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TB's Off The Track

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 May 2016 at 4:49pm

Em O'Connell and Off the Track gelding Moonlight Park Foxtrot

Foxtrotting to Dressage success Off the Track

James Tzaferis@Jtzaf

10:50am

, (

Em O’Connell has heard it all about thoroughbreds. That they are hot and crazy. That they are tense and lack presence in the arena. That she’s wasting her time riding one if she wants to make it as an elite dressage rider.

So why, as one of the state’s most exciting young talents, is she persisting with a retired racehorse in an equestrian discipline that, at the higher levels, is almost exclusively the domain of the purpose-bred warmblood?

The first reason is that she was too intelligent to buy into the typical stereotype of the thoroughbred. The second is much simpler and something that most horse owners can relate to.

“I really fell for him,” O’Connell said of her 14-year-old thoroughbred Moonlight Park Foxtrot.

“As much as it’s easy to fall into the mindset of not giving horse a chance based on the reputation of the breed, a lot depends on the rider and how far they are willing to push the boundaries.

“He’s a got a great temperament and he really tries to please so when you get him to understand what you want he’ll give you 100%.

“He is very quick to learn and you only have to teach him something once for him to understand and try it the next time he’s asked to do it.”

A son of American stallion El Moxie, Moonlight Park Foxtrot raced as Sir Moxie and had a nine-start career for Ballarat trainer Greg Mance.

While he retired from the track a maiden in 2005, connections had seen enough talent in the galloper to warrant a start in the Group 3 Debonair Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, albeit a race he jumped at odds of $101 and was well-beaten by top-line performers including Lieutenant and Barely A Moment.

Upon retirement, he was taken through the grades by another rider, Caitlin Scott, before O’Connell purchased Moonlight Park Foxtrot just over two years ago.

“My previous horse was a thoroughbred and when I came back from riding overseas I told myself that I wasn’t going to get a thoroughbred,” she said.

“I fell into that generalised headspace thinking that thoroughbreds aren’t made for the dressage ring.

“Caitlin Scott owned him at that stage but she didn’t have a lot of time so she said I could take him on loan and I thought it was a great opportunity because I knew the horse and I liked his temperament.

“A lot of the credit had to go with Caitlin because she took him from Pony Club all the way to the FEI levels.”

There are four standardised FEI levels in dressage, of which Prix St George is the introductory international level that O’Connell and Moonlight Park Foxtrot are currently contesting.

With aspirations to compete at the sport’s highest level, many are surprised that Moonlight Park Foxtrot has got this far and have questioned whether he is the horse to carry O’Connell to glory.

While she admits there are elements of the FEI tests that the gelding finds challenging, the Macedon-based rider credits the imposing Off the Track horse with her own progression in the saddle.

“If I’m honest, as we get into these higher levels there are some movements that he struggles with,” she said.

“But with him, I’ve got a horse with a really good temperament, a really trainable brain and I can trust him when I’m out because he’s got no dirt and a really lovable personality.

“For me, at my stage of my riding career, that’s really important because he’s teaching me a lot at these higher levels.”

“I’ve had many people question what stallion he is by and when I tell them he is a thoroughbred by El Moxie they are often quite surprised.

And while there are challenges there is also a great deal of pride and, with several solid seasons under their belt, a sense of optimism that Moonlight Park Foxtrot can continue to silence the doubters. 

“I’ve been told by so many high level riders that sometimes there are horses that get to the top of the sport and you wouldn’t have picked it,” O’Connell said.

“Maybe he is one of those horses.”


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 May 2016 at 10:29pm
I remember this guy, Fran Houlahan trained him Big smile

Marwood and Tarawera, pictured at an event in 2015 (Image: Tazzie Eggins)

Marwood turns attention to Tarawera at Melbourne

James Tzaferis@Jtzaf

10:25am

His mount might lack the experience of many of its CCI1* rivals but Seumas Marwood is adamant he’s not heading to Werribee to make up the numbers at next month’s Saddleworld Melbourne International 3 Day Event (MI3DE).

Marwood will partner former topline racehorse Tarawera in what will only be the gelding’s third career start at 1* level, having qualified for the MI3DE via performances at Heytesbury and Woady Yaloak in recent weeks.

