When you’re on the same page and everything clicks it feels good. “At my age, it’s good for my riding to get experience on as many different horses as I can. My coach Greg Best encourages that to improve my riding for the future.” As well as the horses, Molly is a keen hockey player, loves skiing, and has recently taken up cycling. “I did my ACL a year ago playing hockey and had surgery five months ago. I can’t play this season, so I’ve taken up cycling instead to keep me going. Skiing in winter is one of my favourite things to do.” Long term, Molly would love to compete at Badminton or Burghley and go to the Olympics for eventing or show jumping. “I’d love to compete on one of those amazing tours by the beach, like Miami, and do some travelling overseas to get more experience.” She also believes it’s important to have a career and plans to attend university to study business. “I’m into maths, accounting, and economics. Horse riding will not be there forever; I want to have something else too.” Molly is grateful to be sponsored by Voltaire Design and Molly Rowley Equine Bodywork Treatments. n

PREMIUM ARENA MIX Treadlite is excited to offer premium arena mix which can be tailored made for each riders desired requirements. We proudly produce Treadlite right here in New Zealand. The recycling process takes used tyres which would otherwise be disposed of in landfill, stockpiled, illegally dumped or shipped offshore to be burnt. At our plant in Cambridge our triple treated refinery process uses a series of shredders and magnets to produce a consistent evenly sized material that is 99.9% metal free. Why use Treadlite arena mix: • Less wear and tear on horses’ hooves • Reduced concussion on joints through better impact absorption • Lively surface allows horses to get more air above the ground and better takeoff for jumping • Maintains a more even spread than traditional sand surface • Less affected by rain • Reduced dust means fewer respiratory issues • Can be used alone over base-coarse or spread on top and mixed with existing sand

GOOD FOR YOUR HORSE GOOD FOR THE PLANET! Recommendations Minimum 10mm

before

after

Optimum 15mm

Premium

20mm+

Available in recycled Treadlite bags NI - $300 + gst ex Cambridge SI - $300 + gst ex Darfield

Please contact Treadlite for your Personal arena requirements Tracy Smith 021 928 231 or Chris Lovelady 027 206 1737 SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE - 105 For more information follow us on Facebook or visit www.treadlite.co.nz

Shopping guide Our

New

1. KÖNIGS NEVIO SPECIAL - All-round riding boot fully laced with elastic laces and brogue detail on cuff and toe. Back zip with spur protection. Also available in chocolate, caramel, dark brown and navy. RRP $860.00. www.classicequestrian.co.nz 2. SMOOCHIES® - Horse treats that are bound to make them lick their lips and perform new tricks! A crunchy baked heart-shaped horse treat biscuit, made from the freshest wholesome produce with the full flavour sensation of Fenugreek, ideal as a reward or just simply as a gesture of love. Sneak a few treats in your pocket for a snack on the road. No added sugar. Packed in resealable bags for freshness. Available at your nearest feed merchant. www.hygain.co.nz 3. ANATOMEQ FIT BLANKET - This multi-use rug is a 50g stable sheet, blanket liner and cooler. Breathable, thermo-regulating, wicking and quickdry material. Designed to eliminate rubs and wither pressure, the Fit blanket includes 4-way stretch, a double padded collar and a built-in shoulder guard. Completely machine washable, dirt, hair and shavings repellent. Discover the entire collection at www.anatomeq.com 4. EQCLUSIVE GROOMING KITS - These customised revolutionary kits are put together for the best possible grooming results, with specific kits for each coat colour and for maximum shine. www.southridgeequine.co.nz 3. AUBENHAUSEN V22 DRESSAGE BOOTS AND MATCHING BELL BOOTS - These dressage boots feature the innovative V22 Neoprene lining, which is extremely breathable and absorbs moisture and dissipates heat. The bell boots are made with durable synthetic outer and luxurious synthetic sheepskin. Both items are finished off with an elegant gold Aubenhausen logo. Available in black or white. Dressage boots RRP $162.90 per pair. Bell Boots RRP $82.90 per pair. www.zilco.co.nz 6. ROECKL GRIP WINTER GLOVES - Made from exclusive Roeckl-Grip ® material with the addition of soft and warm Micro Bemberg lining. Warm without the bulk. Ideal for winter riding or on the hunt field. Available in black. Sizes 6 to 10. RRP $104.90. www.zilco.co.nz

