FROM THE ARCHIVES
Since this story was written in 2006, young Waca has gone on to shine as a Big Tour horse with his talented young rider, Alexis Hellyer, but ten years ago, he was ready to start with the assistance of the now US based pair, Boyd and Silva Martin…
With Boyd and Silva Martin and a young Waca
Waca is the only foal we’ve ever had who has arrived at a civilised hour. Most foals wait til three in the morning, not this little guy. Right as local Vet, Kirsty Tyler came through the gate on the dot of 5 pm, his mum, Maisy went down and into labour. Fifteen minutes later out popped a bright orange baby with a distinctive blaze, and before his mother had even got up, he was marching around the box, not a foal but a perfect miniature horse.
It was Maisy’s first foal and she was puzzled for a second or two, but little Waca had no such qualms, he dived for the milk bar and connected first go, and Maisy realised her mission in life.
Actually Maisy should have been a performance horse. She was one of our first frozen babies, by the great Dutch sire, Ahorn. She was a super moving foal but as a yearling, reared up in the paddock, fell and damaged her neck and back, and although these days you probably have to know to look for it, never moved exactly right again.
Bred to Weltmeyer, she went into foal to frozen semen more or less straight away (thank you John Hyland), and her foal showed the best features of both his parents.
Ahorn was himself a great showjumper (like his famous dad, Nimmerdor) but he is also famous in Holland for producing progeny with great type (perhaps a legacy from his Ladykiller mother). Maisy was out of our wonderful Thoroughbred mare, Cava Lass, who bred to racehorses produces racehorses, and bred to performance horses, produces wonderful riding horses.
Whatever the critics say, Weltmeyer has proven himself over and over again, one of the great Warmblood sires, and he – and his W line relatives – are largely responsible for getting rid of the Warmblood ‘out behind’ syndrome that was largely a result of the driving and agricultural heritage.
We were very happy when Boyd Martin decided to buy Waca, even happier when we learnt that Boyd’s partner, Silva Stigler was going to ride him. Silva is simply the best-trained dressage rider in the country, and it shows.
The reason he got the name Waca, was that the radio outside the stable where he was born was broadcasting an Australia / New Zealand cricket test at the WACA ground in Perth – and when you are a Weltmeyer fan, after a while names beginning with ‘W’ get fairly hard to find! Although his mother is a good-sized mare by Ahorn, who stands 169 cms (which is not far short of 17 hands) and Weltmeyer has usually bred us horses around 16.2/16.3. Waca is smaller than that.
Still he and Silva make a nice enough fit and she certainly doesn’t look too big on him.
Boyd Martin broke him in as a late 2 year old. Boyd bases his breaking methods on the ‘keep it simple’ philosophy:
“I don’t use any fancy gadgets, or gear, or running lines, ropes – none of that. With a good horse that has been handled properly as a foal, I don’t believe there is any need for such measures. My biggest rule is that they are forward and straight and not in a rush.”
“Waca was very well handled as a young horse and very quiet, so he wasn’t afraid of having someone in the yard with him. First he had to get comfortable with the tools of the trade: a girth, the saddlecloth, and a bit in his mouth. That really only took a day or two.”
“Then I sent him forward in the round yard, without the lunge line on, just sent him forward with the whip behind him. Not actually touching him but just encouraging him to go forward, and once he was comfortable with that, I just attached the lunge line to his halter, and that is the beginning of the lunge lessons.”
“Usually it takes me a few days to get on their back. The critical thing here is that you don’t actually get on when they are about to buck. With Waca, he’s pretty quiet, and being a Warmblood he was more relaxed about things going on around him, so once he was lunging comfortably with the saddle and bridle on him in the round yard, then I lunged him in the Indoor, where there is lots of action, other horses, coaches screaming… At the same time, I was putting my foot in the stirrup iron, pushing a little weight on it, then creeping up, lying on my stomach across his back – the big thing is to take your time, so when you do get on, and sit on his back, it is not a big deal.”
“Once I was on his back I was just walking and doing a little trot, then I turned him out in the paddock to enjoy life again. I didn’t bother cantering – so by the time he went back to the paddock, he was more or less broken in but he was still very green – just sort of steering at walk and trot.”
“Waca was never a problem. If you know what you are doing and they haven’t been frightened as young horses, there shouldn’t be any drama. You only run into trouble if you have been a bit gung ho and jumped on too early. With Waca it was like he was broken in already.”
“Twelve months later I brought him back in and got him ready for Silva to ride. She is still a bit nervous of hopping on them, she watched me ride Waca for the first five days until he was cantering around the arena, and quite comfortable with me getting on and off, without lunging him first.”
“I took him out on the road and got him used to being ridden outdoors. Then I’d ride him for a while, and then Silva would pop on and be very lady like, and day by day, take over. By the time she started riding him, I basically had Waca going forward and straight. Not in a round frame yet, but the two most important parts of my job are to have the horse going forward from both legs and in a straight line. Then it was time for Silva to ride him and deal with issues like roundness, softness, all that dressage stuff.”
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