Such is the regard in which he holds the 10-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway that Marwood is quietly confident he can figure in the finish of Australia’s premier 1* class at Werribee Park over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

“He only just completed his second one-star event last weekend to qualify for a start at Melbourne but I’m really happy with him,” Marwood said.

“I don’t do a three day event just to give them a run and I wouldn’t be taking this guy to Werribee if I didn’t think we could win.

“If this horse performs at his best, nothing will touch him.”

Tarawera’s transition into eventing, an equestrian discipline in which riders rely heavily on their horse’s jumping ability during cross country and show jumping, will not come as a surprise to punters that followed the gelding’s racing career.

Initially trained by Paul Messara before being transferred to the Mornington yard of Fran Houlahan and Brian Jonhston, the gelding was a revelation as a jumper, particularly over the larger steeplechase obstacles.

As a four-year-old, Tarawera broke his jumping maiden at Warrnambool, before going on to claim the $100,000 Australian Steeplechase (3900m) and $100,000 Crisp Steeplechase (3800m) in an all-conquering 2010 season.

Retired in 2012 into the care of Racing Victoria Acknowledged Retrainer Katie Ramsay, who initially tried the gelding as a show horse (pictured below), Tarawera’s superior jumping skills were the catalyst for his sale to Marwood in mid-2014.

“He’s been a very long-term project to get to where he is today because when we first got him he was very spooky but to be honest it’s something about him that I like,” he said.

“He is such a lovely horse and with confidence and trust I think he’ll go a long way.

“He is a very physically sound horse and, even though he is 10 and we’ll keep him at this level for the rest of the season, I’m confident that he can get to three star pretty quickly.”

The rise of Tarawera comes only weeks after Marwood’s star Warmblood mare Wild Oats, a horse that took him to Europe in 2015, sustained a career-ending injury at the Sydney International Horse Trials.

But the opportunity to focus on the development of Tarawera as his next elite eventer over the coming months and years will be a welcome return to the thoroughbred, a breed on which Marwood has built his reputation over several decades.

“I held an owner-trainer license for a short time and funnily enough the horse I won a race with went on to be a three star eventer,” Marwood said.

“Another one of my previous four star horses was one of David Hayes’ former horses that was repatriated here after a racing career in Hong Kong.

“He’s 30-odd now and he’s still living a happy and healthy life at home with us, looking after our weanlings.

“It’s just nice to be on a thoroughbred that you can put your foot down and really ask to go.

“This guy (Tarawera) has a huge stride and he just covers the ground so easily out on a cross country course.”

Tarawera, who competes as Kaptivation, is among more than 70 retired thoroughbred racehorses that will compete across the five elite classes at the Saddleword Melbourne International 3 Day Event.

As a major sponsor of the event, Racing Victoria’s Off the Track program, with support from the Victoria Racing Club, will provide awards for the best performed retired racehorses in each class of competition.

More information about the MI3DE is available here.


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Ruadhan and Jessica Forth

Retired Ruadhan ready to impress

James Tzaferis@Jtzaf 1:08pm
,

On weight of numbers and wins, Ballarat-based horseman Darren Weir is the state’s biggest racehorse trainer with thousands of starters and hundreds of winners each season.

But for every Group 1 champion, there are hundreds of horses that, for reasons often relating to loss of form or injury, don’t make it on the track and are retired into equestrian and pleasure careers every year.

It’s no surprise then that three of the 72 retired racehorses contesting this weekend’s Saddleworld Melbourne International 3 Day Event (MI3DE) are Weir stable graduates, including Testa Rossa gelding Ruadhan who will tackle the Junior CCI1* class for Pentland Hills teen Jessica Forth.

Like hundreds of other horses that she has placed into a second career, Weir stable employee Lee Purchase orchestrated Ruadhan’s sale to Forth, who was in the market for a larger horse to take her through the eventing grades.

“I was ready to move off ponies and ride at a higher grade so we were looking for something a bit bigger,” Forth said.

“I was told he was a quiet thoroughbred and that I could go and have a look if I was interested.