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7. WEATHERBEETA SHIMMER PRIME MARBLE SADDLE PAD - Durable cotton fabric with wick easy lining to keep your horse cool, dry and comfortable. Breathable mesh spine for extra airflow and high wither design to allow extra space where needed. Available in Grey/White/Silver Marble Print & Navy/Gold Swirl Marble Print in Dressage, Jump and All Purpose in Pony and Full sizes. RRP $89.99 www.weatherbeeta.co.nz 8. WEATHERBEETA COMFITEC PREMIER TRIO DETACH-A-NECK MEDIUM - Versatility to carry you through all seasons this rug features a strong 1200 denier waterproof and breathable outer with 100g of polyfill. Comes with a detachable 200g polyfill liner for an optional layer. Features adjustable quick clip front closures, removable snug fit, WeatherBeeta Cozi guard and a memory foam wither relief pad to reduce rubbing and provide extra comfort. Compatible with the WeatherBeeta Liner System. Available in Dark Blue Plaid in 4’3 to 5’9. RRP $449.99. www.weatherbeeta.co.nz 9. DUBLIN DANMAN BOOTS A waterproof and breathable country boot with a full-grain leather upper and full elastic rear gusset and lace adjustment to provide the perfect fit. Features an RCS footbed system with heel, arch support and double cushioning layer for comfort and breathability. RRP $299.99. Available in Chocolate in Ladies 6 to 10. www.dublinclothing.co.nz 10.PLATINUM GERMAN SILVER DOUBLE JOINTED EGGBUTT BIT - The German silver mouthpiece has a pleasant, sweet taste. This encourages chewing and salivation. Lozenge reduces the nutcracker action and takes unwanted pressures off the edges of the tongue as well as reducing the pressure on the palate. Stainless steel D’ rings. Sizes: WB, Full, Cob, Pony. RRP: $83.50.www.arionefv.co.nz 11. KOLN ZIP BOOTS are an easy-care boot with a zip in the front making putting them on a breeze. They are made of soft sheep leather and are lined with a stretchy fabric for added comfort. The sole is made from moulded rubber. Sizes 35-43. Black or brown, $69.99. www.saddlerywarehouse.co.nz 12. GRAZE - BY ELITE EQUINE NUTRITION - This superb supplement has a high level of active ingredients and is very effective in controlling the symptoms of grass sensitivity. Graze has a binding action and contains highly absorbable organic magnesium proteinate. 1.8kg - $109.90. www.eliteequine.co.nz 13. Stunning black & grey FLEX-ON SAFE STIRRUPS with custom carbon magnetic inserts. Shop the full range online at www.maddoxequestrian.co.nz

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HEALTH feature

PASTERN DERMATITIS

WORDS - Elise Cacace

OUR EXPERT: Dave Kruger joined the Vet Services Hawke’s Bay team in 1996 after moving to New Zealand from South Africa. He is based out of the Napier Clinic and is involved with both the equine and companion animal divisions of the vet practices.

The changing seasons signal physical changes in our horses. Changing coats and feed requirements are easily noted. However, changes in immune response are also seasonal. Among the many prevalent seasonal conditions that affect our equine friends, pastern dermatitis can crop up. Vet Dave Kruger discusses the actual causes, prevention, and treatment for this painful condition.

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In New Zealand, we tend to call pastern dermatitis mud fever, judging it to be a winter-induced infection that will go away when the warmer weather returns. However, the term ‘mud fever’ comes from the UK, where horses generally get bacterial infections from mud and wet weather.

SKIN PROPERTIES

Pastern dermatitis usually occurs in summer and is photosensitivity-related rather than mud-related. Actual mud fever cases do pop up around New Zealand, but pastern dermatitis is a far more common condition.

