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TB's Off The Track

Printed From: Thoroughbred Village
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Forum Name: Tributes Forum
Forum Description: Personal tributes to past and present day champions. Lest we forget our turf heroes.
URL: https://forum.thoroughbredvillage.com.au/forum_posts.asp?TID=49195
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 12:42am
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Topic: TB's Off The Track
Posted By: Gay3
Subject: TB's Off The Track
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2014 at 6:23pm


Road to Triequithon - Kerrie Bowman and Nangula Star


Kerrie Bowman and Nangula Star

The only South Australian combination Kerrie Bowman and Nangula Star hope the eight hour trip is worth it for next Saturday's Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon.

Chestnut mares have a reputation in the equestrian industry but talented event rider Kerrie Bowman is hoping her retired racehorse can defy the stereotype in Saturday week’s Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon.

Bowman rides eight-year-old Nangula Star, a five start maiden on the track for Millicent trainers Vincent Bradley and Mark Dwyer, in the innovative equestrian event to be conducted between races at Mornington on 5 April.

While she admits a stigma exists around mares in eventing circles, particularly those of the chestnut variety, Bowman believes her strong affinity with Nangula Star is enough to cast aside any aspersions.  

“For some reason people dislike mares anyway but then they dislike chestnut mares even more,” Bowman said.

“Between a team of eight horses, seven of mine are mares because I just think they work harder and once you’ve got them, they help you out no matter what.”

An accomplished rider who has honed her skills with some of the world’s foremost event coaches in Australia and abroad, Millicent-based Bowman is the lone South Australian rider competing in the Triequithon.

And while her vast experience across the three disciplines – dressage, cross country and showjumping - isn’t matched by her mount, Bowman is confident the quick-learning daughter of Fraar is well-placed at 1* level.

“It will take me eight hours to get there so for me it is going to be a three day trip but we’re all very excited to be coming along,” Bowman said.

“Right from the word go she could really jump and she loved to do it.

“With eventing, she’s probably only had six starts all up but she’s come up the ranks so quickly because shells such a confident jumper.”

A combination of luck and a handy reputation in her hometown saw Bowman secure Nangula Star, who now competes under the name Fourwinds Millicent, for what is now a bargain price of $600 following her retirement from the track.

Accustomed to sharing a paddock with other livestock, Bowman said she was interested to see how her mare would cope with the atmosphere upon returning to the track for the Triequithon.

“It was a bit of a fluke that I got her because we were at the local Millicent Show and usually after the Show everyone goes to the pub,” Bowman said.

“My brother went to the pub and the owner spoke to him and told him that he had a horse for me.”

“She was out in a 4000 acre paddock with about 600 sheep and two alpacas and as soon as I saw her I asked the owner how much he wanted for her.”

“I was lucky enough to buy her for $600 which I couldn’t believe.”

Conducted in a condensed format inside and adjacent to the Mornington racetrack, the 10 talented off the track thoroughbreds will compete between races throughout the meeting, accumulating points based on their performance in each discipline.

The public will have direct access to view the dressage and showjumping rounds of the competition with the spectacular cross country spectacle to be broadcast live on the course’s big screen courtesy of cameras on the state-of-the-art course.

The riders will be competing for a prize pool totalling $15,000, making the Racing Victoria Off the Track Triequithon one of the richest contests on the Australian eventing calendar.


Equestrian goes to the races

RACING Victoria will conduct the inaugural Racing Victoria Off the Track Triequithon at Mornington on Saturday, April 5.

The unique event will see retired racehorses compete in three equestrian disciplines between races at the Mornington meeting.

Racing Victoria’s chief executive Bernard Saundry said thoroughbreds were the most common breed among the 600,000 pleasure horses in the state.

“Racing Victoria is extremely proud to conduct the first Triequithon which works to further promote the value and success of retired racehorses in post-racing careers,” Saundry said.

“Thousands of racehorses have gone on to successful eventing careers following their retirement

from the racetrack; they are highly versatile animals and we have witnessed extraordinary results on the Australian eventing circuit,” Saundry said.



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!



Replies:
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2014 at 6:27pm

Road to Triequithon - Natalie Davies and Yasmac


Former Jason Warren-trained mare Yasmac is adept as a jumper

Mornington Peninsula-based event rider Natalie Davies is hoping the Black Caviar form stands up in Saturday week's Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon

The legacy of superstar mare Black Caviar continues to extend well beyond her retirement from racing and at Mornington on 5 April, a small part of the Black Caviar story will play out in the inaugural Racing Victoria (RV) Off The Track (OTT) Triequithon.

One of 10 retired racehorses competing in the Triequithon, a unique event combining equestrian and racing, seven-year-old Testa Rossa mare Yasmac boasts a link to the mare that captured a nation during an undefeated run that spanned 25 races.

The former Jason Warren-trained galloper finished fourth in a Cranbourne trial in March 2009, beaten more than five lengths by the then unraced daughter of Bel Esprit who was making her first official appearance at a racetrack for trainer Peter Moody.

In contrast to Black Caviar’s racing career, which yielded 15 Group 1 wins and just shy of $8 million in prizemoney for connections, Yasmac’s highlight on the track came in the form of a maiden victory at Bairnsdale in September 2009.

But according to Mornington Peninsula-based event rider Natalie Davies, it’s Yasmac’s ability off the track that will see her line up as one of the leading fancies in the lucrative Triequithon, an event that will see some of Victoria’s leading 1* eventers compete in dressage, cross country and show jumping between races at the Mornington meeting.

“She is absolutely amazing for me,” Davies said.

“Wherever I take her, a lot of people comment on how wonderful she is and many can’t believe it when I tell them that she’s a thoroughbred.

“Some people don’t think that thoroughbreds can be as amazing as what she is so it’s nice for us to be able to show that if you get a good horse off the track, they are as good as any other.”

An established event rider who has ridden in 4* level at the Australian International Three Day Event in Adelaide on multiple occasions, Davies purchased Yasmac last year with little knowledge of her racing history.

The mare, who now competes as Chatswood Design, joins another off the track thoroughbred, former Lee Freedman and John McArdle-trained eight-year-old El Grado, in Davies stable.

“When I bought her a year ago she’d already had some work off the track and she’d already competed at the first two levels of eventing,” Davies said.

“Yasmac is by Testa Rossa and I’m now finding myself looking at a lot of Testa Rossas and they all seem to have similar characteristics to her.

“I love to find out about their history on the track.

“I’ve got another off the track horse and I try to keep in touch with the trainers and the owners because they are really interested to see what they go on to do.”

Conducted in a condensed format inside and adjacent to the Mornington racetrack, The RV OTT Triequithon will see horses accumulate points based on their performance in each of the three disciplines throughout the meeting, the winner rewarded with the largest share of the $15,000 prizemoney pool.

The public, who are offered two-for-one general admission at the meeting, will have direct access to view the dressage and showjumping rounds of the competition with the spectacular cross country spectacle to be broadcast live on the course’s big screen courtesy of cameras on every jump of the state-of-the-art course.



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: PhillipC
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2014 at 10:18pm
It should be a great spectacle for everyone to see and a great initiative from Racing Victoria to stage an event like this. Unfortunately I can't make it to watch as I will be judging elsewhere that day :-(

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http://www.equinehaven.com.au


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2014 at 9:34am

Road to Triequithon - Lucinda Doodt and Ruling Devil

A last minute call up has presented Year 1 Racing Victoria apprentice jockey Lucinda Doodt with the opportunity to contest Saturday's Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon on Ruling Devil.
 
Racing Victoria Year One apprentice Lucinda Doodt can claim her first racetrack success at Mornington on Saturday.
 
While it won’t be in an official race, Doodt will join nine other equestrian riders and their retired racehorses competing in the inaugural Racing Victoria Off the Track Triequithon between races at Saturday’s meeting.
 
The Ballarat teen is a late addition to the line-up for the Triequithon, receiving the call up to ride nine-year-old Ruling Devil after injury forced the withdrawal of another combination, Toolern Vale’s Deb Pacing and her former Peter Moody-trained galloper Hit List.
 
Doodt thanked friend and fellow Triequithon competitor Stephanie Thornton, Ruling Devil’s owner and regular rider, for the opportunity to compete in the lucrative event that will see 10 of Victoria’s most talented retired racehorses compete at 1* level in dressage, cross country and show jumping.
 
“I have to thank Stephanie Thornton because she gave me a call and had a spare one-star horse,” Doodt said.
 
“We did a bit of a promotion between races at Geelong last week which went really well.
 
“I have two ex-racehorses but neither of them are up to the level that we have to compete in at the Trequithon.”
 
While she admits she lacks the association with her mount, an unraced son of A P Ruler, many of her rivals boast, the 16-year-old believes her work for Miners Rest trainer Mark Lewis has her well placed to get the best out of the nine-year-old in each of the three Triequithon disciplines.
 
As well as completing three days of classes every month in Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Program, Doodt rides track work for Lewis most mornings as part of her riding education that will one day see her join Victoria’s jockey ranks.
 
“Other people probably have a little bit of an advantage but he’s a very nice horse and I seem to be getting along with him very well,” Doodt said.
 
“I think it definitely helps that I ride different horses of a morning all the time so I’m used to getting on a lot of different thoroughbreds.
 
“It’s really exciting; I went and had a bit of a trial run at Corio Mooroobool Horse Trials on the weekend to get a bit more of a feel for the horse.”
 
While much is made of her background in dancing, Doodt’s ability in the saddle from a young age was key to her pursuing a career as a jockey and she admits eventing remains a passion.
 
Thoroughbreds in particular hold a special place in her heart and Doodt is hopeful of taking one of her own to the Melbourne International Three Day Event at Werribee in June.
 
“I’ve been fortunate enough to continue with my eventing and I’ve got three horses that I still compete on.”
 
“Mark’s really good with helping me balance everything and makes sure I get to school on time and have enough time to work my own horses,” Doodt said.
 
“I’m hoping to take one of them to Melbourne Three Day Event in June so, even on a different horse, this is a great opportunity to showcase an off the track horse.”
 
Designed to showcase retired racehorses as the ideal equestrian athletes, the Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon will be conducted in a condensed eventing format that will see combinations compete in dressage (between Race 1 and Race 3), cross country (between Race 3 and Race 5) and show jumping (Between Race 5 and Race 7).
 
As well as the exciting seven-race program, fans can enjoy the feature racing action from Flemington and Rosehill broadcast on course, a ‘racehorse to riding horse’ master class from Jonathon McLean and a host of children’s entertainment and competitions. 
More information on the Racing Victoria Off The Track Triequithon is available http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/p_Triequithon.aspx" rel="nofollow - here . 


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Go Flash Go
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2014 at 12:03am
Nice to see more life after racing for some lucky thoroughbreds and a fun time it would be for them.

Although am not a real horse person obviously, am learning though, whenever get to the Royal Melbourne Show (Kelpie* judging = much Heart) always like to take time to watch any eventing taking place. Although it's more than a little above my head  am amazed at the strength, control and finesse, both horse and riders show, under a lot of competitive pressure. 

Must take a lot to get to that point -  particularly like the balance comment in the above article.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 10:20pm


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152252556086338&set=a.10150477956476338.359594.616296337&type=1&fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Sonja Ledger

With all the negative things being said about racing stories like this are beautiful and should be shared. Ledger Racing retired "SPECIAL QUALITY" a 6yo gelding after a below par performance at wodonga races last Monday. X-rays on Tuesday revealed Quality had sustained a career ending fracture that extended up into his joint. He was lucky not to break his leg in the run and had 2 options euthanasia or surgery to pin the crack in the bone and allow him a chance to retire to the paddock. Trainer John Ledger & syndicate manager https://www.facebook.com/tony.seychell.7" rel="nofollow - Tony Seychell from "Quality Thoroughbreds" both dipped into their own PERSONAL pockets to finance the operation which has saved Quality's life and will now give him a chance to retire to our farm. Racing is not the evil entity all these animal rights head cases make it out to be. Racing is about heart and love for all our equines. Enjoy your retirement Special Quality and thank you for the racing thrills and memories!




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 21 Sep 2014 at 1:09am
thats nice .  shows some folks do care.  and dont let horses end up in the hands of creeps, like that one in another thread,,the one who raced in the Melb Cup .
there are people in the game who care.  Clap


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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 21 Sep 2014 at 12:29pm
I'm sorry the FB pics don't reproduce for me as he's a lovely strong type with an attractive head & beautiful kind eye Smile

https://www.facebook.com/HorseAtAuction" rel="nofollow - Horses at Auction - Preview added 6 new photos.
https://www.facebook.com/HorseAtAuction/posts/541670575963594" rel="nofollow - - 2 hrs ·

Thank you so much for the update Tanisha

I live in nsw so i was not looking for a horse out of state i had liked this page to just keep an eye out and stuff. on the 20th of august everything changed i saw this young stunning boy with the kindest eyes in pen 89 and had to try my best to get him. being a 5 yr tb that was also 17hh i was expecting the worst of the worst in behaviour wise but a month on and there is nothing that can explain how much this boy as surprised me he is the most chilled out affectionate boy i have ever met he loves people and pats. i have not done much with him has I'm still trying to get weight and muscle on him i have jumped on him bare back a few times first and second rides i was mores suprsed at the fact that he walked over small jumps and a trap did not refuse a thing he's such a smooch i can not fault a thing i did find out that he was a cribber but to be honest i can not blame him for that he might have stared it because of his history. he is enjoying living it up and getting spoilt best buy ever very very very impressed with him and i know he has more to offer




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2014 at 11:54am

Stephens brings World Cup Dreams to Life with Galvanised

  • Daniel Miles https://www.twitter.com/DanielMiles90" rel="nofollow - @DanielMiles90
  • 23 September, 2014

  • The hype surrounding million dollar gelding Dreams To Life looks set to finally become a reality this week, though maybe not in the way his breeders had first imagined.

    An imposing steel grey son of Show A Heart and brother to dual-Group 1 winner Heart Of Dreams, Dreams To Life began his life at the track under the careful eye of Caulfield-trainer Mick Price in mid-2009, however it quickly became apparent that life as a racehorse was not for Dreams To Life.

    After three unplaced race starts Dreams To Life, better known as Galvanised, was retired and taken in by Mick’s wife Caroline, a highly respected thoroughbred re-trainer and rider in her own right.  

