We asked some of Australia’s most successful eventers…
WAYNE ROYCROFT
Where did you find your first good horse?
“On the end of my bed, on about my tenth birthday. There was a blue ribbon and on it a note: I hope you and Cindy have a wonderful life together. And I went down to the stables where I found Cindy with a blue ribbon around her neck. She won everything – Pony and Galloway jumping classes. She was bred up at Swan Hill. At every Royal Show, she would win three out of five competitions. When we started, the Pony and Galloway jumping was open, so we were competing against the top adult riders.”
Wayne after a win at Sydney Royal with Cindy
Looking for an eventer – what are the things you are looking for?
“Look at the two-star horses at Adelaide this year, really beautiful horses, and that’s what I look for, a really nice shaped horse, a lovely head, a nice eye. These are the things I learnt from Laurie Morgan, and my Mum, the eye is really important. Good legs, sound. Nowadays it has to be a good mover. You have to have a trot that will give you an 8 straight away, otherwise you are not in the run. The canter you can work on, but if you can’t get that trot to get the marks early in your test, then you are in trouble, and the judges won’t let go. Centre line, halt, salute, move away at a trot, not a walk, and if that is done straight, you’ll probably get an 8 and then the judges are away.”
“I would always try to ride the horse and feel what it was like, because they don’t always look so brilliant. I think the best horse I had was Laurenson, not a beautiful horse, but a beautiful mover, great jump and a good temperament. That sort of horse would still be successful today.”
You could still do it on a Thoroughbred?
“The right Thoroughbred I promise you, could do it. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it with a Warmblood. Look at Tic Toc, half Warmblood, he ran as long a course as we had, toughest course we had, did a good test, but he wouldn’t survive today because of his jumping. We can’t go through the agony of a horse that can have six rails on the final day.”
Would you care that the horse had raced?
“No. But I hate it because their experience in racing is each time they go out they get their bottom belted, and I think that is wrong. That’s why the girl jockeys are doing so well, they don’t have to beat up on them, they just ride them beautifully. It is a mistake for the stewards to make the boys use the whip, that’s wrong because every time those horses go to the track they know they are going to get their bottoms smacked. That experience for a racehorse is very bad, so you’ve got to cope with that because they are going to get a fear rush when they get in any atmosphere. Everything else about the racehorse is great. They are good to float, they are good to stable, they are good to clip, they have had a lot of experiences, and if they come from a decent stable, the good experiences out-weigh the bad.”
“The next thing that has to happen, and this is what Gill Rolton did so well with Peppermint Grove, she loved her horse and took care of her horse, and always ended up with a horse that was ready to do the job.”
ANDREW HOY
Where did you find your first really good horse?
“Davey – the horse I rode in 1978! I have so much respect now for my early horses because my knowledge was so limited then. I found Davey by chance, my dad phoned up about another horse, and we were told about Davey. It took four weeks before we went to see him, and another couple of weeks to make the decision. I was hoping he would make my first A Grade Pony Club horse.”
Andrew and Davey, winners at Burghley in 1978
Where would you go looking for your next really good horse?
“That is so difficult to answer. If I had a million Australian dollars, what really good four-star horse could I go and buy? They are just not available. Then you have to be able to ride them, and every rider has their own style and technique, and it takes a while to develop a relationship with a horse, so even if you got one, it might not work.”
Where would you go looking for a prospect?
“I’ve got a lovely young horse at the moment, Basmati, a six-year-old. I think he is potentially a world-class horse. I found him in Germany, he is a Trakehner – again by chance. The head of the Trakehner studbook said, I know of a horse that could be for sale, they are preparing it for an auction, but they might sell it before the auction if you are interested.”
Basmati – potentially world class. Photo: Focus on Horses
What are the qualities that make a horse a good prospect?
“Number one soundness. Number two, a good brain that you can work with – and then natural ability.”
How do you assess ‘brain’?