Hair shaft

The skin comprises of an outer epidermis, a middle dermis and an inner subcutaneous layer. The outer epidermal layer acts as a physical barrier to the environment. If it is damaged, bacteria can infiltrate the skin, starting an infection and inflammatory reaction. The skin is also protected by hair follicles that grow from the dermis, and these have sebaceous glands that produce natural oils to help waterproof and protect the skin. It is normal for the skin of a healthy horse to have many micro-organisms (bacteria and fungus) living on its surface, causing no harm. When they get under the skin, enter the deeper layers and multiply that, problems occur.

Epidermis

Dermis

Subcutaneous tissue Hair follicle Sebaceous glands

THE CAUSES

THE SYMPTOMS

Pastern dermatitis is a syndrome, which means there are a whole load of different causes. Photosensitivity is the most common cause of dermatitis and is believed to be an autoimmune response. The skin becomes photosensitised to chemicals in plants such as clover, which have photosensitising agents. This most commonly affects chestnut and bay horses with white markings - horses with dark legs are rarely affected. Bacterial infections can also cause pastern dermatitis. The classic mud fever is an example of a bacterial infection. Mites can also induce pastern dermatitis in longfeathered equine breeds such as Clydesdales, Draft and Shire horses. This is a very specific type of dermatitis which is parasite-related. To complicate things even further, fungal infection can also be involved, and ringworm in horses can look similar to pastern dermatitis. However, the most common cause of dermatitis in New Zealand is sun-related.

STAGE 1 The majority of cases begin with the skin becoming slightly inflamed, red and crusted, and the horse becoming quite uncomfortable.

STAGE 2 Once the skin is inflamed and weeping, it is prone to secondary infections caused by bacteria getting into the wound. The skin will crack, and ulcers can form.

STAGE 3 Secondary infections can further lead to swollen legs or the horse becoming off-colour. This severe form of pastern dermatitis needs immediate veterinary attention followed up with consistent monitoring and medical care.

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PREVENTION IS BEST If your horse falls into the high-risk category for pastern dermatitis, i.e. has white limbs, long feathers, or has suffered from pastern dermatitis in the past, you will want to do everything in your power to stop the syndrome before it starts. Thankfully, there are many effective ways to do this.

KEEP ON CLEANING! The most obvious (and arguably the most important) method of all, keeping your horse clean, is a vital aspect of preventing nasty bacterial infections and is especially important for horses with existing skin conditions. Regular washing and grooming increase blood flow to the skin surface and help prevent bacterial infections. Chlorhexidine washes are best for eliminating nasty bacteria and keeping the affected area sterile.

Keeping all brushes clean over the winter months is extremely important to avoid bacteria transfer. We recommend having a bucket of water handy and a bottle of chlorhexidine shampoo. Clean the day’s brushes.

SUNBLOCKS AND SOCKS! In photosensitivity-related cases, the light is your biggest enemy. Sunblock, zinc ointments and equine socks are your best friends! If your horse is compliant enough to put socks on, this is your best preventative method. Equine socks such as ‘Silver Whinnys’ block disease-causing pathogens, parasites, dirt, debris and sunlight (UV) from reaching the skin while still permitting airflow to allow any existing lesions to heal.

SUPPLEMENTATION Fatty acids like linseed oil are great for improving skin and coat condition and can assist in dermatitis prevention and recovery. Other supplements (such as Elite Equine Complete - Mud Fever Gone) can enhance the horse’s overall condition, health and immune response and can aid in combating many different illnesses.

Silver Whinnys and Silver Bells mud and defeating pastern wraps.

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TREATMENT Alas, horses will be horses. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, they still manage to fall victim to illness and injury - most likely on a holiday weekend or before the most important show of the season. When prevention fails, the next step in combating pastern dermatitis is treatment. There is an extensive range of treatment options available, depending on the severity of the case.

When clipping, remember to clip in a downwards direction.

CLIPPING In both the initial and later stages of pastern dermatitis, clipping the affected area is the way to go. Clipping allows you to see exactly what you are dealing with, helps keep the area clean and prevents further infection from any infected crust remaining in the coat. The downside to clipping is that it exposes the skin to more UV rays, so using a zinc ointment, sunblock, or a sock is essential.