After taking Galvanised through a basic equestrian education, Price set out to find the eye-catching youngster a home for life, and as such put in a call to brother-in-law Phil Stephens

Stephens, a power station reliability technician by trade, was on the look-out for a new showjumping horse and was immediately taken by Galvanised’s stride and size.

“Caroline organised for me to have a ride of him through my wife Katherine. I remember I gave him a try-out that day and bought him pretty much straight away,” he said. 

“He felt really good. At that stage he was still pretty green but there was something really special about him.

“After having a ride on him I pretty much knew straight away that I didn’t want to let him go. It was tough because a lot of people were interested in him, but in the end though I knew I just had to have him; you could try another 50 horses and not find one that feels like he did.”

Stephens is the first to admit his mixture of power stations and showjumping is a rare one. The father of two and has spent the past 30 years in the saddle travelling the state to compete in shows.

“It’s quite opposite to showjumping isn’t it,” he said with a laugh.

“My mates at work hang a fair bit of gelati on me for the uniforms we wear and that. As a bloke, even from when I was in school you can cop it a bit.  In the end, it doesn’t really bother me; I wouldn’t keep doing it if I did.”

Stephens has become quite successful in his ‘hobby riding’ and will look to take a further positive step this week as he prepares to saddle up Galvanised at the Royal Melbourne Show.

A recent winner of the Best Performed Retired Race Horse award at the 2014 Australian Showjumping Championship, Galvanised has quickly earnt a reputation as one of the most promising jumpers of the future, though it hasn’t always been easy.

“The first few shows we went to, probably for the first 12 months, he wasn’t very competitive it was more about learning the ropes,” Stephens said.

“By the time his second season came along it was all systems go and time to get competitive instead of just training.

“He’s starting to step up to Mini Prix’s now and if he’s good enough this time next year he’ll jump in a World Cup. Obviously there’s a fair bit of work to be done between now and then but 12 months is a long time in show jumping.”

That work begins this weekend at the Royal Melbourne Show when Galvanised steps out in the Group B Jumping Competition. Stephens is confident that Galvanised can make a prominent showing this week, as long as he is able to remain calm in the ring.

“He’s got the ability, it’s just whether he can get on top of his nerves with the heightened atmosphere around,” he said.

“With him it’s all about managing his mind and seeing how goes on the day, he just gets his nerves up. He’s definitely got the ability, and every show he enters he learns something and gets better; he’s young and sound at the moment so who knows.

“We’ll get through this week with him and see how he goes. He’s a great horse and just a nice horse to be around, so hopefully he can put the right foot forward this weekend and go on from there, only time will tell I guess.”

By Daniel Miles - @DanielMiles90



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: reng
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2014 at 2:33pm
Some number around retired racehorses:
http://breedingracing.realviewdigital.com/?iid=102110#folio=52


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The problem with Opportunity is that it wears overalls and looks like work.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2014 at 9:15pm

Chosen the One for Garryowen win

Shae Hanger and Chosen One celebrate their Garryowen success

Retired racehorse Chosen One has given Mornington show rider Shae Hanger her second win in one of Australia’s most coveted equestrian events, the Garryowen Equestrienne Turnout, at the Royal Melbourne Show today.

The nine-year-old was presented in immaculate condition and put in a faultless workout to top the judges scorecards ahead of another Off the Track thoroughbred, former Lloyd Williams-owned gelding SLM Orlando (raced as Ingleby) for Stephanie Barrington.

Chosen One won three races from his 39 career starts on the track for Mornington trainer Tony Noonan and collected more than $65,000 in prizemoney for his connections.

Following his retirement in 2012, the son of Choisir was immediately identified as a potential show ring proposition with Hanger wasting little time beginning his re-education.

The victory, in the 80th renewal of the event, carried added significance for Hanger who is the great-great-niece of Violet Murrell, owner and rider of the event’s namesake, Garryowen.

In a red-letter day for Off the Track thoroughbreds, five of the top six Garryowen placegetters boasted histories on the racetrack, including fourth placed DP Amazing (Medal Of Honour) , fifth placed The Russian (Portland Pirate) and sixth placed Montilla (Don Eduardo).

The Best First Year Rider award was presented to Rebekah Carollan who partnered former Western Australian galloper London Court (Fimiston).




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2014 at 10:13pm
WOOOOOOO HOOOOO.  
go you wonderful OTTTBs . 
for those who cant find homes for their retired OTTTBs,,,,you aint tryin'


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animals before people.


Posted By: ChestnutGreyandRoan
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2014 at 2:03pm
Originally posted by Gay3 Gay3 wrote:

Stephens brings World Cup Dreams to Life with Galvanised

  • Daniel Miles https://www.twitter.com/DanielMiles90" rel="nofollow - @DanielMiles90
  • 23 September, 2014

  • The hype surrounding million dollar gelding Dreams To Life looks set to finally become a reality this week, though maybe not in the way his breeders had first imagined.

    An imposing steel grey son of Show A Heart and brother to dual-Group 1 winner Heart Of Dreams, Dreams To Life began his life at the track under the careful eye of Caulfield-trainer Mick Price in mid-2009, however it quickly became apparent that life as a racehorse was not for Dreams To Life.

    After three unplaced race starts Dreams To Life, better known as Galvanised, was retired and taken in by Mick’s wife Caroline, a highly respected thoroughbred re-trainer and rider in her own right.  

After taking Galvanised through a basic equestrian education, Price set out to find the eye-catching youngster a home for life, and as such put in a call to brother-in-law Phil Stephens

Stephens, a power station reliability technician by trade, was on the look-out for a new showjumping horse and was immediately taken by Galvanised’s stride and size.

“Caroline organised for me to have a ride of him through my wife Katherine. I remember I gave him a try-out that day and bought him pretty much straight away,” he said. 

“He felt really good. At that stage he was still pretty green but there was something really special about him.

“After having a ride on him I pretty much knew straight away that I didn’t want to let him go. It was tough because a lot of people were interested in him, but in the end though I knew I just had to have him; you could try another 50 horses and not find one that feels like he did.”

Stephens is the first to admit his mixture of power stations and showjumping is a rare one. The father of two and has spent the past 30 years in the saddle travelling the state to compete in shows.

“It’s quite opposite to showjumping isn’t it,” he said with a laugh.

“My mates at work hang a fair bit of gelati on me for the uniforms we wear and that. As a bloke, even from when I was in school you can cop it a bit.  In the end, it doesn’t really bother me; I wouldn’t keep doing it if I did.”

Stephens has become quite successful in his ‘hobby riding’ and will look to take a further positive step this week as he prepares to saddle up Galvanised at the Royal Melbourne Show.

A recent winner of the Best Performed Retired Race Horse award at the 2014 Australian Showjumping Championship, Galvanised has quickly earnt a reputation as one of the most promising jumpers of the future, though it hasn’t always been easy.

“The first few shows we went to, probably for the first 12 months, he wasn’t very competitive it was more about learning the ropes,” Stephens said.

“By the time his second season came along it was all systems go and time to get competitive instead of just training.

“He’s starting to step up to Mini Prix’s now and if he’s good enough this time next year he’ll jump in a World Cup. Obviously there’s a fair bit of work to be done between now and then but 12 months is a long time in show jumping.”

That work begins this weekend at the Royal Melbourne Show when Galvanised steps out in the Group B Jumping Competition. Stephens is confident that Galvanised can make a prominent showing this week, as long as he is able to remain calm in the ring.

“He’s got the ability, it’s just whether he can get on top of his nerves with the heightened atmosphere around,” he said.

“With him it’s all about managing his mind and seeing how goes on the day, he just gets his nerves up. He’s definitely got the ability, and every show he enters he learns something and gets better; he’s young and sound at the moment so who knows.

“We’ll get through this week with him and see how he goes. He’s a great horse and just a nice horse to be around, so hopefully he can put the right foot forward this weekend and go on from there, only time will tell I guess.”

By Daniel Miles - @DanielMiles90


I never understood how geldings could be worth a million dollars. You can't bred them! Also never heard of "steel grey", is this just another name for roan? What color would be listed on the Jockey Club papers?


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2014 at 3:24pm
He would've been a colt when the mill. was paid, in the hope he could be well enough performed to stand at stud.
Steel grey: Google 'horse steel grey' & you'll see the images, no, not to be confused with roan & also known as 'iron' grey.


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: reng
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2014 at 10:18am
Roans are grey with black legs and mane, while grey horses are grey everywhere.

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The problem with Opportunity is that it wears overalls and looks like work.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2014 at 2:53pm
Handy to keep track of all this painstakingly slow to research, data Smile

Our Rockhampton, an ex-racehorse now competing as a 3-day-eventer. Image supplied by Renée Geelen.

What happens to all those racehorses?

1 October 2014

http://pateblog.nma.gov.au/2014/10/01/what-happens-to-all-those-racehorses/#comments" rel="nofollow - 1 Comment

What happens to racehorses when they leave the track?

Last week I was contacted by a number of people critical of our decision to display of a http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/horses/objects/horsielicious" rel="nofollow - can of ‘Horsielicious’ , created by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR), in the http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/spirited" rel="nofollow - Spirited: Australia’s Horse Story exhibition . The can was used in 2014 protests aimed at raising awareness of the need for a ‘retirement plan’ for horses involved in racing.

In recent years, animal welfare groups like the http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-horse-wastage-in-the-racehorse-industry_235.html" rel="nofollow - RSPCA , http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php" rel="nofollow - Animals Australia  and the http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php" rel="nofollow - Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses have raised concerns about the long-term care of horses from the racing industry.

In 2013 the  http://www.australianracingboard.com.au/" rel="nofollow - Australian Racing Board commissioned Thoroughbred consultant Renée Geelen to undertake a survey of retired horses. Renée was one of the people who wrote to the Museum to express her disappointment that we had included the CPR’s can in the exhibition. I’ve invited her to present her perspective on the issue in this guest blog post.

“The wind of heaven is that which passes through a horse’s ears.”  Arabian Proverb

There is nothing much that beats the thrill and companionship that comes with partnering a 500kg animal at speed. You can’t make a horse do anything but you can become a partner and move together.  We celebrate the racehorse as the finest example of athleticism and partnership.  Their will to win drives an emotional connection, and the stories of our champions keeps the dream alive for everyone.

Racehorses have been specifically bred for purpose for over 350 years, and premier breeder Frederico Tesio summed it up when he said “The Thoroughbred exists because its selection has depended, not on experts, technicians, or zoologists, but on a piece of wood: the winning post of the Epsom Derby.”

Young Rockingham was the first official racehorse in Australia, imported here in 1797 and used to breed all types of horses. The first official race meeting was held in Sydney’s Hyde Park in 1810, and since then, the Australian racing industry has kept extensive records of every horse born or raced here.  A racehorse’s pedigree is more accurately known than most people’s genealogy, and every raceday outing is tracked and recorded.

The Australian racing industry is the second largest in the world (after the USA) with more than $520million in prizemoney on offer every year. Over 70,000 people own shares in more than 32,000 racehorses and the range of ownership is huge.  Some syndicates have more than 100 people involved in one horse, while bigger owners have more than 500 horses in work.

These numbers are huge, and the prizemoney is just the start of it. A racehorse costs about $30,000 a year to keep in training, and that money employs the strappers, trainers, riders, vets, farriers, feed companies and many others that look after the horse’s every need.     Racehorses are athletes, and live in five star accommodation, and the racing industry has always had a strong internal focus towards animal welfare. The industry bodies take care of the wider issues of animal welfare through the strength of their anti-drug policies and enforcement, their safety policies and through the use of racecourse vets to both ensure that horses are in a fit state to race when they are on course and to give immediate assistance to horses when required.

Racehorses mature quickly compared to other breeds, and can legally start racing from the age of two. Only 20% of horses actually race as 2 year olds, but these precocious horses have longer careers and earn more prizemoney than horses that take longer to mature.  The remainder of horses have their first start as 3 year olds or older, and in 2014, there are four horses racing that are still racing as 12 year olds.  For most horses, however, they retire before then and with a potential life span of 25 years, these horses need to go somewhere.

So what happens to all those racehorses? Every season, approximately 11,000 racehorses retire for a range of reasons, such as old age, injury, illness, or being not fast enough to compete successfully.  Owning a pleasure horse is not like owning a car, there is no central registration for them and therefore there is no data on what happens to all those racehorses.  I was commissioned by the Australian Racing Board (ARB) to design and undertake a survey on our retired horses.   Australian Stud Book records tell us that approximately 3,000 of the 11,000 retirees go to stud, staying in the racing industry, but this leaves 8,000 horses that we needed to collect timely data about.

An initial list of 25 trainers was compiled that represented the major city and country based stables across Australia. These trainers had an average of 100 horses that had raced for them over the past three seasons, and by tracking these horses we ended up with information about 2,514 horses.  Because of the initial bias towards large stables, the survey was later expanded to include 21 other country trainers to capture a wider range of horses across the industry.  The response rate was much lower, with only 12 trainers responding with data for 737 horses, resulting in a total of 3,224 horses surveyed.

The results were:

Still Racing Combined Results Total % of Retired
Different Trainer 662 21%
Still in Work/Spelling 1,015 31%
Exported 77 2%
Total 1,754 54%
Completed Racing Career


At Stud 664 21% 45%
Sold/Gifted as pleasure horse 450 14% 31%
Returned to Owner 205 6% 14%
Died/Euthanised by Vet 109 3% 7%
Unknown 19 0.6% 1.3%
Career in Racing 17 0.5% 1.2%
Knackery 6 0.2% 0.4%
Total 1,470




TOTAL 3,224    

While doing the survey, I also took notes on the different jobs that horses went on to do under the ‘Sold/Given away as a pleasure horse’ category, and they were quite wide ranging and interesting. Comments include “stars in horse movies”, “stock horse in Broome”, “eventer”, “champion show jumper in Victoria”, “polo”, “sports broodmare”, “nanny horse at stud”, “ridden by an 11 year old girl who loves him”, “plays Phar Lap in the Outback Australia show”, “owner’s kids ride her”, “riding for the disabled”, “he’s on a farm we bought for all our retired horses”, and so on.  Stock horses, pony club, and show horses were the most common comments for where retired horses had ended up.  Many country trained horses had owners who were graziers and used their retired horses on their farms.

