Stuart Tinney is regarded as one of the world’s great cross country riders and has shown for the past two decades that it is possible to compete from an Australian base and take on the best in the world. Stuart competed at two Olympic Games on Jeepster, Athens, and Sydney, where they were the best placed combination in the gold medal winning Australian team.

He has competed at the WEG four times, in Rome where he was 9th on Jeepster, in Jerez, 16th on Ava, in Lexington for 8th on Vettori, and Caen where he was nineth on Pluto Mio, the horse he has been selected on to ride in Rio.

While still maintaining a large training stable with the help of his wife, Karen and two daughters, Stuart  continues to develop his role as a course builder, sitting out  Sydney Three Day 2015, to concentrate on his one-star and two-star courses, what did he set out to achieve?

“I think what I try to do, certainly with the one-star, but also with the two-star, is remember you are still training the horses at that level. At three-star, you are starting to test them… I think with educating one-star horses, you have got to start introducing them to what they are going to see. You start with accuracy questions, arrowheads, apexes – I try to help them by framing the jumps, to encourage them to jump and not run out. I’m trying to help them learn, but I also don’t want to make it that easy that everyone jumps around clear. You want to test them slightly, but be encouraging and teaching. It is a bit the same with the two-star, it gets a little tougher, I make the lines and angles harder but I am still encouraging them to jump, not teaching them to run out.”

“That’s my philosophy on those lower grades, and then when you get to three-star, four-star, you are testing the training, the horse’s education and honesty.”

Stuart completed his run up to Rio in Australia at Werribee with a win in the CCI*** on Warhawk, whiile his daughter,

Gemma took out the  on Annapurna, who is out of Pluto Mio’s dam, but while Pluto is by Daly K, Annapurna is by the Donnerhall son, Donnerblitz (out of a mare by the good jumping sire, Landadel). Stuart and Pluto were second in the CIC*** behind Rio team-mate, Shane Rose and CP Qualified, and once again Stuart was looking forward to a place in an Aussie Eventing team:

“I hope we get to go, that’s number one. He’s going better than he’s ever gone in his life, I’m really pleased with him. I’ve just changed the way I ride him, asking a little bit more of him and he’s really stepped up to the occasion. Hopefully we’ll get at chance to have a go at Rio.”

Are you planning to join Shane at Aachen CIC in the runup?

“No, I pretty much want to do what I did in the runup to the WEG in Normandy, get there, just train a bit. He performed well in Caen, so I’ll be doing much the same.”

Did you think the CIC track was test enough for you, or don’t you criticize course builders now you are one yourself…

Stuart is laughing – “No, I think I try to tell the truth. The track was good. CICs are always difficult time wise for Pluto, he is much more of a three day event horse, because he has such a wonderful gallop. The track was good enough, certainly the jump into the first water, very early in the course, was as big as you’ll get anywhere for a fence into water. There were some nice lines, no I thought it was a nice track.”

You must be pleased with your young horse, Warhawk, winning the CCI?

“He’s lovely, he’s just such a nice horse to deal with and be around and to train. I was thrilled with him. We went all the straight routes everywhere, no problems.”

Are you looking over your shoulder, you might get pushed out of the team for Tokyo…

“If you are talking about Gemma. If I’m going to be pushed out of the team by anyone, that would be a good option. She’s riding the mare really well, they get on together. That was a qualifier she needed to move up the grades, hopefully onward and upward to that combination.”

www.tinneyeventing.com