ANTIBACTERIAL WASHES

ANTIBIOTICS

After clipping all the hair off, chlorhexidine washes are the next big step. Chlorhexidine is a disinfectant and antiseptic liquid used for skin disinfection before surgery and for sterilising surgical instruments. Washing the affected area with chlorhexidine softens up any crust that may be forming and prevents harmful bacteria from escalating the severity of the condition. Daily chlorhexidine washes should usually sort out milder cases of dermatitis, and other topical ointments such as iodine can be used as a further protective disinfectant barrier.

If you’re dealing with a more advanced stage of dermatitis where the skin is ulcerative and seeping blood or pus, or if the legs are swollen, your horse needs antibiotics. In these severe cases, most vets will run a blood count in order to find out as much information about your horse’s condition as possible before prescribing systemic antibiotics or anti-inflammatories. Some horses are also treated with corticosteroids to stop inflammation. It all depends on the specifics of the case.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Use a shampoo that contains low-level chlorhexidine at the first signs of a bacteria infection.

n Don’t turn the horse out. Whether the dermatitis is caused by a bacterial infection or is photosensitivity-related, if your horse’s skin is inflamed and painful, it needs to be treated. If you leave it for a period without treatment, the skin will thicken and crack, and it will become a nightmare to deal with. n Don’t use non-prescribed topical ointments. People use all sorts of topical ointments, from mastitis ointments to antibiotic ointments to holistic healing balms. Unless it is a prescribed ointment or has been recommended by a professional, don’t use it. A lot of the time, bacteria will just sit in the balm, and it will not assist in healing the skin at all. n Don’t clip without protecting. Clipping the affected area is a great thing to do. However, the area needs to be protected from the sun’s UV rays. By removing the horse’s hair and then allowing sun exposure, you are only provoking the condition.

RECOMMENDATION Ultimately, a skin biopsy is the gold standard care strategy for horses with pastern dermatitis. A skin biopsy requires sedation and can take out a hefty chunk of your wallet, but it is the best way to get a specific diagnosis. Having a specific diagnosis allows your vet to make the most informed decisions regarding a care and treatment plan. n SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

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GET UNDER HIS SKIN Your horse’s muscles do a lot more than just move him from A to B – discover how they work and how to keep them healthy

Muscles are the pistons of your horse’s body, firing away to create his movements and keeping his posture stable and pumping everything from food to waste products around his body. Hidden away as they are, it can be easy to underappreciate your horse’s marvellous muscles, but you wouldn’t have much of a horse at all without them. Our expert vet, Jane King, says: “Whatever discipline we use our horse for, from hacking to winning the Derby, we’re completely reliant on his muscular system for him to be able to complete the tasks we ask of him. So it’s up to us to do our best to look after those muscles to keep them firing on all cylinders.” We’ve asked Jane to explain what your horse’s muscles are made of, their jobs, and how you can help keep them healthy, boosting his overall well-being and helping him stay in tip-top condition.

OUR EXPERT: JANE KING is an equine vet who deals with a huge range of horses and ponies at the Westmorland Veterinary Group in Cumbria, which is a member of the XLVets group.

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THE SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES A WEIGHTY ISSUE Skeletal muscle doesn’t just do a lot of important jobs, it makes up a lot of your horse, providing around 40% of his body weight.

This diagram illustrates your horse’s superficial muscles, the ones necessary to power his movement. These make up just one group of the many different muscles your horse needs to live – one part of an extremely complex system. To get to grips with which muscles groups do what and to understand how his amazing system of muscles works, turn the page to discover what’s going on underneath your horse’s skin.

CORE, DEEP AND SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES Your horse’s core, deep and superficial muscles fall within the skeletal muscle category. The core muscles provide strength and coordination for balance, posture, control and weight-bearing. They include his thoracic sling (which supports his forehand between his front legs) and abdominal muscles. Deep muscles sit above the core muscles and also work to support your horse’s posture and stability. They affix directly to the bone and are often responsible for supporting individual joints, such as the hip. Superficial muscles sit above his deep muscles, just below his skin, and are the muscles which provide the power for movement. They’re split into bulky or sheet-like depending on their composition – bulky muscles such as the superficial gluteal muscles in the hindquarters can be as much as 25cm thick. Sheet-like muscles are thinner and cover larger areas, such as the abdominal oblique muscles, which lie over your horse’s entire abdomen.