This survey found that most retired racehorses find a new career after racing, and gratifyingly, from a scientific point of view, this data lines up with a previous survey done in 2002/03. It’s taken more than ten years, but this data has recently been published by Professor McGreevy et al, and in summary, found that of 1,333 horses that left a racing stable, 63% stayed in the industry with 243 (18%) going to stud, 229 (17%) moving to another trainer, 150 (11%) spelling, and 221 (17%) sold at auction. Of the 490 horses that left racing, 324 went to other careers, with a small portion being unspecified, dead or at a knackery.  This study used their data to calculate that in 2002/03, an estimated 650 Thoroughbreds went directly from racing to a knackery.

ARB CEO Peter McGauran said “This is a ground breaking study that injects statistical rigor and accuracy into an emotive debate characterized by exaggeration and distortion. The community in deciding between the competing claims wants accurate and reliable information. The racing industry, like all competitive animal sports, operates under a social license and must adhere to community standards. If we lose the confidence of the public, we will become marginalized and gradually become irrelevant.   Racing is a mainstream sport with enormous cultural and economic importance and adheres to the highest integrity and animal welfare standards.  This survey shows that the overwhelming majority of racehorses enjoy a productive or secure retirement courtesy of their owners who genuinely love the animal. That’s the way it should be. Owners are responsible for the humane treatment of their horse(s) both during and after their racing careers. By all means let’s have the debate on the retirement of racehorses, but let’s have it on the basis of the facts not an ideological obsession. The community deserves better than the propaganda and outright lies of the Animal Rights lobby.”

Animals Australia state on their website that the industry “discards” significant proportions of horses every year, while the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) state that 15,000 Thoroughbreds are slaughtered every year by the racing industry. By chanting this, they are claiming that every Thoroughbred foal ever born is sent to the knackery. The CPR has, following the National Museum of Australia’s request for material, donated some of their protest items for display in the Spirited exhibition.  The can of “Horsielicious” is from an anti-racing protest that, from my understanding, attracted 10 protestors.

By contrast, the ARB study is further validated by research done by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) in 2001 that used economic, recreational event data and breed society data to estimate the number of horses in Australia. They estimate that there are nearly 180,000 registered Thoroughbreds in Australia, of which 32,000 are racing, 66,000 are breeding or young stock, 24,000 compete in registered non-racing events (eg the Royal Easter Show), and 57,000 are used for recreation.  There are also 300,000 feral horses, 320,000 horses of other breeds (Standardbreds, Arabian, Quarter horses, pony breeds, etc), and 218,000 unregistered recreational horses in Australia (of which unnamed Thoroughbreds make up a significant proportion).

RIRDC uses an average life span of ten years for these horses, and this means that every year between 8,100 and 15,000 Thoroughbreds in leisure homes will die of old age, illness or injury and will need to be replaced. Simply put, there are a minimum of 8,100 new homes outside the racing industry for our horses every year.

This study highlights that the vast majority of racehorses go on to new careers in a large range of areas, including breeding, leisure horses, sport horses, stock horses and police horses.  Each of the state Principle Racing Authorities have a racehorse retraining system to aid in this process and these can be found on the various websites of these organisations.  The horse is a willing partner with a human and brings joys to many people in many facets across Australia.

http://patenma.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/ourrockhampton9-from-renee-geelen.jpg" rel="nofollow">Our Rockhampton, an ex-racehorse now competing as a 3-day-eventer. Image supplied by Renee Geelen.

Our Rockhampton, an ex-racehorse now competing as a 3-day-eventer. Photograph by Jenny Barnes. Image supplied by Renée Geelen.




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 03 Oct 2014 at 4:31pm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Waller-Racing/452003694833564?fref=photo" rel="nofollow">
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Waller-Racing/452003694833564?fref=photo" rel="nofollow - Chris Waller Racing
Liked · https://www.facebook.com/452003694833564/photos/a.453104108056856.105706.452003694833564/835744933126103/?type=1&permPage=1" rel="nofollow - - 2 hrs · https://www.facebook.com/452003694833564/photos/a.453104108056856.105706.452003694833564/835744933126103/?type=1&theater#" rel="nofollow - Edited ·
 

Looking good Danleigh!!! We love keeping in touch with how our horses when they've finished racing and by all accounts - Danleigh's carried his winning ways through to the show ring with Sandy Parker and family.

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2014 at 12:40pm

Polo Ponies

This article first appeared in Equestrian Life magazine, for more pick up your latest copy today

http://www.equestrianlife.com.au/articles/Polo-Ponies

BY KATIE EDMEADES – Co Owner JM Polo

PHOTOGRAPHS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT

JUST LIKE MANY of the racehorses we retrain and introduce to competitive polo, I was brought up in a racing family before converting to the exciting sport of polo. I’ve had passion for horses from a young age, growing up in the heartland of British racing, Newmarket, where my parents still run a bloodstock business. Since getting the polo bug, however, the sport has taken me all over the world in various roles. From grooming to playing, managing professional players, clubs and teams. I have also had the privilege to represent both England and Australia in Ladies polo. But throughout, my main passion has always been the training and retraining of horses.

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I have been lucky to have worked for exceptional horsemen and women around the world from whom I’ve learnt a great deal.  My biggest influence was being surrounded by exceptional bloodstock from a young age and understanding the skill and work involved in producing a champion.  It is the same long slog for the racetrack and polo field alike. I came to Australia nine years ago, and it was while playing at a tournament in Melbourne that I met my boyfriend and business partner, Edward Matthies. We started JM Polo in 2006 and have been providing services to the polo community ever since. Edward is a talented horseman and has a great affinity with his horses. He is a professional polo player and we produce horses to mount him, myself and the country’s top professionals and to sell domestically and overseas. My main role is training the young horses. We have a proven breeding program in place, but we also supplement it by buying young horses with little to no education. I draw on my racing background to help me in their selection, on and off the track.

The first step is research, starting with the Australian Stud Book for the breeding and racing history of a horse. Where available, we watch races on archived video, and there’s the odd phone call to the UK to get my parents’ opinion if they have had dealings with the bloodlines. Another exciting avenue of supply has come from a great initiative by the NSW racing industry and the corrections system. We have formed a relationship with the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Trust, a not-for profit organisation that helps rehabilitate and re-educate former NSW Thoroughbred racehorses. The program is a working partnership between Racing NSW and Corrective Services NSW. Former racehorses given to the trust for re-education into other disciplines are first sent to St Heliers Correctional Centre, near Musswellbrook in north-east NSW, where they are spelled and given early retraining and handling by inmates. They are then sent to Canterbury Racecourse where TRT is based, to be retrained by TRT’s Thoroughbred rehabilitation manager, Scott Brodie, and his dedicated team. These horses are then offered for sale, with all proceeds going to further this fantastic cause.

All the horses we have purchased from TRT have been very well mannered, honest horses and we’re pleased with how they are developing as polo ponies. Scott is in tune with our requirements and lets us know if he thinks he has a candidate. He takes a lot of the hard work out of the selection process and we have a number of talented ex-TRT horses currently in our program. 

Training a polo pony is a slow process, but the rewards are immense. The horses we look to source off the track are judged not only on their current physique but we have to be mindful of their potential for growth, as many are as young as two. Upon inspection we look at the horse as a whole, paying particular attention to its legs and feet. We watch the horse walk towards us and away, and then watch while it’s being free lunged. This lets us see how the horse holds itself and, most importantly, its head carriage. We want our horses to run flat with their heads on the low side of level.

As in all sports, polo players come in all shapes and sizes and so do their horses, but in our experience horses between 15hh and 15.2hh suit most of the market and generally make the best polo ponies.  Typically, players prefer to play on a string of horses all roughly the same size, as they then don’t have to adjust their swing too much from one horse to another or play with different length mallets.

The ideal age we look for is two to four years. Polo ponies generally reach their full potential and most valuable point at six to eight years.  Once we have purchased a horse off the racetrack, we turn it out for a spell to get the feed out of it and also let them switch off and get racing out of their system. On all our young stock, we strongly believe in eliminating problems before they occur. We ensure a dentist looks at their teeth and also have it seen by our chiropractor and we have its feet assessed. We can then create a plan of how to proceed, allowing for any problems and knowing whether behavioural issues are associated with pain or discomfort.

Life as a polo pony is very different from that of a racehorse. In the initial training, each horse is worked individually most days and we integrate them into the polo way of life as soon as possible. When we exercise our playing ponies, we do so in groups of four or five, in what we call a set. This is when one horse is ridden and the others lead (pictured). This is a quick and effective way to get horses fit before the season. The horses that have come off the track can often have difficulties with this and as such we incorporate this into the early stages of training. It also helps acclimatise them to the contact with the other horses, reducing their inclination to race when they get out on a polo field.

Polo Horses Katie Edmeades - Issue 17

Whilst Equestrian Life does publish photos of riders without helmets, we strongly recommend the use of an Australian approved helmet at all times when horse riding.

When a racehorse is in training, it is usually stabled and paddocked by itself; however we run our horses in batches. They come in and get stabled through the day and are turned out in the evenings, generally running together in groups of up to 10-12 horses.  In a polo yard the staff-to-horse ratio is on average 1:10, so it is important the horses learn to comply with daily routines and processes. As we all know, each horse is an individual and training programs are tailored to suit the needs of each horse. We have targets we aim for, but we’re flexible in the pathways to achieve them.

All our horses, homebred and sourced, begin with a basic foundation of flat work. We find that an understanding of basic dressage not only balances and rounds our horses but sets them aside on the polo field. We use the round yard to aid us in much of our work, predominantly in the early stages of training but also later for fitness work. We tie back our horses using side reins and a roller on a regular basis to build up the muscles in their necks, often while they are free lunged.

Polo Horses Katie Edmeades - Issue 17

Neck reining is how we steer a polo pony: the reins are held in the left hand and the mallet in the right. Some horses take to this better than others. Polo horses need to be as responsive as possible, as the direction of play changes suddenly in a game. Initially a lot of work is done at home riding in pairs or small groups. We play games like tag to simulate the chasing and contact aspect of the sport. We often school around barrels or trees to give variety to keep the horses interested.

Our horses need to be confident and able to hold their position in what we call “riding off”. This is the contact element of the game where we are able to physically push another player out of the way to establish right of way to play the ball. Ride-offs must be performed at a safe angle and comparable speeds to be legal. We practice this at varying speeds and levels of contact and find that most horses take to it easily and like to push. When doing this in practice it is important to let the horse both win and lose ride-offs.

When horses are first introduced to the polo stick it is a non-threatening way. We usually go for quiet hack and begin by slowly swinging it. We make sure the horses are settled with the stick and that we can simulate every shot without it being worried, after which we introduce a ball. We begin using an arena polo ball, which is softer and bigger than a normal polo ball, before graduating to the smaller standard ball, which makes a sharper sound when struck.

Once basic stick work and shot play has been absorbed, we take horses to young horse chukkas, a practice match with a group of people all on green horses. We play fluid games and aim to keep the horses moving forward, putting all we have taught them in to practice but with no pressure on them. We start these at a trot or very slow canter and progressively get faster as the horses progress.

Alongside these chukkas, we take some of the younger horses to tournaments to use them to umpire on, a great avenue for green horses to get on the field and settle with other horses galloping and competing around them. This process can be a little more difficult for racehorses to master initially. A polo horse also spends a lot of its time before and after it plays tied to the truck with the other playing horses on the day. This can be a challenge for some young horses and often takes a while for some to get used to.

Polo Horses Katie Edmeades - Issue 17

After our young horses have showed progress and have participated in chukkas relatively successfully, they go out for a well deserved spell, allowing them time to relax and absorb their education to date. Depending on their age and ability, some come in again for another campaign of young horse chukkas, while the more advanced and physically mature step up to the main playing string. They play mostly a lower level of polo for their first season, and if up to it we integrate them into the higher levels for a couple of minutes at a time. This enables them to experience the game at a faster pace without the pressure of having to perform for a whole seven minutes.

The process of training a polo pony is a long and slow one, but being able to experience and develop a horse throughout their progression to an elite polo pony provides a great sense of achievement. To be a part of and see a horse realise their potential at the highest levels within Australia and abroad is immensely satisfying and rewarding when it all comes together.

To find out more about TRT’s work, visit http://www.trt.org.au/" rel="nofollow -



Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2014 at 11:22am

A well written post on the rehoming of ex racehorses... alot of truth in this post

https://www.facebook.com/RacehorseRehab/posts/542274702572508" rel="nofollow">
https://www.facebook.com/RacehorseRehab/posts/542274702572508?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Racehorse Rehab

Hey guys, I am noticing alot of people are commenting on how so many OTTers end up in the sales, or on dogger pages, one girl even post a photo of an 11 year old horse where the caption even says that the horse obviously hasn't done anything in a while.... this is just a bit of education, just because its a TB and has a brand, and has raced once upon a time, it doesn't mean the ''racing industry'' put it there, chances are, it was once rehomed by the race owner, to what they were told would be a good loving home, only to be sold on, and sold on and sold on.... next thing, its skinny, neglected, and on a doggers page, that is NOT racing that put it there, it is horse people outside of racing. We see it time and time again. We also see ex trainers/owners seeing their once beloved racehorse on a dogger page, and racing off to save it and bring it home. Some recent examples are Modern Warfare and also Heppell, so before it's assumed racing has discarded of all the ex racehorses you see at the doggers, or going through the sales, do some research on where they have been recently.....



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 05 Nov 2014 at 8:36pm
A few more facts/figures Smile

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: subastral
Date Posted: 05 Nov 2014 at 8:46pm
Such a bizarre statement that he doesn't know the exact number of deaths. Who proof-reads this?? If I was an activist, I would seize on this lack of knowledge as a sign the industry isn't doing enough to track every horse and learn how/why it died.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2014 at 9:02am
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-Pickering/236991276355038?fref=photo" rel="nofollow - Larry Pickering
CRUELTY TO HORSES?

Blimey! 150,000 read the post, just on face book, and I tried to scan through 500 comments and with a rough count I would say about 65% think I’m a sweetheart. That’s okay, even my wife thinks I’m a sweetheart, but fair dinkum the misinformation proffered about horses is gobsmacking.