“It was daunting at first because I was coming off a 13hh pony so it was quite a jump to begin riding a 16hh thoroughbred but I haven’t looked back.”

Ruadhan retired from racing in 2011 following a moderately successful 22-start career for Weir.

A five-time winner with the likes of Damien Oliver and Craig Williams in the saddle, Ruadhan became known for his amenable temperament and laid-back nature both on the ground and under saddle.  

Those traits were the motivation for the gelding’s sale into the young yet capable hands of Forth who said both she and Ruadhan had been able to develop and learn together as their partnership had strengthened.  

“We’ve both been able to grow together and as much as I’ve educated him in his new career, he has taught me a lot about riding as well,” she said.

“He is very trusting and very brave and whatever I ask, he’s willing to give it a go.

“The way he has been going lately, our chances at Melbourne are looking good and he is peaking at the right time.”

The MI3DE begins this Friday with the opening phase of competition, dressage, at the Werribee National Equestrian Centre before continuing on Saturday (dressage), Sunday (cross country) and Monday (show jumping).

In an effort to continue to drive demand for thoroughbreds in equestrian, Racing Victoria, via its Off the Track program, will provide lucrative awards for the Best Performed Retired Racehorse in each of the five classes of competition.


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Gotta Take Care and Kirsty McMahon

Taking Care of Off the Track career

James Tzaferis@Jtzaf

4:21pm

He was a much-loved superstar on the racetrack and early indications suggest Gotta Take Care’s post-racing career will be similarly spectacular.

The former Darren Weir-trained hurdler, who retired last year after a successful 79-start racing career that netted more than $1 million in prizemoney for connections, has been transitioned into an equestrian career by Weir stable employee Kirsty McMahon.

Despite a slow start to his re-education, McMahon has been thrilled with the gelding’s positive attitude that has laid the foundations for a seamless progression into several riding disciplines.

“He hasn’t done a lot since he retired because I broke my leg and was out of action for a few months,” McMahon said.

“I didn’t get on him until December so it’s been a slow start but I’m really happy with how he’s coming along.

“He’s probably the most level headed horse you could find.”

A son of Rubiton that broke his maiden over 1800m at Mildura in 2009, Gotta Take Care assumed the title of Australia’s premier hurdler for several seasons courtesy of three consecutive victories in the $100,000 Brendan Dreschler Hurdle (3200m) at Bendigo (pictured below).

Gotta Take Care

He also posted wins in the Australian Hurdle (3400m) at Sandown, the Yalumba Hurdle (3800m) at Oakbank, the Kevin Lafferty Hurdle (3600m) and Galleywood Hurdle (3200m), both at Warrnambool.

McMahon said that jumping ability has already translated into a talent at pony club, where he delicately accounts for the more technical show jumping and cross country obstacles placed in front of him.

“He’s started hunting and he’s an absolute gem, he has hounds running around and other horses galloping past and nothing phases him,” she said.

“He’s also been to a few pony club rallies where he’s done novelties, show jumping and cross country and he really does show that jumping ability he had on the track.

“He’s very sensible in everything he does and he feels like he’s been doing it forever.”

When Gotta Take Care retired into McMahon’s care, he joined another well-known jumps horse in retirement, Group 2 Perth Cup (3200m) and Brierly Steeplechase (3450m) champion Cats Fun (pictured below right, next to Gotta Take Care).

Now 13, the former Jarrod McLean-trained gelding is also getting a taste for multiple equestrian disciplines and was successful at only his second horse trials start in Warrnambool earlier this year.

“Cats had his first Horse Trials start earlier this year and then won his class at his next event in Warrnambool,” McMahon said.

“Both he and Gotta Take Care will play around the One Day Event circuit and do a bit of show jumping as well over the next few years because they really do enjoy it.”