“You have to get a feeling when you walk towards a horse. And when you work with a horse, observe its body language and how receptive it is. If it has been in training with another rider, and it has a few traits you don’t like, then you have to work out if this is a result of that training, or is this something in the horse’s mind. Horses are very straightforward to work with, you’ve got to provide them with a good formula and develop that formula to build a combination between the two of you…”
So you are not a breed snob, you’ll take anything as long as it is German?
Andrew chuckles. “It doesn’t have to be German. I’ve done some coaching in Australia recently, and there are some lovely horses here. Horses are made, there are many many wonderful young horses and even when the riders have the best will in the world, sometimes they don’t let those horses reach their full potential.
CHRISTINE BATES
“My very first good horse, Darling Double Sun, I had as a young rider, he was a few spot Appaloosa. He was purchased from Sharon Slater, the showjumper. Sharon had been associated with him since he was two and had done a bit of Western on him. He was not your typical great eventer, but I took him to two-star level, and I think I ran third in the young riders at Naracoorte back in the days when that was a really big thing to do. He taught me a lot. He was probably one of the scopiest animals I have ridden, but he wasn’t super fast.”
Darling Double Sun, a winner at Naracoorte
If you are looking for your next super horse, where do you look?
“I’ve been lucky at the moment that all the horses I have, have just ended up with me. Beth Turner bred Adelaide Hill, and I think he was offered to a few other riders and I was the only one who said, yes! I’ll be fine, I’m married to a horse-breaker. Ned O’Reilly, I’ve been very lucky to have Jacinta Kinsella come on as an owner, thanks to my good mate, Kevin McNab – when he went overseas, he sent Jacinta my way. I think Ned was always considered, ‘the little bay horse’, the one that got left at home, but right from the first month of riding him, I was sure this was a really serious horse.”
Adelaide Hill, just ended up with Christine
How do you know, what do they have to have?
“I think as I’ve got older, they have to be a really good jumper. There is a feel that I like, the horses I jump, are very strong off the ground. They are not only scopey and careful, but they have power. If you look at Ned, he’s just a little fine Thoroughbred but he has this amazing engine. I think to really go to that four-star level, they’ve got to have an engine.”
SAM GRIFFITHS
Where did you find your first good horse?
“I was lucky enough, my older brother rode quite a bit, and Hosun was a hand-me-down horse. He was a super super horse for me, we were second in Gawler Advanced. He was a very forgiving horse. I look back now and I know I made a lot of mistakes, perhaps I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was so forgiving, and it grew my confidence. That’s what you need when you are starting out, a horse that gives you confidence.”
Hosun, a hand-me-down
Now if you were going looking for a top horse, where would you start looking?
“They are really hard to find. One thing I really look at is the breeding. I definitely want at least 50% Thoroughbred in the breeding. My search for horses has taken me all over the world, quite a few have been bred in Europe. There are nice horses in Australia, but what stops us a little is the exchange rate, and the logistics of getting them to the other side of the world. I look in Europe and Ireland but they are hard to find and when you do find one, they tend to be expensive.”
What are you looking for?
“One of the first things I look at, apart from their type, is that the horse is athletic. I love horses that when they trot past you, you can hardly hear them trot, I love that, it tells me the horse is an athlete. If they are athletic and they have a good mind, then you are really on your way. To be a top event horse they need a whole host of attributes and that’s not easy to find in a horse – they have got to be able to gallop, they have to be good jumpers, and particularly these days, be very good on the flat because it is getting so competitive.
Are you happy to take on a young horse or do you want them already going?
“I definitely enjoy producing young horses. To get a horse to four-star, you need a real partnership with them, getting a horse when it is young is good because you can develop that partnership, and that’s where I’ve had most success when I have had the horse as a youngster.
Sam’s WEG rider, Paulank Brockagh
What attracted you about your current frontliner, Paulank Brocklagh?
“When I first saw the horse, I thought, she’s a nice mare, but nothing exceptional. She was an example of the more I did with her, the more I realized how hard she tried – she gives it absolutely everything. On top of that, she is really talented. She is a really scopey jumper, and careful. Mainly she tries so hard and that’s an amazing attribute.”
This article first appeared in the February 2016 issue of THM.