So please let me explain. I have been around horses all my life, I owned and ran a racing and breeding complex in Mangrove Mountain NSW, complete with a veterinary clinic, an operating theatre and a pathology unit. I studied equine pathology and can read a blood test like a book.

(In fact no horse of mine started without a blood test to determine its well being on the morning of a race. If the test showed up any anomaly the horse was scratched.)

Each of 100 stables was made of ironbark logs, without a single nail, and each had a grassy yard at the rear and all stables were covered by a verandah above a fog-sprayed fernery that reeked of jasmine and kept the stables at a constant temperature.

I had up to 130 horses at any one time with about 30 in racing including for some famous owners including all of Russ Hinze’s horses, at one time, and a few of my own. All the horses lived in five star accommodation and wanted for nothing.

They had a huge kidney shaped pool where they could safely swim unattended. All had regular trips to Terrigal beach and after each race they were turned out in an open paddock. My horses never needed spelling.

If any of my staff were found to have been cruel to any animal for any reason it was instant dismissal.

I have experienced racing at its best in France and I have ridden a 100/1 winner at Canterbury Racecourse in Sydney (I know you won’t believe that, but I wouldn’t lie to you).

Now, to be honest, I have never witnessed such verballing and uninformed, ignorant garbage from the animal rightists who invaded my post regarding the unfortunate death of Admire Rakti in the Melbourne Cup.

The horse did not have a “known” heart condition. I said it was “suspected” because of continued reversals in form. Regular cardiograms would have normally detected that condition, but it’s not always the case.

It may have been because of bleeding (a lung condition) but that would have been picked up via scoping.

The horse was obviously in fine physical condition and, contrary to what is being said, was vetted prior to the race with no anomaly found.

It is simply not true to say horses don’t like to race each other. Put them in an open paddock and watch, or find a tape of Black Caviar, (pictured).

They are bred from horses who love to race in the same way golden retrievers are bred from dogs who love to retrieve.

Now, for those who want the whip banned. It’s almost impossible to hurt you, let alone a horse, with the modern whip. It’s about re-directing a horse’s attention on what it’s supposed to be doing.

A horse will quite often refuse an opening or will be quite happy to compete with a horse running seventh.

Banning the whip is likely to cause serious accidents because you have taken away an important handling and steering tool for the jockey. You cannot steer a horse at full gallop because the loose reins are being thrown at it.

Serious accidents cause fatalities in every sport. Would you deny a racing driver a steering wheel?

Now for those who don’t understand the hemispheres of a horse’s brain:

A horse can only feel pain from one part of its body at the same time. It’s more complicated than that but if you want to give a horse an injection and it’s not keen on injections, you pinch it somewhere else or twitch its nose and it will not feel the needle, because its attention is diverted to another point.

The horse was originally a predated, wild plains animal and, as such, has a huge spleen, we have a small spleen that is almost obsolete in terms of its role.

The spleen of a horse, which carries a reserve of pure red cells, is triggered to release a gallon of them into the system when the adrenal gland is triggered. The wild predatory animal like a lion is the same.

A cheetah is the fastest animal alive. When excited, it dumps pure red, oxygenated cells from its spleen to its blood system. The trouble with this is the blood’s plasma, the white cells, can carry only a finite amount of red cells.

It’s much like a garden hose full of marbles.

There is a finite quantity of water to carry the marbles (red cells) to where they are needed. Increase the marbles and there is less water (plasma) to carry them. The marbles will eventually clog and come to a stop. So will the animal.

A cheetah can go fast but only for a very short distance, and that’s why a horse (a predated animal) will also sprint, but only for a short distance.

This process strengthens the species of both predatory and predated animals. The one that gets caught doesn’t get to breed the one that catches does.

When a jockey has timed his run correctly, he urges the horse forward at a certain point in the race, the adrenal gland triggers the splenic release and affords the horse a huge boost in oxygenated red cells, but only for a short distance. Maybe as short as 200m.

If the jockey has timed his run well, the horse’s blood will turn to a thick useless gunk right on the winning post.

This is why it is essential a horse relaxes in the initial part of a race. Even a short race. Badly trained horses that jump out of the barriers and take off like cut snakes stop just as quickly, and for good reason.

A stayer is not disadvantaged by distance as posters say here. A horse has either slow- or fast-twitch muscles and a biopsy will determine which.

Much like one athlete will excel at 100m another at middle distance and another will excel at the marathon. A stayer is bred to relax and a sprinter is bred to explode.

Now for those who think by not going into a barrier stall a horse is showing an aversion to race. Not true! Horses get claustrophobic like humans do and they don’t like being touched on the flanks.

My horses never played up at the start because I regularly put their feed bins in the barrier stalls at home. Then they had no problem going in.

The racing game is a wonderful game but it does have its darker side. The side the AJC and the VRC are desperate not to be known.

I once set a horse for a race in Sydney and, when I legged the jockey up, I told him that the horse could not be beaten. He looked at me in the eye and said, “Not today Larry.”

I knew exactly what he meant, thank Christ. He had saved me and the owners a fortune in bets. The race was what is commonly known as a “boat race”.

Okay I was a bit hard on the vegetarians. I apologise, but it is my reaction to someone I know who is a vegan and won’t allow her dog to eat meat. She may have a choice herself, but her poor dog is genetically carnivorous and it’s damned cruel to refuse a dog its natural diet. But I have an aversion to vegans anyway.

I agree on one point, The Golden Slipper has broken down more potentially good horses than any other feature race and Tommy Smith was a master at it.

He would break down 100 horses to get 6 tough ones. I disagree that a 2yo race should ever be a feature event.

But honestly, most of what the complainants say here is just plain nonsense and shows an ignorance of what exactly a horse is all about.

If they want to see real cruelty to animals just watch the halal slaughter of a steer. And it happens right here in our suburbs.


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2014 at 11:06am
Oh goodness, Larry !  That last sentence will see you hung drawn and quartered by the great mob of ignorants .

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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 11 Nov 2014 at 11:31am
LOL Thumbs Up

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2014 at 12:02pm
Not exactly OTT but a story worth telling thanks to Kristen Manning writing for Isyndicate:

https://www.facebook.com/DeKabatRacingResearch?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - De Kabat Racing Research
https://www.facebook.com/DeKabatRacingResearch/posts/650858105011442" rel="nofollow - - 36 mins ·

I have been tracking the Echuca sales for the Australian Racing Board, and collating the numbers of thoroughbreds offered compared to other breeds. I have also collected the results, to see whether horses are sold to private buyers or not. Over six weeks, there have been 616 horses of all breeds auctioned, including 83 Thoroughbreds of all ages. Only 14% of horses auctioned are bought by the local knackery, and this story is about one of the 86% that are sold to private homes.

Note: If a knackery has humane practices, then they fulfill a practical (although sad) necessary service. Not every horse owner has the ability to bury a large animal. Not every horse is suitable for re-homing, due to temperament or injury. The figures show that those that are suitable are finding homes via these auctions.


From broken spirit to a winner

There were just two bidders vying for the well related Tycoon Georgia at an Echuca horse sale two years ago.

Had Meagan Abaloz not won – though there was never a chance she would not – the daughter of Written Tycoon would no longer be with us.

It did not take a huge amount of money, a mere $280, for Meagan to secure Tycoon Georgia and she considers that sum the best money she has ever spent.

Fortunately for Tycoon Georgia a caring friend of Meagan’s spied her in a pen at the Echuca sale and posted a photo of the bay on Facebook.

And she immediately caught Meagan’s attention.

“I just saw the sadness in her eyes.”

“She pulled at the heartstrings.”

“That was late the night before the sale and first thing the next morning I rang my friend who was going.”

With three simple words – “I want her.”

And so Tycoon Georgia had a new, loving home.

And she needed that love – arriving at Meagan’s in poor condition.

“She was under-fed, her legs were swollen, she was not a happy horse.”

Plenty of TLC ensued – good feed, plenty of time in the paddock, a nice thick rug.

The months passed and the mare nicknamed “Spirit” thrived. So much so that she was ready to enter the next phase of her life – the one she was actually bred for.

Asking her parents Margaret and Richard if they’d be interested in racing Tycoon Georgia, Meagan was thrilled when they agreed.

And so Spirit joined the Pakenham stables of Dianne Clover, for whom Megan has worked for the last twelve years.

The plan was for the filly to have one educational start and then head out again, and that is what happened.

Six months out in the paddock after an unplaced debut and Tycoon Georgia was all the more mature and ready for another crack at racing.

Resuming at the Woolamai picnic meeting in February, Tycoon Georgia misbehaved at the barriers (“she got a fright when they shut the gate behind her”), throwing her rider.

She ran third but was ordered to trial. The following month she returned to Woolamai and had her proud owners cheering as she approached the turn several lengths in front.

But she was still green and again she had to trial after running out so badly at the turn that she “ended up on the outside rail!”

She still managed second but the picnic season was coming to a close by then so Tycoon Georgia had a couple of starts at TAB level before another break.

It was last Saturday at Balnarring that she resumed.

Everyone who loves her was there – Meagan, Margaret, Richard, the mare’s track-rider Paul Kramer (who Meagan thanks for his guiding hand teaching Tycoon Georgia how to be a race horse) and his wife Heidi, Dianne Clover.

Friends, family, supporters. All holding their breath as Tycoon Georgia showed her usual pace to take an early lead.

Ridden by Michael Kent Jnr, Tycoon Georgia gave a kick at the turn – and away she went. Her jockey had the time to take a cheeky look behind to see where her rivals were.

Not that Meagan noticed that at the time. All she saw was her pride and joy a length in front at the line.

Pausing when asked to explain that feeling, Meagan understandably found it hard to put it into words.

“To see her go from a filly with a broken spirit, from the horse nobody wanted – to a winner… well it was one of the best moments of my life.”

Tycoon Georgia didn’t need to be a winner for Meagan to love the horse she describes as “an absolute sweetheart who you can do anything with” – but the victory is a reward for all the pair have been through together.

And this is just the start of the story with Tycoon Georgia to be a part of Meagan’s life forever.

Tycoon Georgia, whose dam is a half-sister to last week’s Flemington Group Three winner Vain Queen, is well bred enough to be a broodmare but a life of leisure is on the cards.

“When she finishes racing she will spend the rest of her life with me,” Meagan said, “there is no money that could buy her.”

Meagan is not sure where her love of horses came from, but it has always been with her.

“When I was ten I asked my parents for a horse – Dad said if I was still passionate about it at Christmas time when I was 12 they’d consider it.”

“Three weeks before that Christmas I asked again – Dad thought I would’ve forgotten by then!”

And so “Polly,” an Arab quarter-horse cross became Meagan’s first equine pet, much loved for eight years before passing away aged 30 – buried at home.

Meagan’s second horse “Dusty,” a thoroughbred son of Plush, is still going strongly aged 23 and there are several other retired racehorses – and a Standardbred – in her care.

Lucky horses indeed!

HOOFNOTE: Tycoon Georgia was bred by a trainer who took the time to find her a good home. Sadly the people she was passed onto did the wrong thing. She was fortunately saved but others are not. There are several Facebook pages devoted to finding homes for such horses (though thankfully the minority are thoroughbreds)… please have a look and help if you can!




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Munga Rangi
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2014 at 10:17pm
There are a lot of good souls giving their time and expertise to  help rehome as many of the lots at the Echuca saleyards as possible. There have been some wonderful stories out of there. Facebook Page HAAP Horses at Auction Preview Thumbs UpThumbs Up

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Caveat emptor


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2014 at 1:49pm

Retiring racehorses leave the track to take on second career in the equestrian world

By http://www.abc.net.au/news/linda-skates/5684052" rel="nofollow - Linda Skates

Updated

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-22/sharon-joyce-rides-scenic-blast-one-month-into-his-retrainingj/5984400" rel="nofollow"> Sharon Joyce rides Scenic Blast http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-22/sharon-joyce-rides-scenic-blast-one-month-into-his-retrainingj/5984400" rel="nofollow - Photo: Sharon Joyce says Scenic Blast will start competing in his second career next year. - (Eric Lloyd)
http://maps.google.com/?q=-31.9234,115.8834%28Perth%206000%29&z=5" rel="nofollow - Map: Perth 6000

After winning more than $2 million in his career, racing overseas in Japan, France, the US and winning the King's Stand Stakes in front of the Queen, there was little that thoroughbred Scenic Blast had left to achieve.

He won three group one races in 2009 and was named Australian Horse of the Year.

But, like others, an injury put paid to any further racing and he had to be retired from the track.

Hundreds of other horses leave the racecourse behind each year, and while some are put out to pasture, others are either rehomed or find a second career in the equestrian industry.

A small number may have to be euthanased if they have been injured.

But Judith Medd, the racing industry veterinarian for Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA), said claims by animal activists that racehorses were routinely euthanased were simply not true.

"The claims they were making is that there were a significant number of allegedly healthy, fit horses that were being discarded as a result of finishing from racing and we just knew that wasn't the case," she said.

Their agility, their speed, their courage, their bravery, they're willing to please, they're the sort of attributes that...makes them very good all rounders for...eventing and show jumping.

Sharon Joyce

"Euthanasia is usually a last resort and even for racing trainers, it's always in my experience been a last resort.

"Obviously some horses have injuries and like any animal, if it's got an injury that isn't able to be treated, then euthanasia may be the most appropriate course and that would be the same for a racehorse or a dog or a cat."

Scenic Blast fractured his near side hind leg in a trackwork gallop.

He spent 18 months in recovery and is now in the care of Sharon Joyce who runs RWWA's Off The Track program which supports the transition of racehorses into new careers.

Equestrian riders value 'willing to please' racehorses

Ms Joyce said the equestrian industry, which has disciplines including dressage, show jumping and eventing, as well as polo, polo cross, pony clubs, and adult riding clubs, was keen to have retired thoroughbreds.

"Their agility, their speed, their courage, their bravery, they're willing to please, they're the sort of attributes that owners and riders like when they looking for a horse so that makes them very good all rounders for things like eventing and show jumping," she said.

"The standardbreds [trotters] are known to have a bit of a more warm temperament, they're not such hot-blooded animals, so they're good for pony club riders or adult riding club riders, so those maybe starting out in the equestrian world."