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jul 2016 at 10:26pm
So there is a life out there for OTTTBs,  after all,   and it really isnt necessary to dump them at Eucha sales after all ??
Who would have thunk it Cry

animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jul 2016 at 11:21pm
Few of ours went on to become polo ponies AA,in the late fifties,but they had to be a special type,nippy and not too cumbersome and no scare tissue
behind .As I lived along side W.Farm in my early years they played polo there ,used to walk them between chukkas 2 bob a horse came in handy.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:13pm
BIG money in polo ponies now.  If you breed good ones.
 My Dad worked for a big time polo player ,  way back , and those horses are amazing ! The weight they carry , taking in the rider plus gear,  and then move and turn so fast, is amazing.

animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:17pm
Remember great polo family many years ago,think the name was Sinclair Hill ,heard of him?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:34pm
Yes.  My bestie, from Excelsior St Granville, was his children,s nanny.
He had a place out of Willow Tree,  and played with Prince Charles.
animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:43pm
That's him,went over to Brazil, they love their polo, think he showed them a trick or two.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:54pm
AA,..you put that last post in the wrong thread ( words) ,..ya making tony choke on his onions.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jul 2016 at 12:03am
you are prolly the only one will twig .
animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 6:19pm
Originally posted by Gay3 Gay3 wrote:

Backman Talks Beyond the Bid

  • James Tzaferis @Jtzaf
  • 2 hours ago

White Knight in the pen at Echuca Sales

Thoroughbreds in Victoria have found an unlikely ally in David Backman.

For lack of a softer title, Backman is a self-labelled “horse dealer”, an often misunderstood role that sees him the subject of harsh stares and online attacks at the horse sales he attends.

A regular at Echuca (Bid 50), Pakenham (Bid 7) and other regional Victorian sale venues, Backman purchases cheap horses, including thoroughbreds, to on-sell for a profit under the banner of the Daville Pastoral Company.

The fact Backman’s son owns and operates the Maffra District Knackery doesn’t help his cause and misinformed individuals wrongly assume that a grim fate for all his purchases is sealed with the fall of the auctioneer’s gavel.  

There exists a similarly misguided line of thinking in the community that all horses offered in such sales are destined for an untimely demise, save for intervention from ‘rescue’ groups that also boast regular attendance at the sales.

Backman is no saint. Far from it, in fact. But he loves horses and is fed up with individuals and groups that claim otherwise, giving legitimate sales and honest dealers a terrible reputation in the process.

“You’re damn right they (horse sales) get a bad rap and for no reason,” Backman said.

“I’ll be honest with you, if people toned it down a little bit and opened their eyes to see where these horses actually end up, everyone would be better off.

“You’ve got people ringing these thoroughbred trainers and owners, accusing them of sending a horse to Maffra (Knackery) because I’ve picked it up and telling them that they’ve saved the horse.

“How the hell are you saving a horse from me if I’m a horse dealer and I’ve got someone else buying the horse?”

Backman said the overwhelming majority of horses he purchased filled orders from private buyers looking for horses to work stock or compete across multiple equestrian disciplines. Others are utilised by his family in a successful show jumping breeding program.

And he said other dealers operated in a similar manner with the bulk of thoroughbreds finding their way to the knackery being those too sick, injured or dangerous horses to place into post-racing careers.

“If horses I buy are booked to the Daville Pastoral Company, they’re all sold and if they’re booked to the Maffra Knackery, 90% of those horses I sell as well,” Backman said.

“We breed jumping horses with our warmblood stallions and nearly all those broodmares we’ve got are thoroughbreds that I’ve bought.

“Even the place at Laverton where there was a bit of controversy and media exposure a couple of years ago is selling horses on (via Rehoming Horses Victoria).

“But if horses are injured and will never live comfortably or have a bad temperament where someone could get hurt, putting them into the trade (knackery) is the best option.

Backman confirmed that many of the horses he purchased, either from public sales or through private dealings, were thoroughbreds, a breed that had proven relatively simple to sell on to new homes.

Monitoring of recent sales indicates that, on average, only 12% of the horses offered at Victorian livestock sales are thoroughbreds, the majority of which have been rehomed more than once since retiring from the track.

“I deal in horses and I can sell the thoroughbreds quite easily,” Backman said.

“I’ve bought a lot of racehorses and they’ve been the best cared for horses I’ve ever seen.

“I buy 80 to 90 horses a month privately and while they’re not all thoroughbreds, the majority are, and those people are more than happy for me to sell them because I ring them back and tell them who I’ve sold them to.