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TYPES OF MUSCLE AND WHAT THEY DO Your horse’s body contains various types of muscle: skeletal, smooth, cardiac and ciliary. Skeletal muscles are under voluntary control and are striated (they have parallel lines or grooves on the surface). They’re responsible for movement, posture and locomotion, as well as breathing, eating, chewing, swallowing, shivering, grooming, facial expressions and blinking. Smooth muscles aren’t under voluntary control; instead, they function automatically. This type of muscle surrounds and is found in all internal tissues and organs, for example, the bladder, gut, womb, and blood vessels. Jane says: “Its function is usually moving things within the hollow structure it surrounds, such as moving food through the gut, having a wee, giving birth or moving blood around the body.” Other types of muscle, such as cardiac and ciliary, have very specific jobs. Cardiac muscle pushes blood in and out of the heart and is very strong and thick. It’s fatigue resistant, so it never gets tired, Skeletal muscles are responsible for all kinds of which is a good job as it beats around 100,000 locomotion, from galloping to jumping times a day! Ciliary muscles are found in the eyes and control a horse’s ability to focus on objects. They are weaker in horses than in other species, such as humans, so they find it harder to see objects clearly at close distances. Pictured right: Billie Hamption and HEY MICKEY during the recent Cross Country - Eventing Taranaki / NZPCA 2022 Champs. Image - Denise Flay Photography

HOW DO SKELETAL MUSCLES WORK?

Holding the head in a set position is an example of an isometric contraction.

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Skeletal muscles are made up of bundles of very narrow and long fibres, providing a striated appearance. They are usually attached to your horse’s skeleton at either end by tendons. Each muscle fibre (or cell) contains hundreds of smaller strands called myofibrils, which run the length of the cell and contract to cause movement. Jane says: “This contraction happens when thick (myosin) filaments in the myofibril slide over thin (actin) filaments in a ratchet-like action, triggered by nerve stimulation under the voluntary muscle control process.” Glucose and oxygen from the blood, and glycogen (glucose stored within the muscle), enable the production of a substance called ATP, which provides the energy for the contraction. Muscle contractions are either isometric or isotonic. Isometric contractions are when the muscle is working statically to maintain a position, and in time the muscle will start to tire and burn. Isotonic contractions cause movement and can be either concentric, where the muscle shortens to produce movement, or eccentric, where the muscle controls the movement, such as halting sharply.

CARING FOR HIS MUSCLES An exercise sheet will keep his muscles warm when it’s chilly.

In day-to-day care, keeping your horse’s muscles warm when it’s cold is vital, so always rug appropriately. If you’re considering clipping him, be honest about how much hair needs to come off for his work. If you do clip him out, use an exercise sheet in cold weather, and whenever you ride, start by allowing him time to stretch his muscles and warm up properly. Jane adds: “When you finish riding if you’ve been doing lots of hard work such as cantering or an intense schooling session, you need to walk to cool him down and let the lactic acid and other waste products leave his muscles. Allow him to stretch out and bring his muscle temperature down.”

AEROBIC VS. ANAEROBIC EXERCISE Respiration releases energy for cells from glucose, and can be aerobic, which requires oxygen, or anaerobic, which does not. When muscles are exercising really hard, the blood can’t supply oxygen fast enough, so the muscles rely on the anaerobic metabolism of glucose and glycogen, which is less efficient, so muscles tire more quickly.

PHYSIOTHERAPY CAN HELP “Horses are athletes who work hard and are prone to muscle injuries, so a good physio can help keep your horse on the road,” says Jane. “Physios may use different machines to treat muscle injury, but their most important tool is their hands, feeling for problem areas and massaging injured muscles and trigger points to relieve spasms.”