Ms Medd said for many years equestrian riders would buy European sports horses known as warmbloods but these were expensive.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-22/kate-ingham-rides-retired-thoroughbred-tullius-over-the-off-the/5984398" rel="nofollow"> Kate Ingham and Tullius http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-22/kate-ingham-rides-retired-thoroughbred-tullius-over-the-off-the/5984398" rel="nofollow - Photo: Kate Ingham rides retired thoroughbred Tullius over a jump at eventing in Perth. - (RedFoto)

"Warmbloods can be very, very suitable for disciplines like show jumping and dressage but the thoroughbred, because they have a lot of speed, endurance and stamina, they can also be very suitable for these disciplines," she said.

"What we're now starting to find is that a good thoroughbred will actually be much better than an average European warmblood, particularly for eventing - where they go over jumps and cross country.

"They have to go over those jumps in a certain time so they do have a time limit and if you get a clear round, and you don't knock any of the jumps, then it's obviously awarded to the person who's gone round the fastest time.

"Thoroughbreds are very, very good at that; the warmbloods have a good jump but they're not often that fast so a lot of people use thoroughbreds for eventing."

They have also found retired horses for Riding for the Disabled.

Ms Joyce estimates she has found new homes for about 60 horses.

'Rehome a Racehorse' on Facebook

Early last year, Linda Brenzi and Jade Proctor, who work as clerks of course at Perth Racing, decided there was a need to do something for horses once they finished at the track.

The pair set up "Rehome a Racehorse" on Facebook.

"What I like to do is turn thoroughbreds into show horses once they finish racing," Ms Brenzi said.

"So quite often I'd be getting asked by trainers or strappers, would I like to take on a horse once it had finished, and obviously I can't take everything because I don't have the money or the property or the time.

That's the link that has been missing so people who do show jumping and eventing and pony clubs are now able to find horses that are straight off the track.

Linda Brenzi

"We created this site so basically the trainers, owners or strappers could come to us with the racing name, all the details of the horse, photos, and what we do is we put it on our page.

"What it's doing is linking the outside equestrian community to the racing industry.

"I think that's the link that has been missing so people who do show jumping and eventing and pony clubs are now able to find horses that are straight off the track.

"What was happening was people [didn't] know how to get hold of a horse in the racing industry. If you're not involved in the industry, you don't actually have access to these horses so it's linking the two worlds together now."

The pair has so far rehomed 250 horses.

"At the end of the day, if we don't do anything, it's the horses that suffer," Ms Brenzi said.

Record of retiring racehorses now kept

Ms Brenzi said they also attended the sales to prevent unwanted horses going to the knackery.

"We go to the sales and photograph the ones that are left over because anybody that puts them in unreserved, if nobody buys, it then basically that's where they go," she said.

We're starting to get really good figures now that the number of horses successfully retired to breeding and the equestrian industry is about 85 per cent.

Judith Medd

"This year, we've actually rehomed the whole lot so none have ended up there from those sales."

For many years, it was not known what happened to racehorses when they retired as records were not kept.

That changed this year with rules put in place by the Australian Racing Board, Ms Medd said.

"The new rule is that when a thoroughbred retires from racing the owner has to fill in a form and send it back to the registrar of racehorses, indicating where that horse has retired to and what it's going to do," she said.

"A lot of horses will go into the breeding industry and a lot will go into the equestrian industry to be used as sport horses.

"We're starting to get really good figures now that the number of horses successfully retired to breeding and the equestrian industry is about 85 per cent."

For those racehorses taken up by the equestrian industry, there are many fans.

As a rider and horse lover, Ms Joyce is keen to see Scenic Blast back competing.

"We're doing a bit of dressage and a bit of jumping - we'll be out competing next year," she said.



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Geraldo
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2014 at 6:36am
Just read the polo article.  So, if a polo pony's best years is 6-8yo that means they need to be rehomed again shortly after that?

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TBV - where it is the Silly Season all year round.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2014 at 8:57am
Quite likely go on to lower grades, polocrosse or even bred from as most seem to be mares. Some'd be used for umpiring too I guess.

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2015 at 9:34am

Robinson's love for her 'Cat with nine lives'

  • Daniel Miles https://www.twitter.com/DanielMiles90" rel="nofollow - @DanielMiles90
  • 30 December, 2014

He’s tall, dark and handsome, with a broad chest and intelligence to boot.

With a profile like that  it’s easy to see how Kirsty McMahon fell head-over-heels in love with retired racehorse, Cats Fun.

The Warrnambool-based pre-trainer has been a constant in Cats Fun’s life since he transferred across from Perth to trainer Jarrod McLean’s Yangery stables in early 2009.

  • McMahon had been warned of the gelding’s roguish ways, with McLean cautioning not to put the galloper in a paddock alone as ‘he’d be impossible to catch’.

    “What did I do? I put him in a paddock on his own without thinking,” McMahon said with a laugh.

    Yet there was something about McMahon that had the normally difficult gelding enamoured. Cats Fun trotted straight to the pre-trainer, signalling the first moment of kindness in a friendship that would last far beyond his racing days.

“I’ve always been obsessed with the horse and he’s always been obsessed with me back. It takes most people a bit of time to really win him over but we just clicked from the start,” she said.

It should come as no surprise that Cats Fun returned to racing with relish having undergone a period of pre-training with McMahon, with the decision by McLean to send Cats Fun over the jumps quickly paying dividends for the pair.


  • The hulking gelding relished the change of scenery, his dominant win in the 2013 Brierly Steeplechase at Warrnambool a clear highlight of McMahon’s time in racing.

    “I was so proud of him that day, nothing will ever top that day on the racetrack for me ever,” she said.

    Cats Fun’s tenacity on the track has transferred to his life post-racing, with McMahon affectionately re-naming her mate ‘cat with nine lives’ – and with good reason, too.


The gelding has faced death on three occasions with a serious bout of colic, a staph infection and an adverse reaction to penicillin all troubling the retired galloper.

Yet, he has always managed to pull through.

“I told him when he was sick with his colic back in 2009 that if he pulled through he’d a have a home for life with me, and he pulled through the cheeky bugger,” McMahon said.


Cats Fun was retired in August 2014 and has been loving life off the track with McMahon ever since.

He is regarded as the mascot of the Warrnambool Pony Club where McMahon is an adult member. Cats Fun is no stranger to Pony Club life, having become a regular attendee over the past five years while in Victoria.

McMahon has plans to start eventing with Cats Fun in the future, but for now is just happy to spend time hacking around a paddock and showering her best bud with affection.

“We’ll get along and do more things off the track in the future, but at the moment I’m just enjoying that he’s mine,” she said.

“He’ll keep getting lots of kisses and cuddles and scratches and we’ll head out riding whenever we can. He gets away with murder here with me, but he’s found his home for life for sure. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

By Daniel Miles - @DanielMiles90



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2015 at 12:25pm

Havers and Harry Go for Final Glory

  • James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf
  • 2 January, 2015

If bloodlines were the sole determinant of success on the racetrack, Encosta De Lago gelding Inigomontoya would’ve been a champion.

But unfortunately for his racing owners, the $150,000 weanling purchase didn’t live up his pricey pedigree and was retired as a maiden after three unplaced starts on the track for trainers John O’Shea and Andrew Noblet.

But what he lacks in speed and an aptitude for racing, Inigomontoya makes up for in looks and a loving temperament, much to the satisfaction of Benalla teenager Olivia Havers.

Since first welcoming the now 11-year-old gelding into her family’s stable two years ago, the pair have become a formidable combination in the show ring and will look to claim their biggest success together in the Off the Track Show Series Final at the Victorian Saddle Horse Championships in Bendigo on 8 January.

The unique class, open exclusively to retired thoroughbred racehorses that earned qualification via one of more than 100 Off the Track classes at agricultural shows across the state, will see up to 40 of Victoria’s most talented show horses take chase up to $2800 in prizemoney (winner: $1000, runner-up: $500, finalists: $100, highest placed Off the Track (raced) in the last two years: $500).

Having ridden horses from early childhood, Havers said Inigomontoya was her first thoroughbred and, after persisting with his initial retraining, she has been given a lasting first impression of the breed.

“When I got him he was very nervous and really green when he went out so we just kept working with him and he’s taken really well to it all,” Havers said.

“He’s the first thoroughbred that I’ve really had anything to do with and my first hack that I’ve had to show.

“He is a great type and a perfect example of what a good thoroughbred is like, he’s just a gentle giant.”

Although the pair have been competing with great success this year, including a runner-up placing in Havers’ rider class at this year’s Royal Melbourne Show, the 15-year-old said a win at Bendigo would provide a career highlight.

Havers rode Inigomontoya to a top 10 placing in January’s inaugural Off the Track Show Series Final, won by Samantha McMaster and DP Destiny, and are again set to face some challenging rivals, including the likes of the last two Garryowen champions - Chosen One and WS Coast – and former Bart Cummings-trained Group 1 winner Sirmione.

 “I got second in my rider (class) at Melbourne with him which was his first Royal Show and I’ve just been doing lots of little shows around the rural areas where I live in Benalla,” Havers said.

“I’ve won a lot of Champions and Reserve Champions on him in Hack Classes and I won the Off the Track Class with him at Yarrawonga Show.

“He’s definitely picked up in his condition and he’s really starting to come together in his work so I think that if we keep working really hard he could place quite high.”

Run in partnership with the Victorian Agricultural Shows (VAS) as part of the 2015 Saddle Horse Championships, the Off the Track Show Series Final will be held at 5pm on Thursday, 8 January at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds in Bendigo.

And as they watch the exciting Off the Track action unfold in the ring, spectators will enjoy a complimentary BBQ dinner, provided by Racing Victoria.



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: furious
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2015 at 12:58pm
A cousin in England had a horsey girlfiend who we met when overseas and we got talking horses.  It seems our thoroughbreds have alot more personality and go than some English ones.  Maybe she needs to visit Red Cadeau who seemed to also be personality plus on his visit.  I think that is why you find more thoroughbreds competing in the Eventing with Australian riders while overseas they rely on the warmblood crosses.  It's funny though.  We didn't have that type for the English Olympics and we didn't have the best games.  Hopefully some thoroughbreds make the team in Rio.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2015 at 3:15pm
Belltone Thumbs Up

https://www.facebook.com/mhellyer3/posts/10152739322198295?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Michael Hellyer

Would like to thank everybody for their support over the past 24 hours with getting and finding a new home for Belltone cannot thank my wife https://www.facebook.com/linda.hellyer" rel="nofollow - Linda Hellyer enough and https://www.facebook.com/maequineservices.com.au" rel="nofollow - Michelle Allen for taking him. Would like to thank the owner for contributing and paying for Belltone to allow us to take him and find a new home and also Kelso Wood & https://www.facebook.com/patricia.gesler" rel="nofollow - Patricia Gesler for taking such great care of over him over the years. I'm so happy to see him retired to a lovely home its what he deserved.




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 24 Feb 2015 at 6:26pm
Another lovely 'meant to be' story Clap

Spiderman - Safe and Sound

  • Daniel Miles https://www.twitter.com/DanielMiles90" rel="nofollow - @DanielMiles90

He can’t run very fast. He hasn’t got great scope, beautiful movement or marked jumping ability.

He’s not even particularly intelligent, but that hasn’t stopped Georgina Officer falling head-over-heels for retired racehorse, Spiderman.

A regally-bred son More Than Ready, Spiderman started his life as lot 458 at the 2010 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sales, where he was secured for $40,000 by Cranbourne-trained Mick Kent.

The sweet natured chestnut quickly showed the team at Kent racing that he had little interest in the racing caper, finishing no closer than third-last in each of his six-career starts.

Having secured no career prizemoney outside starters fees, Spiderman was quickly retired and sent to a local agistment farm having finished some 30-lengths off the winning horse in a 1200m Kilmore maiden.

However, this is where –as Georgina Officer states – Spiderman’s story gets ‘murky’.

Somehow, between his final race start in August 2013 and early March 2014, Spiderman found his way to a New South Wales property known as ‘The Depot’. 

It took just one photo to convince Officer that Spiderman was the horse for her.

“I had no idea what I was doing. I’d seen a picture of him and was told he was a ‘nice type’, but other than that I knew nothing,” she said.

“I remember sitting at my friends after the sale, wondering, ‘What have I done? What was I going to do with an off the track thoroughbred that I would always be too scared to ride?’

“I myself was just coming back from a major accident after 15 years off, and everyone says that off the trackers are ‘fire breathing dragons’, only to be ridden by the most experienced riders!

“But Spiderman, he came to me, and I think there was a reason for that.”

And so began the story of Georgina Officer and Spiderman, who would live out the rest of his days known as Pete.

Officer quickly got to work rehabilitating the gelding on her property, working on his condition, his food aggression and ‘fixing the mess that was his feet’ before sending the youngster to a breaker and trainer.

“It didn’t take us long; I instantly fell head-over-heels in love with the big red boy,” she said.

“I made the decision that I would not sell him; he came too close to the end of the road and I was going to make sure that when he dies it’s from old age, fat and happy in the back paddock.”

There was just one problem that remained for Officer and Pete. Who would ride the gelding?

Officer had spent the best part of 15 years out of the saddle and didn’t know anyone who could take her place aboard the chestnut.  Summoning all of her courage, Officer took the bold step and saddled up her best mate.

Pete’s unreserved kindness under saddle surprised his new owner.

“He may be a bit stupid, grind his teeth and paddle; but he’s honestly the safest, kindest horse I know,” she said.

“I have seen him to refuse to move when a beginner rider becomes unbalanced, and avoid stepping on a small girl who has decided to stop and pick-up a rock from directly in front of his foot.

“Most impressively, he’s even learnt that when mummy says, ‘Ouch, ouch, ouch,’ he gently comes to a complete stop and lets me ungracefully slide off his back into a heap.”

Pete isn’t ever going to be a star of the dressage ring, or a ribbon winning show jumper. He won’t be an award winning polo pony or a front-line police horse.

What Pete is however, is safe.

Just like thousands of retired racehorses across the nation – Pete is an off the track thoroughbred who will live a long, happy life with a family who will treat him as part of the family.

And while he may not ever find a place in the spotlight, Officer says that Pete will forever remain a star in her eyes.

“He’s an example of horses who give nervous people like me confidence and love; who touch our hearts and are a huge mistake and stuff-up of a purchase that turn in to the best mistake we ever made. I can’t imagine life without him now.”