“I don’t make a fortune on them but I make good money and the racing blokes are pleased to see me do it.

“I have the utmost respect for the racing trainers I deal with because they’ve got the utmost respect for their horses.”

This respect is reciprocated in the way Backman cares for the thoroughbreds he buys once they arrive on his property.

Some horses spend only a few days there before being dropped off to their new owners while others, including those only recently retired from racing, are given time to transition from their fast-paced racing lifestyle.

“The horses I buy are unloaded into my yards later that night and as soon as they’re unloaded they’re given water and lucerne to eat all night and in the morning I let them out into the good irrigation paddocks,” Backman said.

 “If they’ve come in fresh out of work, all I do is put them in a paddock for about four or five weeks on the grass, just to get the hot feed out of them.

“As soon as they’ve got the hot feed out of them, we bring them back into work and they train up the same as any other horse.”

At last week’s Echuca Horse Sale, Backman was behind the purchase of seven thoroughbreds, including former Chris Waller and Matthew Williams-trained galloper White Knight.

The seven-year-old son of Ustinov, a one-time hurdler who was retired in 2013, sold for $350 and Backman immediately lined the gelding up for a buyer seeking a horse to work stock.

But after being contacted by Kylie Stephenson, one of the horse’s original racing owners, prominent media personality Richard Callander, agreed to fund the transfer of the horse into Stephenson’s care, where he remains today.

Callander had initially been assured White Knight would be retired to a loving equestrian home but, unbeknownst to his former trainers and owners, the gelding was offered for sale at Echuca 18 months after his final race start.

“I had White Knight sold when Kylie rang me and I rang the chap back and told him I couldn’t sell it to him anymore,” Backman said.

“But he didn’t have a problem taking one of the other big thoroughbreds I’d bought, as long as they were able to be worked on the stock and that’s not a problem for thoroughbreds.

“He asked me what happened to White Knight and I told him that the original owners wanted to buy it back and Kylie, who I deal with quite a bit, had been ringing and asking me for it.

While Racing Victoria (RV) accepts Victorian livestock sales as legitimate markets to buy and sell thoroughbreds, both in and out of work, it strongly recommends vendors present horses in good condition, place an auction reserve on the horse and remain at the sale throughout the day to satisfy all enquiries about the horse from prospective buyers, and if need be take them home.

As part of its commitment to equine welfare, RV representatives will continue to attend the Echuca Horse Sale each fortnight to identify thoroughbreds for sale and provide any known information to potential buyers, as well as offering a courtesy service to alert owners, trainers and breeders to the presence of any former horses. 



Josie AndersonBlackie aka White Knight, competing at he's first ever dressage competion! Came away with a 2nd in his first test and 3rd in his second test adding canter into the equation. He tried his little heart out ❤️ ended up with Reserve Champion overall! Only just got pipped for champion. Can't wait to see what the future holds for this beautiful boy 🐎


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 7:30pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 7:31pm
Did any of the thoroughbred get through to the olympic team Gay.  Hope so. One has Luskin Star for a grandsire.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 7:59pm
Yes, a showjumper but.................Wink  I'll have a scout around.

Sonja Johnson and Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison (Image: Sharon Chapman)

Retired Aussie racehorse on Olympic cusp

James Tzaferis@Jtzaf

7 July, 2016

Off the Track poster boy Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison is a step closer to contesting next month’s Olympic Games after flying out of Melbourne overnight.

The retired racehorse and his rider Sonja Johnson (pictured below at Melbourne International Airport last night) will contest next weekend’s FEI Nations Cup event at Aachen in Germany before attending a pre-Rio Staging Camp in the UK, hosted by Equestrian Australia.

Following the Staging Camp, the Australian Olympic Committee will announce the four eventing combinations that will represent the Green and Gold across the three phases – dressage, cross country and show jumping – in Brazil.

The full list of Australian eventing combinations invited to attend the Staging Camp in the UK can be found here.  

A 15-year-old son of Made Of Gold, Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison raced as Bullionaire and had one start – an inglorious 25 length defeat in a Belmont maiden - for Western Australian trainer Ted Martinovich.