DIFFERENCES IN MUSCLE FIBRE TYPES All horses have muscle tissue made up of both slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibres. Slow-twitch fibres are used for slower work such as easy trail riding and some phases of endurance riding, and fast-twitch fibres are activated for sprint races and speed work such as show jumping. There are different types of skeletal muscle fibre, specific to the jobs they do. Every horse has a different mix, determined by his breed and genes. Slow-twitch, or Type I, fibres are highly oxidative, meaning they use aerobic metabolism to produce energy-generating ATP. These fibres are used for endurance and are said to be “fatigue-resistant” because they can reduce the toxic end products of metabolism, such as lactate. Fast-twitch fibres are powerful, contract quickly, and are paler as they have less myoglobin. They can produce energy with anaerobic respiration but tire more rapidly than slow-twitch. White muscle fibres work even faster and are found in large numbers in muscles which produce rapid, intense bursts of activity. They’re paler because there’s no myoglobin. They make ATP fuel rapidly but tire quickly when the glycogen stores run out. Jane says: “Think about the

white meat on your turkey breast (fasttwitch) and brown meat on the legs (slow twitch) – this shows the differences in muscle composition according to the jobs they do.” Fast-twitch, or Type II, fibres are subdivided into Type II A and Type II B fibres. The Type II A fibres are both high and low oxidative. These fibres can utilise both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to produce energy for work. Type II A fibres are used to maintain high speed or jumping. The Type II B fibres are low oxidative, meaning they are highly anaerobic. These fibres are used to give the horse speed.

Horses with more slow twitch muscle fibres will have greater stamina - ideal for endurance.

HOW MUSCLES WORK TOGETHER To move a joint or limb, muscles work in pairs – one muscle contracts (the agonist) while simultaneously another relaxes (the antagonist). These then co-ordinate with other sets of muscles, forming groups to create smooth movement. SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

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TRAINING MUSCLES A fitness or training programme which increases the amount of aerobic metabolism his muscles are capable of will mean your horse tires less quickly. It’ll also help keep his joints and core muscles strong and well-supported. When it comes to an effective training programme, planning and patience are critical, so build the intensity of the work slowly and factor in rest periods. Jane says: “Think of a pyramid – you need a good foundation, so spend a long time conditioning your horse with road work and hacking to condition his muscles and bones. The bigger the base of your pyramid, the higher the peak can be.” Your exercise programme will depend on the discipline you’re training for, but a varied programme will bring the most benefits whatever your eventual aim. Use different types of work to train different muscles and work at different paces on various surfaces, including grass and the arena. If your horse is usually fit and working hard, you may want to factor in an annual break to rest him. Traditionally, many horses would have been worked for a portion of the year, then given a complete break for several weeks or months, such as hunters who worked over the winter but were turned away in the summer. Jane says: “Many people now keep their horse in work all year, but it’s worth considering giving him some time off, as this will allow any subtle or unrecognised injuries to heal as well as provide a bit of rest and relaxation, which is as important for his mental health as it is for him physically.”

Creating a good diet plays a key role in supporting his muscles.

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The topline refers to the muscles that support the horse’s spine. They run from the horse’s neck to its hindquarters. A strong topline is important for a variety of reasons. It enhances your horse’s wellbeing, facilitates injury recovery, prevents further risk of injury and trains your horse for optimum performance.

Hill work is an excellent way to build topline under saddle. Riding up and down hills increases the activity of the muscles in the hindquarters, the back and the abdominal muscles. A slow trot or walk is going to be most beneficial in the early stages, then work up to a releaxed canter.

FEEDING FOR MUSCLE BENEFITS An effective feeding programme also plays a role in keeping your horse’s muscles in top nick. Sodium and potassium are required to create the chemical reaction at the nerve-muscle junction, instructing them to contract. Calcium is needed in the muscle cell to allow the contraction to happen. A horse who is exercising hard will lose sodium and potassium through his sweat, so he’ll need electrolytes in his diet to replace them – if he’s lacking in these, it’ll contribute to muscle fatigue. Other feeding considerations include ensuring his carbohydrate intake isn’t too high, as excess carbs increase glycogen levels within muscles, which can contribute to conditions such as tying up. Instead, a high fibre diet which includes vegetable oils will stand your horse (and his muscles) in good stead. Jane explains: “Your horse is a grazing animal which feeds little and often and is not designed to have a high carbohydrate grain diet. When horses are working hard, they need more energy in their feed than fibre alone can supply, and that’s where oils come in as an ideal energy source because of their high-calorie content.”