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: reng
Date Posted: 26 Feb 2015 at 2:14pm
Another article about my ARB study: https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/australian-racing-offence-about-racehorse-retirement

Australian racing on the offence about racehorse retirement

Researcher Renee Geelen in 1991 riding a retired Standardbred. Photo via Renée Geelen.
Researcher Renee Geelen in 1991 riding a retired Standardbred. Photo via Renée Geelen.
https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/authors/trent-masenhelder" rel="nofollow - Trent Masenhelder
February 26, 2015

Modern racing is finding itself more and more embattled, thanks in part to vigorous anti-racing campaigns. However, in 2013, the Australian Racing Board armed itself with its own facts on the retirement of racehorses. Trent Masenhelder spoke to researcher Renée Geelen, who was commissioned to gather accurate, representative data on the 11,000 racehorses, of some 17,000 born annually, that are retired in Australia every year.

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There has long been mystery, uncertainty, and brisk debate about what happens to racehorses when they finish competing. During life as a competition athlete, they are largely nurtured, groomed, fed, tended with loving care, and prepared by their trainer as best he or she knows how, all with the aim of bringing home a cheque, and providing owners with the excitement that this industry promises. But what happens when a racehorse is no longer put through its paces every morning, floated to the races, and sent to face the starter? Does it see out its days grazing in sunbathed paddocks with dozens other fellow racers, or, as the animal activists will have everyone believe, are most of these retired horses considered “wastage,” and sent off to the knackery?

Every season in Australia, approximately 11,000 racehorses are retired for various reasons: injury, illness, advanced age. Some are deemed not fast enough, others not competitive enough, while many finish up because they’ve done enough for caring owners. The Australian Stud Book indicates that approximately 3,000 retirees go to stud, thereby remaining in the industry as breeding mares and stallions. However, what of the remaining 8,000? What happens to them?

In 2013, the Australian Racing Board (ARB) commissioned Thoroughbred consultant Renée Geelen to find out. The ARB has identified the retirement of Australia’s racehorses as its No. 1 animal-welfare issue, and it charged Geelen with surveying the retirement issue to determine what was really happening in the industry. Geelen is a native New Zealander, these days based in Sydney where she runs de Kabat Bloodstock. She has worked as a strapper, and has a Bachelor of Science with majors in physics and mathematics.

Renee Geelen headshot

Geelen contacted 25 trainers across Australia with a combined total of 3,224 horses between them. This data set, she considered, was representative of the entire industry. Trainers were both city- and country-based, and incorporated some of the biggest names in racing, along with operations that had only a handful of horses. Geelen quizzed trainers, recording where their horses ended up after leaving the yard for the last time. While she took it at face value that trainers were telling the truth, admitting that it was not time-effective to follow-up on individual cases, she found, with only a very small exception, that trainers were open to her requests for information. The survey was designed in such a way that trainers had to be specific in their answers as to where horses had gone on retirement, and Geelen hoped that it would be harder to be untruthful while being so specific. When she received responses citing horses gone to stud or returned to owner, she double-checked this against Stud Book records.

“In general, people were quite open to the idea of the survey because they’re trying to do the right thing [in rehoming horses], and there are so many anti-racing people talking a whole load of... well, you know. Trainers wanted to be part of saying ‘yeah, we’re doing the right thing,’ and I think we got reasonably sound data. Apart from a few that had been euthanized for various reasons, most horses had gone on and found other jobs like pony club, polo, stock horses, and all sorts of things.”

From Geelen’s research, of the 1,470 horses in her survey that finished racing, 664 (45 percent) went to stud. A further 109 (7 percent) died or were euthanised, while just six (0.4 percent) ended up at the abattoirs.

“There’s a big data gap,” Geelen said. “For example, you don’t have to register a pleasure horse, so there’s no data on them, and nobody knows how many [ex-racehorse] pleasure horses there are in Australia, and who owns them. It allows the anti-racing groups to make up stuff. But the whole point of the survey was to move the debate beyond just stories, and groups like Animals Australia have a really strong following because they’re good at emotionalizing stories.”

Geelen said the racing industry had a history of not having data to back up its own claims when it came to racehorse retirement. She said the survey was an opportunity for the industry to say it had real data, and that it was considered, measured, and sensible – and not emotive. She added that a scientific approach was necessary so that the data would present a real answer, not the answer she, personally, was looking for. After all, this is a woman passionate about horse racing.

By the end of the survey, Geelen’s findings were reflective of a 2004 study funded by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and recently published as the “Hayek Study” by veterinary professor Paul McGreevy of the University of Sydney (McGreevy has a history of strong opinions on racing, including advocating for the banning of whips). A comparative look at the results of both studies goes as follows:

Geelen v Hayek results

Geelen has issues with the Hayek Study. She said that though both surveys tended towards the same answers, the Hayek version included a higher proportion of country trainers, while her research concentrated on a higher proportion of metropolitan trainers. Geelen questions the objectivity of the Hayek work, and said that it buckets all horses having left a stable as having left the racing industry. The results contradict that.

Geelen insists that her survey was designed to reflect what is really happening with racehorses, not what the racing industry hopes is happening. She accepts that trainers may or may not have been telling her the truth, but Geelen said that her results are comparative with other surveys of this kind (including one conducted by Racing Victoria recently, and due shortly for publication), and therefore this indicates an accurate state of events.

“I wanted to ensure that the survey couldn’t be criticized for trying to find good news, and that it was as unbiased and scientific as a survey can be,” she said.

In proving this, Geelen pointed out that she came across stories of trainers not doing the right thing, but among the 25 she contacted, there were only two. She said from a scientific point-of-view, it was good to find them, because it meant she was covering all ends of the spectrum.

“It represented only six horses, so it wasn’t a widespread issue,” she said.

The anti-racing movement has the wider public believing otherwise. There are various claims that 18,000 Thoroughbreds are slaughtered every year in Australia, while in 2008, http://kb.rspca.org.au/afile/235/36/" rel="nofollow - an investigation into horse slaughter by Amanda Doughty found that of 340 horses processed at an Australian abattoir, 40 percent had Thoroughbred brands. However, there is no way of knowing how these racehorses are ending up at slaughterhouses. Anti-racing groups cannot say if horses are arriving straight from the racetrack (this is their preferred point-of-marketing), or if they’ve had many years in other careers first, having been successfully rehomed by the industry after their racing days.

The ARB understands the importance of being able to provide tangible evidence concerning the retirement of racehorses, admitting it has long relied on anecdotal information and data. It is possible that the industry had become complacent, assuming that the general public accepted that racing people love their horses, and that they were answerable to the handling and treatment of the animals. This is no longer the case.

“In the face of the onslaught by animal rights extremists, racing must be able to prove its case, and provide the facts and figures for public consumption,” said Peter McGauran, CEO of the ARB. “Consequently, we commissioned this survey, and are able to tell a good story about the retirement of ex-racehorses.”

Furthermore, in July 2014, http://www.racingnsw.com.au/site/_content/document/00001200-source.pdf" rel="nofollow - the ARB amended the Australian Rule of Racing AR.64 , making it compulsory for managing owners and trainers to notify Racing Information Services Australia (RISA) of the retirement and death of any horse in their care. A “Retirement of Racehorses or Death Notification Form” was created.

“To consolidate the reliability of information going forward, we now require owners and trainers to notify us of, firstly, the retirement of a horse, and secondly, its destination,” McGauran said.

McGauran believes that Geelen’s study was groundbreaking, and will enable the community to be able to make informed decisions about its support and understanding of racing. He insists that the industry adheres to the highest standards when it comes to integrity and the welfare of racehorses.

“In today’s media climate, you have to be able to substantiate and prove the facts,” McGauran said. “I wouldn’t expect there to be a need for a survey ever again, because the retirement forms will tell us where horses have gone. Previously, we haven’t had those hard facts. The animal welfare groups are now incredibly sophisticated in media and public relations; you have to give them credit in their ability to simplify a message and communicate it to the widest possible audience. But, what we now have on our side is science and fact, and we just have to be a lot smarter in winning the public debate. We’re not up against amateurs. Exaggeration and distortion are stock in trade [for the anti-racing groups].”

There are a further two sections to Geelen’s study that are currently under discussion with the Retirement of Racehorses Committee, a subsidiary of the ARB. One involved Geelen interviewing a further 20 trainers about horses that were named but unraced, while the other addressed breeders about horses from the 2009/2010 foal crop that were unnamed. The Committee is considering presenting these results as a conference paper in the future.




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The problem with Opportunity is that it wears overalls and looks like work.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 26 Feb 2015 at 3:25pm

Backman Talks Beyond the Bid

  • James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @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. 



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 9:09pm
One of our members retired this girl very quickly on discovering she was a very slow conveyance but as with all his retirees, he rehomed her to full advantage of all concerned Clap Clap

Retired Racehorse Success at Sydney Royal

  • By Cara Kavanagh
Embedded image permalink

Victorian rider Sarah Dempsey’s retired racehorse Sarven Park Tell All was judged Best Novice Hack at last week’s Sydney Royal Show.

The Off the Track mare, sired by the US stallion Denon from the Umatilla mare Summatilla, had one start under the race name ‘Summaden’ and is an example of the many racehorses, both successful and unsuccessful, that forge a new post-racing career in another equestrian sport.

The mare’s breeder and former trainer, popular Mt Gambier horseman Dean Saxon, said he was rapt to have found such a good home for her.

“She was pretty slow and only raced once, but was always a terrific conformation type, so when (we found out) Sarah was looking for a new horse, we sent her over,” Saxon told The Weekly Times’ Fran Cleland.

"The lovely Sarah Dempsey has done a truly outstanding job with this mare and to win at Sydney Royal is massive for her.

“Sarah deserves all the credit. She’s done all the hard work and we are so proud.”

Retired thoroughbred racehorses continued to impress the judges in Sydney across the weekend, winning three of the four Open Hack classes and claiming Champion and Reserve Champion Open Hack.

Champion Hack was awarded to Mikimoto, winner of the Tony Haynes Memorial Perpetual Trophy for the best Open Hack over 15.2hh and not exceeding 16hh. Mikimoto, who raced as Lago Force during stints in the stables of Team Hawkes and Garry White, was exhibited by Joh Bailey, Michael Christie and Sandra McCann.

The Large Hack class was won by imposing Zabeel gelding Xlerate for Mark Kenzig, Victoria Gorst and Vick Berwick while Syenna Vassilopoulos’ mare High Fashion, who raced as Rosie Glow, took out the over 16hh and not exceeding 16.2hh class before going on to claim reserve Champion Open Hack.

The Col. A. V. Pope Silver Perpetual Trophy, donated by the late Col A V Pope, for the Best Hack over 15hh which, that in the opinion of the Judge, shows Thoroughbred qualities was won by Joann Maunder’s nomination Karado.

Karado, a son of Rock of Gibraltar (IRE) that sold for $200,000 as a weanling, raced as Domitian for Sydney trainer Anthony Cummings and proved to be a handy horse on the track, winning at Canterbury and Newcastle and earning more than $60,000 from 22 starts before being retired in February 2012.




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2015 at 10:56am

Manighar on Gold path with Dutton

  • 14 Apr, 2015
  • |James Tzaferis - https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf


Manighar

Manighar, with Phillip Dutton in the saddle (Photo: www.phillipdutton.com)

He conquered the racetrack with feature wins on both sides of the equator and now Group 1-winning grey Manighar will turn his attention to dominating another equine discipline.     

The OTI Racing-owned gelding, a winner of 10 races and nearly $4 million during a 44-start career in Europe, Australia and the United States, has joined the stables of top US-based eventer Phillip Dutton.

A member of Australia’s Gold Medal-winning eventing team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Dutton is now based in West Grove, Pennsylvania and continues to compete at the sport’s highest level.

Retired after running his final race for trainer H. Graeme Motion at Woodbine in December 2014, Dutton has been impressed with Manighar’s rapid Off the Track transition.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Dutton said in a video posted on his YouTube page.

“Overall, his progress has been very pleasing and he has come around very quickly for us given he came straight from training in Florida to a whole different career and different way of going.”


Originally prepared in France by Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Alain de Royer Dupre, Manighar first travelled to Australia under the care of Luca Cumani to contest the 2010 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

Transferred to Caulfield trainer Peter Moody after the 2011 Spring Racing Carnival, Manighar stamped his authority on Australia’s weight-for-age ranks with Group 1 wins in the Australian Cup (2000m), Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and The BMW (2400m).

The decision to retire the nine-year-old came after an unsuccessful three-start North American campaign for Motion with another of the gelding’s owners, US businessman Earle Mack, asking Dutton to assess the son of Linamix’s potential as an event mount.

Eventing combines three equestrian disciplines – dressage, cross country and show jumping – and has traditionally been a popular post-racing career for thoroughbreds whose athleticism, intelligence and stamina has led them to success at the pinnacle of the sport.

“He’s gone from being what I call ‘real racehorsey’ which is being inattentive and wanting to canter and go fast to understanding about bending around your leg and being able to go in a bit of a frame,” Dutton said.

“He picks up each canter leg well and I’m just starting to get him to slow down the canter so that he can canter on a shorter stride.

“He jumps in good form and his technique with his front and back legs is good but what I’ll be working on is to get him up higher in the air.”



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Dizzy
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2015 at 11:12am
Thanks Gay, it is so good to hear these stories, brings back my faith in the human race.   


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 07 May 2015 at 9:49pm

Dream retirement for Annual hero

  • 10 hours ago
  • |James Tzaferis  https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow -
Kate Ryan and Awakening Dream

Kate Ryan and Awakening Dream

His ability over obstacles proved a defining factor in his successful racing career and now 2012 Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) winner Awakening Dream is putting his impressive leap to good use in his new equestrian career.

The former Patrick Payne-trained jumper, a winner of 11 of his 46 career starts including eight over obstacles, was retired from the track in 2013 into the care of former handler Kate Ryan.

Ryan, who strapped the gelding when he won the Grand Annual and continues to ride trackwork for Payne, said the 11-year-old was making impressive progress in his new career as a show jumper and aspiring eventer.

“When the decision was made to retire him, the owner asked Patrick to find him a good home and he asked me if I wanted to take him,” Ryan said.

“He finished his racing career and I sent him to the beach at Inverloch with my brother-in-law for a bit of a holiday while I was pregnant.