In Johnson’s care, the gelding has become one of the country’s premier eventing horses, underlined by his CCI3* victory at this year’s Sydney Horse Trials and his podium finish in last month’s CIC3* at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event.

Australia’s previous success in Olympic equestrian has largely come on the back of Off the Track thoroughbreds, including these five Gold-winning combinations




Edited by Gay3 - 11 Jul 2016 at 8:04pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2016 at 10:49am
I wish them all well anyway.  Hard to watch this time.  Its in the middle of the night when they go around.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2016 at 8:22pm
Former DKWeirRacing galloper Ruadhan in full flight for 15YO rider Jessica Forth at last month's MI3DE_AU


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2016 at 10:17pm
Oh Gay.  Stop  posting this stuff.  No one here  will believe OTTTBs can do anything usefull !!LOL  They are all dog meat. 
IF only others could see what they can do. 


animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jul 2016 at 10:38am
I'd much prefer to go around those courses on a a nippy thoroughbred.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jul 2016 at 3:14pm
A TB over a WB any time.  TBs think fast and take up the challenge. WBs have to be told what to do.
animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 8:20pm

Ex-soldiers, inmates and thoroughbreds benefit from jail horse program

1233 ABC Newcastle Giselle Wakatama

Hundreds of former race horses have graduated from St Heliers rehabilitation program.
Photo

Hundreds of former race horses have graduated from St Heliers rehabilitation program.

A thoroughbred retraining program involving Hunter Valley prison inmates appears to be going from strength to strength.

Since the program started five years ago, hundreds of horses have gone to Muswellbrook's St Heliers Correctional Centre, where they have been paired with inmates.

It is part of Racing New South Wales' Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Program, with horses going on to have eventing and dressage careers.

Spokesman Charles Moon said it had been a great success.

"As an industry we are lucky to see our equine athletes every day in New South Wales, but when they come to a decision of retirement, there is an opportunity to say, look the horses aren't just going to go to the paddock," he said.

"You know there is a second career, and working with Corrective Services NSW and especially with the joint venture program we have with them, it just provides an opportunity to work with some good people and to work with committed horse people."

Benefits for horse and rider

The thoroughbred retraining program at the Hunter Valley jail has been lauded for helping horse and rider.

Mr Moon said there had been enormous benefits for everyone involved.

"This program allows both horse and human the benefits of a second career and a second chance," he said

"It is amazing that each horse will have their own personality, and that is the same with humans, and doing this retraining and career work where they can learn some new skills, they are allowed that individual flair.

"They are suited to particular second careers, and when there are inmates themselves who are looking for a second chance after making a mistake in their earlier days, horse can bring out that possibility for them."

Horses helping ex-soldiers with PTSD

The program is also playing a role in helping ex-Australian soldiers to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It involves pairing horses with emotionally-damaged ex-solders at the program's Sydney base at Canterbury Racecourse.

"It is amazing the way that an animal won't judge a human. An animal will work with any human," Mr Moon said.

"The Australian infantry has just had decades of association with horses, and so to work with charities, especially those with PTSD, is something that we would really be encouraging our program to grow to."

The program comes at a time when there is mounting pressure to curb so-called wastage in the horse racing industry.

Wastage, involving the killing of slow dogs, was part of the reason the NSW Government banned greyhound racing.

It has prompted animal welfare groups to call for more strategies to cut wastage in horse racing.

Racing NSW said every effort was made to ensure horses had a future beyond their racing years.

Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 9:55pm
Quote= The programme comes at a time when there is mounting pressure to curb so called wastage in the horse racing industry= end of.
Another abc report, a feelgood story with a barb at the end,.i watch and listen a lot to this mob but I am seriously considering giving them away,
but they have got me by the short and curlies ..how do I watch landline..( Internet maybe) ? Phone a friend? buy the DVDs ? .thoughts anyone.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 10:23pm
Landline = online definitely!!
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 10:49pm
Thank you Gay3 ,.i was hoping I would get a sensible answer, I had a feeling I was asking something stupid and I was waiting for the knockout punch!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Aug 2016 at 9:46pm
http://www.abc.net.au/landline/

Archives tab at the top & Iview the right Smile
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Aug 2016 at 9:57pm
Originally posted by Gay3 Gay3 wrote:

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/

Archives tab at the top & Iview the right Smile
thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 1:33pm

A new international forum that will bring together the official and national operations based around the world that facilitate and promote the retraining of racehorses has been formally unveiled at the 'Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds: Godolphin Forum' in Newmarket, United Kingdom.