WHY VITAMIN E IS KEY Vitamin E deficiency has been linked to equine motor neurone disease, which causes muscle weakness and wastage. Poor diet or a lack of goodquality turnout can contribute to this condition, but it’s thankfully rare. Vitamin E can also aid muscle repair, and has anti-oxidant properties.

COMMON MUSCLE PROBLEMS Like ours, your horse’s muscles are prone to a range of problems – read on for Jane’s guide to the most common.

INJURIES Muscle injuries can have a vast range of causes, from a slip which causes a pulled muscle to problems resulting from external trauma. Knowing what’s normal for your horse is a real help in identifying such injuries, so spending time feeling his muscles when you’re grooming and looking out for changes or stiff or sore areas will help you keep tabs on things. If you spot signs of pain or discomfort but can’t find an apparent cause, it could be referred pain when the pain is located away from the area involved. If your horse has a bad fall, it can cause nerve damage, leading to muscle wastage as the muscle isn’t getting the signals it needs to work correctly – this is often seen in horses who have suffered pelvic fractures. If you notice muscle wastage across your horse’s back, think about whether he’s suffered an injury. Consider having his saddle checked to make it fits correctly, as any pinching or pressure points can cause nerve damage. Other muscle injuries include haematomas, which are swellings resulting from an injury (such as a kick). These can swell a lot and are similar to blood blisters in humans, with treatment options including drainage, massage, cold hosing and rest.

Get to know what’s normal for his body by regularly feeling his muscles.

BACTERIAL DISEASES The most commonly seen bacterial disease affecting muscles is tetanus. This is caused by a bacteria found in soil called Clostridium tetani. Your horse is particularly susceptible to this entering his body through contaminated puncture wounds, which don’t need to be big and can be easily missed. Also known as lockjaw, tetanus causes muscles to go into spasms and is usually fatal but is entirely preventable with a simple vaccine, usually given every two years. Another bacterial disease affecting muscles is a rare condition called atypical myopathy, which attacks the muscles’ ability to generate energy, leading to stiffness, tremors and collapse, and is often fatal. Jane says: “This is an unusual disease recognised in the last few years in the Netherlands and the UK. It’s seen more in the autumn, more often in horses who are out all the time, especially in fields on a hill with trees and water. Recent research suggests it could be linked to clostridial disease, but more study is needed.” Botulism is another bacterial condition affecting muscles. Caused by Clostridium botulinum causes flaccid paralysis of the muscles, including those of the gut, meaning the horse is unable to eat or swallow and is usually fatal. It’s usually seen in horses who have eaten contaminated silage or haylage, so be careful not to feed forage contaminated by soil, moulds, or dead animals’ carcasses, such as rats and birds.

INHERITED CONDITIONS One of the most common muscle problems Jane sees is azoturia or tying up, where the hindquarters muscles stiffen and tense up, causing severe pain, a stiffened gait, reluctance to move and other symptoms including profuse sweating, pawing at the ground and straining to urinate. Jane says: “It’s now recognised that this condition isn’t, as was thought, caused by a build-up of lactic acid, but a range of causes, including exhaustion following extreme exercise particularly in unfit horses, an overload of carbohydrate without sufficient exercise and inadequate vitamin E, selenium or electrolytes in the diet.”

This condition has several different syndromes called exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER). Sporadic ER happens in any breed, age or sex of horse and is generally a oneoff. The two primary genetic disorders which cause tying up are recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) and polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). RER is more often seen in mares, Thoroughbreds and more highly-strung horses and is thought to be down to abnormalities in calcium regulation within the muscle cells. PSSM is found in more than 20 breeds, including Appaloosas and Warmbloods and is characterised by excessive storage of glycogen within the muscle cell – if this isn’t used up by exercise, an abnormal polysaccharide can form within the cells, and although the precise mechanism isn’t known, the two combined could leave the muscle more susceptible to damage. If your horse ties up while you’re riding, get off but don’t force him to move – this can exacerbate muscle damage and is very painful. Get transport to take him home, and once there, rug him up and call your vet. If the muscle damage is severe, myoglobin passing into the blood can damage his kidneys and will turn his urine port wine coloured, and he may need a drip and intensive nursing while he recovers. n SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE -

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