“After I had my daughter I brought him back to where I’m living which is near Diamond Creek and we’re competing twice a month, mostly in show jumping, but we’re getting into a bit of eventing as well.”

Eventing combines three equestrian disciplines – dressage, cross country and show jumping – and is a domain in which thoroughbreds have always excelled due to their intelligence, versatility and stamina.

Leading international and Australian eventers, including Olympians Shane Rose, Sonja Johnson and Gillian Rolton, have tasted success aboard thoroughbreds in some of the world's biggest events.

While Awakening Dream’s jumping ability ensures he is proficient in both cross country and show jumping, Ryan said her intention was to refine the gelding’s flat work.

“He’s a really good jumper over the show jumps so there’s no problem there,” Ryan said.

“He’ll have to improve on his dressage skills to be competitive at the highest level but on his show jumping and cross country there won’t be any problems because he loves it.

“We’re working on our flat work at the moment and I’m getting lessons on a weekly basis.”



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 3:46pm

MI3DE Guest Blog - Kirilee Hosier

  • |By Kirilee Hosier

Kirilee Hosier and Regal Red Jasper

Fresh from success at the PCAV State Horse Trials, 20-year-old Kirilee Hosier will lead a two-pronged attack on the CCI1* at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event on retired racehorses Regal Red Jasper and Scatterbook Divine

I’m 20 now and I got my first pony when I was three years old. My parents both rode so I was brought up into a life of riding, starting pony club when I was five. I was just doing general pony club stuff for a period of time and the horse I had decided he didn’t want to jump anymore which meant a few years of just doing dressage.

But since I’ve had my two thoroughbreds in the stable, I’ve pretty much focussed on eventing. I haven’t competed at Melbourne before so it’s quite exciting for me as a first time rider, especially with two horses there and I’m hopeful that one of them can come out with a placing.

I got my older horse Jasper in 2009 and he hadn’t done a lot because he’d been a bit of a handful for his previous rider. He’s an 11-year-old son of Lion Cavern that never made it to the racetrack. I started him off at Pony Club and I’ve brought him along slowly to CCI1*. He’s a bit behind where he could’ve been because unfortunately he had two years off with various injuries but I’m hoping that next season he’ll be able to get to CCI2*.

Scatterbook Divine is two years younger than Jasper and I got him two days after his last race. He made it to the track and actually managed to win a race at Echuca when he was known as The Divine One. My coach had affiliations with the trainer, Lee Hope, and I was basically told that he was mine if I wanted to take him. I picked him up from the trainer, brought him home for two weeks before he unfortunately got injured as well.

He’s been a progressive eventer and has continued to improve as I’ve brought him through the grades. He started at Grade Four and won the Pony Club State Horse Trials, then the next year he won Grade Three at the same event. He was second at Grade Two at last year’s titles and was obviously fourth at Grade One this year, behind Jasper who finished second and was awarded the Best Performed Off the Track thoroughbred.

These two horses have made me a pretty big fan of thoroughbreds as a breed. I’ve noticed that even after a few weeks off, they’re still fit so if they have a slight setback I know I can rest them and they’ll still have enough fitness to go to a competition. I’ve found thoroughbreds are also pretty good at remembering what their job is which is helpful and most of them are pretty quick and quite agile. 

I’d like to complete Melbourne on both of them and of course I’d love to get some sort of ribbon but it is a tough field and I want to be realistic. I would expect Jasper to do slightly better than Scatterbook Divine as he is the more experienced of the two and performed well at the PCAV State Horse Trials last month. But in saying that, Scatterbook Divine always seems to surprise me and can sometimes score better and jump better than Jasper if things go right for him. Regardless, there’ll a bit of healthy in-house competition between the two and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of fun.

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2015 at 5:50pm
Embedded image permalink

https://twitter.com/RV_OffTheTrack" rel="nofollow - https://twitter.com/RV_OffTheTrack/status/650937329033449472" rel="nofollow - Brilliant shot of retired https://twitter.com/PGsnowden" rel="nofollow - - @lyndal_emadilo



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2015 at 10:41pm
Richazam , an old eventer OFTTB,  now doing PC,  came 4th at the Aust Pony Club Championships in Adelaide at the weekend, against a host of WBs.

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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2015 at 7:27pm
https://www.facebook.com/zena.0?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Kylie Stephenson  to  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455379468096620/?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Thoroughbred GateKeeper
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455379468096620/permalink/1502324713402095/" rel="nofollow - - - 12 mins ·

Was just informed today that Grand Zulu - BMW stakes winner won the 1.05m showjumping Championship at the Sydney SJ Champs today! Great to see a well know OTT go onto being a successful Equestrian competitor



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 16 Dec 2015 at 7:24pm
OTT Hanks loving life at Violet Town Euroa Jumping Classic last weekend Clap

Embedded image permalink

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 11:56am
Double post as he has his own thread too Big smile

Sincero

Sincero, pictured here after winning the Group 2 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield

Sincero set for second career

  • 9:17am
  • |James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow -

He was a star on the racetrack and early indications suggest dual Group 1 winner Sincero will be a formidable force in his new career as a show horse.

A winner 12 races, including the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) and Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m), and more than $1.7 million in prizemoney, Sincero made his showing debut in New South Wales last weekend.

The son of Umatilla remains in the care of Sarah Farley, the wife of trainer Stephen Farley, and is being shown in partnership with long-time friend Lisa Greentree.

Greentree said that the eight-year-old coped with the foreign atmosphere of the show ring extremely well at his first competitive outing and is excited about the gelding’s future under saddle.

“He went to his first show last week in the led classes and he was so relaxed,” Greentree said.

“Being the first show of the season there was quite a bit going on and a lot of horses around him were a bit fresh but when he was asked to trot out for the judge he did it like he’s been doing it all his life.

“He wants to do it, he wants to be there and he doesn’t mind the eating part of being a show horse as well.”

Greentree, an part-owner of several Farley-trained horses over the last decade, said the stable put an emphasis on responsible retirement of its horses and Sincero was one of many that had transitioned into a competitive second career.

“The owners are very passionate about rehoming all of their horses and the majority of them agreed that this was the best thing for him (Sincero),” Greentree said.

“Everyone just loves the horse so much and a career in the show ring just gives us an excuse to spoil him.”

Should Sincero continue his progression through the ranks, he could qualify to represent New South Wales in this year’s Off the Track National Show Horse Championship.

The exclusive event, held by Racing Victoria for the first time in 2015, attracts the premier thoroughbred show horses from around the country and showcases the successful transformation racehorses can make into a second career. 



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: furious
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 1:59pm
Smile


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2016 at 2:06pm
Another great CIC3* performance at Albury by RV Retrainer https://twitter.com/OTTEventing" rel="nofollow - @OTTEventing & her ex-racehorse La Muso



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2016 at 2:08pm
Congratulations to https://twitter.com/Shane_M_Rose" rel="nofollow - @Shane_M_Rose & retired racehorse Shanghai Joe after success in the CIC3* at Albury Horse Trials




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2016 at 1:24pm
A contribution from 'acia alba', thanks, I'm sure the thread is read even if few comments, it's lovely to know how many are going on to fulfilling lives for both owners & horses Thumbs Up
As an aside, Damien Thornton returned to Pony Club competition over the weekend, showing he'd not forgotten how by winning his event (dressage picture) on Gosh Clap

Damien Thornton Rides A Winner But Not On The Racetrack.

Damien Thronton was able to ride a winner on Sunday but this time it was not on a racetrack.

Damien turned back the clock and returned to his Pony Club days riding his old mate Gosh to victory at the Lochard Pony Club at Grade 1 Level.

Gosh was a bit fresh in the dressage arena and after Round 1 was sitting 3rd with a bit of work to do, Round 2 in the Show Jumping arena Gosh was able to make up ground overall with a handy display only knocking over 4 poles in what was a tight course for all the competitors.

The 3rd Round was Cross Country and Gosh and Damien went thru cleanly and although a tad slow from the "set time" it was enough to secure the overall lead and the victory.

For both horse and rider it was a very enjoyable day and both will improve from the hitout, Damien was very quick to point out "I still have got it" a cheeky remark but worthy one given his long break from his pony club days.




Saturday’s opening meeting of The Championships in Sydney marks the 10-year anniversary of Headturner’s dominant win in the 2006 Group 1 AJC Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick.

On that day, and for the duration of the gelding’s 23-start career, he was a hero in the eyes of his connections, collecting more than $1.5 million in prizemoney and scoring emotional wins, not only in the Derby, but also the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1600m) at Doomben.

Headturner was also placed in the 2005 Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington and contested the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup the following Spring Racing Carnival. 

Now 13-years-old, the one-time Emirates Melbourne Cup favourite continues to live up to his name, albeit turning heads at Leongatha Adult Riding Club rather than Flemington or Randwick.  

In the care of 71-year-old dressage rider Helen Guy, the former Team Hawkes-trained stayer is enjoying life at a much slower pace than his days on the track.

Although injury and ailment – to both horse and rider – have prevented her competing as much as she’d hoped aboard the imposing son of Anabaa, Headturner remains the pride of Guy’s Koonwarra property.

“I still pinch myself that he’s standing out in my paddock,” Guy said.

“I was looking for a new horse and after all the horses I had ridden, here was a willing horse that had a lovely soft mouth,  lovely movement, could stay on a circle, had great rhythm, felt great in my hand and didn’t seem to be fussed by anything.

“He’s such a gentle horse and I love doing anything with him.”

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2016 at 8:41pm

Grand Zulu excelling in next faze of career

https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3831860/grand-zulu-excelling-in-next-faze-of-career/" rel="nofollow - - http://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3831860/grand-zulu-excelling-in-next-faze-of-career/&text=Grand%20Zulu%20excelling%20in%20next%C2%A0faze%20of%20career&via=illawarramerc" rel="nofollow - - mailto:?subject=Grand%20Zulu%20excelling%20in%20next%C2%A0faze%20of%20career&body=Hi,I%20found%20this%20article%20-%20Grand%20Zulu%20excelling%20in%20next%C2%A0faze%20of%20career,and%20thought%20you%20might%20like%20it%20http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3831860/grand-zulu-excelling-in-next-faze-of-career/" rel="nofollow - -

He beat the likes of Melbourne Cup hero Makybe Diva on the track, now Grand Zulu is forging an impressive reputation off it.

NATURAL: Maddison Plant and Grand Zulu make a great showjumping team. Picture: MITCH COHEN

NATURAL: Maddison Plant and Grand Zulu make a great showjumping team. Picture: MITCH COHEN

More than a decade after he burst onto the scene to score a memorable win in the Group 1 The BMW, Gwenda Markwell’s former stable star has found a career post racing in showjumping. 

The now 15-year-old gelding is now based at Simon and Olwyn Kale’s Foxground Training Stables full time while partnering regular rider Maddison Plant in competition’s around NSW.

He has been based at the stables since the end of 2013 after connections decided to call time on his racing career in 2008.

As a three-year-old, he surged past Caulfield Cup king Mummify and three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva at Rosehill Gardens to win The BMW in a track-record time of 2 minutes 25.78 seconds

The record for the race still stands today and remains as Markwell’s only Group 1 victory in her extensive training career which has featured 13-straight Kembla trainers’ titles.

The memorable racing career on the track came as a surprise to Plant.

Gwenda Markwell.

Gwenda Markwell.

I didn’t know anything about him,” the Vet Science student Sydney University said.

“He was kind of a surprise. 

“[Trainer] Simon and Olwyn Kale found him because he had another horse coming from the place he was at.

“And then he said, I might have this really good horse for you and we might have something you can ride in the bigger classes with. We will just see how it goes.

“A couple of weeks later, the other horse arrived and we got Zulu off the truck too.

“I had him on a two week trial basis and I loved him.”

Plant and Grand Zulu came together when the Clovelly resident graduated school. 

Over the past two and a half years the pair have competed at competition’s around the state with a high degree of success.

The pairing won the high point score at the Canberra Cup event and the Grand Prix at the Camden Winter Showjumping Festival in the past 12 months. 

“There is rarely a show that he comes away without some sort of ribbon,” Plant said.

“He is pretty consistent and cruisy.

“He is just a really good horse.” 

Plant, who has had several horses during her young career, rates Grand Zulu at the top.

“He is easy to travel and for a horse who is such a good race horse, he is such a chilled out, easy-going guy,” she said.

“He is the most chilled out horse I’ve ever known.

“He has got the best nature.

“He is the easiest horse and is so good to everybody.”



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: niki
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2016 at 10:58pm
Very nice to read, thank you


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2016 at 3:03pm

Steady Eddie and Boyd Martin

Retired Aussie racehorse set for Rolex Kentucky

  • 28 April, 2016
  • |James Tzaferis 

There will be a Victorian connection at this weekend’s Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, the first international CCI4* of the year.

Australian expatriate Boyd Martin, who now resides in and represents the United States at the elite level of eventing, will partner progressive 12-year-old thoroughbred Steady Eddie.

Bred in New Zealand and sold to Australia, the son of Jetball began his racing career at Flemington under the care of trainer Tommy Hughes where he raced as Big Jet.

Unplaced in two maidens at Werribee and Geelong, Big Jet was transferred into the care of Cranbourne horseman and former Olympic show jumper Greg Eurell where he was again unplaced in a Geelong maiden.

The three Victorian performances prompted the sale of the gelding to Queensland where he continued his racing career for four different trainers - John Manzelmann, Todd Austin, Michael Courtney and Robert Kirkwood - before eventually retiring in October 2009 with a career record of six wins from 36 starts and earnings in excess of $30,000.

Enter Martin who, during a visit to Queensland in the summer of 2009-2010, spotted Big Jet in a paddock and was immediately impressed with what he saw, despite the gelding lacking some condition at the height of oppressive drought.

Big Jet was subsequently shipped to the United States where, under Martin’s care and renamed Steady Eddie, he has continued to progress through the eventing ranks. This weekend’s event marks his CCI4* debut.

One-third of the 90 riders contesting Rolex Kentucky will partner full thoroughbreds this weekend with the majority of those being former racehorses, including another former Australian galloper Kalinga Damo, a 10-start maiden for Caloundra trainer Carmel Richardson, who is now ridden by US eventer Elisa Wallace.