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) will include representatives from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan and the United States.

Representatives from Racing Victoria and Racing Australia were honoured to participate in the Forum last month and are looking forward to working closely with Godolphin and the international thoroughbred community to help take racing aftercare to a new level all around the world.

James Tzaferis Aussie reps were Elliot Forbes, Frances Nelson, Caroline Searcy & myself. As well as Godolphin's Australian-based staff


Launch Of New International Forum For The Aftercare Of Racehorses

Posted 01 August 2016, 09:25 GMT

A new international forum that will bring together the official and national operations based around the world that facilitate and promote the retraining of racehorses has been formally unveiled at the 'Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds: Godolphin Forum' in Newmarket, United Kingdom.

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) will include representatives from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan and the United States.

Di Arbuthnot, Chief Executive of the leading equine charity, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), introduced the concept for IFAR on the final day of a three-day conference, organised and hosted by Godolphin.

In recent years a number of initiatives in various international regions have been successful in promoting the versatility of racehorses and their ability to adapt to alternative careers after racing. The establishment of an international forum will enable these experiences to be shared, for best practices to be adopted and for advice to be given to all racing jurisdictions regarding caring for and the retraining of former racehorses.

IFAR will work alongside the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) and act as an assembly for discussion, recognising geographical and industry differences, to help take racing aftercare to a new level all around the world.

Paul Roy, Chairman of Retraining of Racehorses, said: "RoR has developed into a vehicle for the practical retraining of horses for different disciplines and works to pursue this proactive approach with benefit of consulting like-minded international bodies while recognising cultural differences across the globe. IFAR is a natural next step in our journey."

Diana Cooper, Strategic Advisor, Charities at Godolphin, said: "As one of the largest racing stables and breeding operations in the world, Godolphin works tirelessly to take the lead in both the lifetime care of horses and in the professional development of people working in our industry. The passion for the sport extends beyond the racetrack as Godolphin aims to have a positive long-lasting impact on the industry and racing communities worldwide."

"Godolphin organised the 'Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds Forum' in Newmarket to build on the progress made in Kentucky last year, when we first brought key advocates together to discuss these important issues. We are still very much at the start of a journey but we are greatly encouraged by what has been achieved in the last few days and that it has culminated in Retraining of Racehorses unveiling IFAR. We want to continue on this journey and we look forward to supporting IFAR when it hosts its first international conference in October 2017."

Jamie Stier, Chairman of IFHA's Horse Welfare Committee, welcomed the launch of IFAR: "Encouragingly, there is now a better understanding and greater recognition that our shared responsibility for the welfare of racehorses extends beyond their career on the racetrack. With awareness of the versatility of former racehorses increasing and more success stories being promoted, the time is right to pool learnings from around the world so that best practice and standards can be applied internationally."

From the United States, Jim Gagliano, President of The Jockey Club and Vice Chairman of IFHA, said: "Through initiatives such as the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and the Thoroughbred Incentive Program, The Jockey Club is playing an active role in promoting the retraining of racehorses in North America and we are delighted to be one of the founding members of IFAR."

"Promoting equine welfare both during and after a horse's racing career is vital in ensuring the public's confidence in the sport is maintained and is integral to the future health of horseracing. I would also like to thank Godolphin for hosting this forum and for bringing together like-minded parties from around the world."


Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Carioca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 2:28pm
The last words of our once famous boxer Vic Patrick used to say to his fighters when he turned referee before the start of each bout was,
protect yourself at all times,..it's an old cliche but a goodie,..perfect for what could become in the future!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote Shawy38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 12:19am
Former Waller horse DONE NOTHIN' WRONG who finished his racing career at Warrnambool with Matthew Williams has been retrained and is loving life in his new career. Now known as "Skipper" he is the clerk of the course at the trots. He will be on duty at Stawell next week.

Pic courtesy Matthew Williams Racing facebook page


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