Photos by Julie Wilson
Being up on the Queensland circuit has generally been lovely, but my biggest mistake was bringing up six horses. I don’t know what got into me because it has been very hard work for me, and my one girl, Mikhaela Roos who works her little butt off, and is great, but next time I am only going to bring about four.
The first show we did was Gatton Ag show. Now Gatton Ag show and the World Cup are both on the show grounds, right in the middle of town, which is lovely. The people – both the Show society people and the World Cup people, which was basically Equestrian Queensland – do a wonderful job. Clem and Sharlene Smith are the major organisers of the jumping and do an awesome job. The caretaker on the grounds, Cam MacDonald makes sure that the grounds are as good as possible. The tracks at Gatton were by Graeme Watts, and Wattsy always does a great job. It is an ideal place for a winter break. The Queensland people are just so welcoming and friendly.
It wasn’t so nice on the day we arrived, it was blowing a gale with a wind chill factor of minus 24. You were about to turn around and drive home, it was so dreadful and the first thing I had to do was ride two feral young ones I’d brought up, they needed to get out. One is a nice Vivant horse and the other is my stallion, Dynamite Bay, by Casall. As I drove up, I was terrified at the prospect of having to ride them, but fortunately, they were angelic, and the show went well. The Grand Prix there was won by Merrick Ubank on Atlantinus.
Then we went on to Nambour, because this year they were running the Queensland State Titles, and as I was the defending title-holder, which I won at Gatton last year, they were very keen for me to compete. It was on the Monday, Gatton ended on the Saturday, so we traveled up to that part of the world, which also near where Deb Heindl of Bellhaven Stud lives, and she owns two of the horses I am riding. We stayed at her place, and went to the Nambour show, which had been running over the weekend, but the main day was the Monday.
Again a very good committee in action. Paul Raymont, who is Billy’s dad, is the organizer. The ground is unbelievably good, one of the best grounds in the country. It was a solid 1.50 to 1.60m track, but on excellent footing and plenty of room. It rode like a 1.40m track.
He had seven clear rounds, so they came back for a jump-off. The horses jumped super, it was a big ring, easy to get to all the fences. The jump off was very good. I won it on Congo by 0.2 of a second, from Stuart Jenkins and Fairview Aliquidam. Everyone was very happy – especially me.
Vicki & Congo
The next show was at Kilcoy, the Glenhaven Park show. The team there – the Kennedy/Hamood clan – does it with such pizzazz and style. They’ve got a great sponsors’ tent, they’ve got a lot of trade stands. It is a very sharp, well-run show. The commentary is great, it is a really classy show. The only problem with it is the footing, which because it is the show grounds, and not their place, they are not in a position to spend a lot of money getting the footing right. It’s black soil and it gets a little hard. They did try to aerate it… but.
The first year they had it up there, they’d had enough rain, so it wasn’t too bad. Last year it was very poor, and this year, despite their efforts, it was not as good as it should be. The tracks were great – David Sheppard in the main ring, John Wilsher in the second ring, he did a good job, although his arena was a little small. I don’t know why.
Gabi Kuna and Cristalline
They had Gold, Silver, Bronze tours, it was a good contest, but really the best horse on the grounds was Cristalline and Gabi Kuna, they jumped awesome. I thought they were quite silly to start her in the Gold Tour, but I don’t think the mare touched a rail, she just looked the most outstanding horse and she is only seven! Gabi rides her beautifully. It is a big ask, it’s her only horse, Gabi came off that bubbly little Jimmy Choo, but they do look wonderful together.
The winner of the Gold Tour Grand Prix was Billy Raymont on Anton, from Chugg and Cera Cassiago, with Congo and I, third.
It was a good show, apart from the footing, a wonderful show. I believe the plans now are to have that show on their own place, where they can develop the facility.
Then it was time to come back to Gatton for the World Cup show, which has been there for five or six years now, so they are more of a well-oiled machine. Graeme Watts’ courses were again outstanding, the ground was good. David Sheppard did their second ring, again great tracks. The stables are good, it’s good to be there.
Stuart Jenkins and Fairview Animation
The World Cup was a great class, a COC (Certificate of Capability) class, so there were a couple of 1.60m verticals, a big enough track. There were no clears in the first round, six or seven on four faults. Second round was a great jump off – twelve in it. The winner was Dave Cameron and the mare Dyranta, great round against the clock. Chugg was second on Cassiago, Stewie Jenkins on Fairview Animation, third. James Arkins on Da Vinci’s Pride was fourth, Robert Moffat was fifth on Veduka, and I was sixth on Congo.
This show was also the first of the State of Origin Team series, another baby of Graeme Watts, I think it is a great idea, and it was a really good class. The teams were based on where you were first registered with EA. If it had been actual state where you were born, I’d have been on the Victorian team, however I was NSW.
Brooke Langbecker and Flowervale Diamond
Three teams, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. It was a hard fought battle, even though South Australia was a bit behind after the first round. Queensland and NSW even-stevens after the first round. In the second round, we were edging ahead. Chugg riding Cassiago jumped a great clear round first up, he was double clear. James Arkins didn’t go so well on Vigilante, my Congo was a couple of seconds faster than Stuart Jenkyns and Animation. I was a couple of seconds quicker than Clem Smith and Delilah. We were even coming to the last pair of riders.
Lachlan Manuel and Nintendo
Then it all started to get quite dramatic, because Billy Raymont was their fourth rider on Anton, the stallion he has been going very well early on. He came out on Anton, and he said, I can’t bend him to the right. He asked the selectors, can I use my second horse? That was Finch Farm Alaska, bred by David Finch, and Billy blew us out of the water on Alaska. Times had been like 61 for Stewie, 59 for Chugg, I went 58, and Clem about 61, we were about five seconds up until Billy and Alaska went around in 50 seconds and blew us away.
Olivia Hamood and Carado GHP
Unfortunately we didn’t have our chef on the grounds, that was an administrative mistake, so Dave didn’t know when he went into the ring that he had to go quite as fast as he needed to go. If he’d done a 55, we would have won, but he thought a clear round was going to seal the deal. So we lost, they won. I’m also a bit critical of our selectors that they didn’t send the chef, and that they left Gabi Kuna out of the team when her form had been outstanding, OUTSTANDING!
Still it was a great class.
We then discovered that Billy’s horse, Anton, had been given a Hendra vaccination. You did what!!! He’d never had a reaction before, and of course, the horse reacted, didn’t he. Anton was quite sore and sorry for himself on that day, Friday, Saturday the horse had off, Sunday he brought it out to warm hm up, horse wasn’t right, and the horse is still quite unwell. He couldn’t put his head down, the classic reaction horses have been getting which the vets tell you – give them some bute for a couple of days. Thanks, we can’t do that.
This is a horse that is potential Rio horse, and Billy showed in the class that he is a team player, he did a fantastic job on Alaska, a green horse, fantastic rider. He deserves all the encouragement we can offer in this part of the world, and yet, he is being mucked around by this stupid Hendra stuff. I don’t know how the horse is now but it is a joke, why are they doing this? Why?
Now the circus moves to Caboolture for the World Cup show, then it is home for a holiday!
World Cup Winners, Dave Cameron and RR Dyranta