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2016 at 8:26pm
One third will be OTTTBs . I can think of a few warmblood breeders who would never accept that as being correct LOL

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animals before people.


Posted By: jayzaa
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2016 at 5:01pm
Originally posted by Geraldo Geraldo wrote:

Just read the polo article.  So, if a polo pony's best years is 6-8yo that means they need to be rehomed again shortly after that?

No, you misunderstood.  It takes till then to fully educate them for polo.  Many I know were still playing well into their teens, and early twenties.  I had one that retired and came to my horse at stud, she was 22 and went in foal for her first foal.


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www.keffelstein.com

gotta live the dream


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 07 May 2016 at 12:08pm

Retired racehorse Carnero will contest the EvA80 class at the Ballarat International Horse Trials

Big bounty for thoroughbreds at Ballarat

James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf

5 May, 2016

It may not quite rival the prizemoney they once chased on the racetrack but the retired thoroughbred racehorses contesting this weekend's Marcus Oldham Ballarat International Horse Trials will be in line for a lucrative payday. 

As part of its sponsorship of the three-day event, beginning at Ballarat's Victoria Park tomorrow, Racing Victoria will offer $200 prizemoney and embroidered rugs to the riders of the Best Performed Retired Racehorse in each of the premier FEI classes, the CIC3*, CIC2* and CIC1*. Additionally, an embroidered rug will be provided to the highest placed Off the Track horse in the EA classes, EvA105, EvA95 and EvA80. 

In total, a massive 155 retired thoroughbred racehorses are entered to contest the event. 

The feature class, the Ballarat Business CIC3*, is highlighted by the appearance of Will Enzinger's Wenlock Aquifer, a former David Hayes-trained gelding that was a last start winner of the CIC2* at Camperdown Horse Trials.

In the Racing Victoria Off the Track CIC2* class, 16 retired racehorses will do battle, including Sarah Klas' former Stakes-performed two-year-old The Prankster, Sophie Fox's Practice Makes Perfect and talented gelding Gosh for Racing Victoria apprentice jockey Stephanie Thornton. 

And in the divided CIC1* classes, a bumper 34 of the 62 entries are Off the Track thoroughbreds, including 2014 Mornington Triequithon champion Ripley Lodge Gator, Tayla Childs' Kiwi import Langarra and Ruadhan, formerly trained by locally-based Melbourne Cup-winning horseman Darren Weir.  

Retired Group 1 hero Blutigeroo (EvA105), Cranbourne Cup winner Majestical (EvA105) and gifted two and three-year-old Carnero (EvA80) are among some of the well-performed racehorses contesting the lower EA classes of the event as they continue to progress in their second career.

The full list of entries for this weekend's Marcus Oldham Ballarat International Horse Trials is http://bspscoring.com/BallaratHT/2016/Ballarat%20IHT_2016.html" rel="nofollow - available here.

Racing Victoria's sponsorship of the event, via its Off the Track program, is part of the wider strategy to drive the demand for Off the Track horses in equestrian and pleasure disciplines by providing incentives that reward riders that invest in their re-education. 

More information about Racing Victoria's Off the Track program is https://rv.racing.com/the-horse/off-the-track" rel="nofollow - available here.  




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 07 May 2016 at 12:42pm
With many programmes like this happening , no excuse for sending them from track to doggers sales with shoes still on .  In other words no even giving them a chance.   just MHO tho.

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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 10 May 2016 at 12:54pm
Sonja Johnson won the postponed Sydney ODE*3 at the weekend , which is a selection trial for the Olympics,  riding Parkiarrup Illicit Liason.    He is a TB , but not sure what his race name was, as these eventers tend to change race names to show names sometimes.

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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 11 May 2016 at 1:45pm
His Race name was Bullionaire,  by Made Of Gold from Gourmet Star by Luskin Star.
Raced once or twice in W.A. and did nothing.
( Sonja is from WA )
Red might know more ??Big smile


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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 11 May 2016 at 8:24pm

TS Jamaimo and Chris Burton at the 2013 Australian International Three Day Event (Image courtesy of Julie Wilson)

Jamaimo jumping for Rio selection

James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf

8:16am

https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-05-11/jamaimo-jumping-for-rio-selection#" rel="nofollow - - , https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-05-11/jamaimo-jumping-for-rio-selection#" rel="nofollow - - (

Retired Victorian racehorse TS Jamaimo can firm up his place on the Australian eventing team for the Rio Olympics with a strong showing at this weekend’s http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/events/dodson-horrell-chatsworth-international-horse-trials" rel="nofollow - Chatsworth International Horse Trials .

The gelding will make a return to CIC3* competition for premier Australian eventer Chris Burton, having placed third at his seasonal debut in the CIC2* at Belton last month.

Burton and TS Jamaimo are arguably Australia’s best-performed eventing combination over the past two seasons, continuing to impress at the sport’s elite level since first pairing to win the 2013 Australian International Three Day Event at CCI4* level in Adelaide.

Last season, TS Jamaimo showed all his thoroughbred qualities to land the British Eventing Championship at Gatcombe Park before a podium finish in the CCI4* at Burghley in September.

While he is noted for his exceptional movement in the dressage arena and calculated show jumping performances, the hallmark of both of TS Jamaimo’s 2015 wins were blistering displays on gruelling cross country courses.

An Olympic berth would be a fairy tale result for the 16-year-old son of Urgent Request, who was tried unsuccessfully by two Victorian racehorse trainers before being retired into equestrian.

Bred by Emirates Park and given the racing name Hurried Plea, the gelding spent time in the Flemington stables of Russell Cameron and the Cranbourne yard of John Griffiths, the legacy of which was an official trial in 2002 in which he failed to beat a rival home.

And TS Jamaimo might not be the only retired racehorse on the Australian eventing team with Sonja Johnson’s Off the Track gelding Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison (pictured above) placing pressure on selectors with a dominant victory in last weekend’s CCI3* at the Sydney International Horse Trials.

Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison, a 15-year-old son of Made Of Gold, raced as Bullionaire and was beaten by 25 lengths in his only start on the racetrack, a two-year-old handicap in Belmont.

Are you considering a thoroughbred for your next competition horse? More information of Racing Victoria's Off the Track program is https://rv.racing.com/the-horse/off-the-track" rel="nofollow - available here. 




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date 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 https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf

10:50am

https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-05-17/foxtrotting-to-dressage-success-off-the-track#" rel="nofollow - - , https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-05-17/foxtrotting-to-dressage-success-off-the-track#" rel="nofollow - - (

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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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date 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 https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @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 http://m3de.com.au/" rel="nofollow - available here.




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2016 at 3:47pm

Ruadhan and Jessica Forth

Retired Ruadhan ready to impress

James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @Jtzaf 1:08pm
https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-06-06/retired-ruadhan-ready-to-impress#" rel="nofollow - - ,

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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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 05 Jul 2016 at 8:32pm

Gotta Take Care and Kirsty McMahon

Taking Care of Off the Track career

James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @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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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date 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



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animals before people.


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date 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.



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animals before people.


Posted By: Carioca
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:17pm
Remember great polo family many years ago,think the name was Sinclair Hill ,heard of him?


Posted By: acacia alba
Date 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.


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animals before people.


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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.


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2016 at 12:03am
you are prolly the only one will twig .

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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 6:19pm
Originally posted by Gay3 Gay3 wrote:

Backman Talks Beyond the Bid

  • James Tzaferis https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @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. 



https://www.facebook.com/josie.anderson.520?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Josie Anderson
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455379468096620/permalink/1568941830073716/" rel="nofollow - - - 23 hrs
Blackie 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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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: furious
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 7:30pm
Smile


Posted By: furious
Date 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.


Posted By: Gay3
Date 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 https://www.twitter.com/Jtzaf" rel="nofollow - @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 http://www.equestrian.org.au/news/equestrian-australia-statement-eventing-staging-camp" rel="nofollow - 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, https://rv.racing.com/news/2016-06-21/from-the-racetrack-to-olympic-glory" rel="nofollow - including these five Gold-winning combinations




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: furious
Date 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.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2016 at 8:22pm
Former https://twitter.com/DKWeirRacing" rel="nofollow - DKWeirRacing galloper Ruadhan in full flight for 15YO rider Jessica Forth at last month's https://twitter.com/MI3DE_AU" rel="nofollow - MI3DE_AU




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date 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. 




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animals before people.


Posted By: furious
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2016 at 10:38am
I'd much prefer to go around those courses on a a nippy thoroughbred.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date 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.

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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 8:20pm

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

http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/" rel="nofollow - 1233 ABC Newcastle http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/giselle-wakatama/7316700" rel="nofollow - Giselle Wakatama

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7656080-3x2-700x467.jpg" rel="nofollow">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."

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-25/holding-yards-for-horses-involved-in-st-heliers-jail-thoroughbr/7656938" rel="nofollow"> Ex racehorses given a second chance as part of jail rehabilitation program.

Photo Racing NSW says every effort is made to ensure horses have a future beyond racing.

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 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-11/calls-for-inquiry-into-horseracing/7585590" rel="nofollow - 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 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-07/greyhound-racing-to-be-banned-in-new-south-wales/7576816" rel="nofollow - 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.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-25/retired-racehorses-put-through-their-paces..jpg/7656946" rel="nofollow"> Hundreds of horses have graduated from rehabilitation program.

Photo Retired racehorses are put through their paces.



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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2016 at 10:23pm
Landline = online definitely!!

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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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!!


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2016 at 9:46pm
http://www.abc.net.au/landline/

Archives tab at the top & Iview the right Smile


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 1:33pm
https://www.facebook.com/OffTheTrackRV/?fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Off The Track
https://www.facebook.com/OffTheTrackRV/posts/872738422859784" rel="nofollow - - - 1 hr · · https://www.facebook.com/feed/topics/sports?story_id=S%3A_I378828312250800%3A872738422859784" rel="nofollow - Sport

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 https://www.facebook.com/teamgodolphin/" rel="nofollow - Godolphin and the international thoroughbred community to help take racing aftercare to a new level all around the world.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008701179092&fref=ufi" rel="nofollow - 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."




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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: Carioca
Date 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!


Posted By: Shawy38
Date 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

http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/Ash_Robertson/media/13886892_1072414792794768_9216364903956158597_n_zpsd30lincz.jpg.html" rel="nofollow">

http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/Ash_Robertson/media/13872857_1072414809461433_6013878658891832175_n_zpslty3vqpx.jpg.html" rel="nofollow">


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 1:40am
Nice to see another one off to a god home.



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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 1:40am
Bugga.
 Good ,,,
Good home,,,


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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2016 at 3:50pm
Did anyone see the OTTTBs show jumping at Equitana ?  Goldtown was there with his lady, Rachelle Lovett, who said he came off the track sound and is doing a great job.
Kate beadle has Flying Maverick, from Mick Price, and he is doing well .
A short piece of vid on the equitana page.


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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2017 at 12:15pm
Remember Sirmione, who won a McKinnon, trained by Bart and ridden by Peter Mertens ?  We were there that year and my OH came home with his pockets bulging with money.
Sirmione competed in this years Garryowen at Royal Melbourne Show.  He wasnt in the first 3 but he did alright.  More than half the entrants were OTTTBs, and the first 3 were by Zabeel, Faltaat and Encosta.
My "showy" friend says they all want Encostas.


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animals before people.


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 26 Feb 2018 at 10:48pm
I see Bart,s old warrior, Precedence, appeared in the led classes at the Canberra Royal Show , and looked a million dollars. 


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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2018 at 5:18pm
https://www.facebook.com/lyndal.yelavich?hc_ref=ARQo9rbNjDY-qHZRF_m-oMiHMrer8B3JEwwkQqD49dbjjE27njFUlt32pUBjRi-MhpI&hc_location=group" rel="nofollow - Lyndal Yelavich is with https://www.facebook.com/amanda.nemaric?hc_ref=ARQo9rbNjDY-qHZRF_m-oMiHMrer8B3JEwwkQqD49dbjjE27njFUlt32pUBjRi-MhpI&hc_location=group" rel="nofollow - Amanda Nemaric and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455379468096620/#" rel="nofollow - 3 others at https://www.facebook.com/emadiloequestrian/?hc_ref=ARQo9rbNjDY-qHZRF_m-oMiHMrer8B3JEwwkQqD49dbjjE27njFUlt32pUBjRi-MhpI&hc_location=group" rel="nofollow - Emadilo Equestrian .
https://www.facebook.com/lyndal.yelavich/videos/1774916069236611/" rel="nofollow - - - 23 hrs · https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gunderman-New-South-Wales-Australia/115272301822658?hc_location=group" rel="nofollow - Gunderman, NSW

Sometimes special horses and people come into our lives.
This is one of those times🎉

Roman Fizz has arrived from the Griffiths Training stables and we are hugely thankful to all the connections that have entrusted us with this special boy’s future. From the moment I said we would be delighted to take him on board, his owners and trainer have reached out to ensure he gets the very best of care and hopefully finds his feet as a successful Eventing horse of the future. Proof once again that thoroughbred Racing is filled with people that adore their horses, sometimes, well actually in my experience, ALWAYS, above the sport itself.

We look very forward to working with this kind, handsome young thoroughbred, with the support of this squad, he’s bound to go far! 🐎🤞💪👌
Special thanks to https://www.facebook.com/crystalmay.townsend.9?fref=mentions&hc_location=group" rel="nofollow - Crystal Conning for making sure he found his way to us 😘

Great to see Second Chance Clap


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2018 at 5:50pm
Read an interesting little story about a horse called Caymans.  He was a G2 winner of the 2008 Sandown Guineas.  Goldolphin owned and Snowden trained gelding who went on to race in Britain and Dubai.
He is now pushing 13 and has only one eye, due to an infection.
Moved on as part of Godolphin,s rehoming program he went into the care of Martin Whitley at Dartmoor Hawking, which is one of Britain,s few private falconry centres, and is now a falconer,s mount.
They said his missing eye doesnt prevent him doing his job, and he is good as gold.


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animals before people.


Posted By: PhillipC
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2018 at 7:40pm
Here is the video about him  http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQMx-buVbKk" rel="nofollow - http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQMx-buVbKk


Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2018 at 11:32am
Hmmm, that wont connect for me.  Not sure why.  Would be interested to watch it tho.
Thanks, Phillip.


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animals before people.


Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2018 at 1:19pm


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Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!



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