Month: August 2023

By Abby Delucyk

Set to finish trials soon, Camilla, better known as Millie, has turned her childhood passion of equestrian sports into an exciting racing career. 

Growing up on a property outside of Tamworth, Mille always had off the track Thoroughbreds as show horses. Her favourite was Walt, a gelding who was formally trained by Eric Hayes.  

“We were a very horsey family like we went to shows on the weekends together and always did things with horses but never anything to do with racing,” Millie recalled.  

With the glamour of horses striking Millie’s interest, she regularly competed most weekends and went on to place in both Sydney and Brisbane Royal in showing. She did this all while balancing her ongoing school commitments.  

As school ended, Millie enrolled into a university course before she quickly came to discover that this wasn’t the path she wanted to take.

“I was starting to become really interested in racing and thought that there could potentially be a career in it for me. I reached out to local trainer Craig Martin to see if he had any work available at his stable and got a job there,” Millie said.  

As Millie settled in to her new normal, the transition into racing came quite easily to her.  

“Apart from the early morning wake ups, it was pretty normal as I have been around horses my whole life. Craig mentioned that I was the perfect build to be a jockey as I was quite small, so I started to ride trackwork.”  

“I always knew it was going to be hard to ride like a jockey and was mindful of all the small steps involved as it was a different style of riding than I was used to,” Millie said.   

Wanting to develop on this new riding style, Millie moved to the Hawkesbury to gain basic riding skills at a local stable.

“I started with Dan Robinson at DPR Horsemanship as my partner (Rory Hutchings) suggested I should go there to learn the basics. Dan is an amazing rider, especially with difficult horses, so it was really helpful to learn from him. I stayed here for 12 months just learning the ins and outs of everything like jump outs and being in the barriers,” Millie said.  

Although Millie learnt to ride in Hawkesbury, she always knew that if she wanted to become a jockey, she would have to move into the city. She reached out to Peter Robl and landed a job at his Randwick stables.

Millie’s progression then came to a sudden halt as COVID lockdown struck Sydney, forcing her to return to Tamworth. “After lockdowns were over, I came back to Sydney where I went to work full time with Pete which was always the plan. I have always been recommended to go to Pete’s stable as he was such a good jockey back in his day and wanted to learn off him,” Millie said.  

Millie decided to progress her riding so she reached out to Team Thoroughbred’s NSW Training Academy to earn a qualification. Through the Training Academy, Millie started on an Apprentice jockey path.

It was here that Millie started her apprenticeship with Pete and completed her first jump outs and trials. “My first trial at Randwick was on one of Les Bridge’s horses, Invincible Legend, which was quite a quiet horse. It was so nerve wracking, but I just remember Les saying to me “You’ll do great kid”,” she said.  

Unfortunately for Millie, Pete decided to relocate to QLD, meaning she had to scout a new stable to work at. Kim Waugh’s popular stable at Wyong caught Millies’s eye and she made the move up north.  

“Kim has some great horses in work at the moment and is a really lovely, supportive person. Wyong is also a great track as everyone gets along which is good,” she said.  

With Millie calling Wyong home for the moment, she dedicates her focus to finishing her trials and taking out her racing license.  

“I guess I dream of what everyone dreams of which is winning a Group 1 race. Right now, my goals are focused on riding and I haven’t really thought beyond that,” Millie concludes. 

After a stellar equestrian career, Vicki Roycroft is an icon of the sport. Her love of thoroughbreds has led her to represent Australia in three Olympic Games and three World Championship Teams. She also was the first female to win the Rome Grand Prix. All of these which Vicki competed with a Thoroughbred.

“When I first started riding, my sport horses were always thoroughbreds. And they are still my preference of horse today,” Vicki said.

“I think certainly for amateur riders’ thoroughbreds are a better horse as, generally, they are quiet. Whenever I return to riding from an injury or something I always ride thoroughbreds as they are a pleasant horse.”

Vicki is regarded very highly in the equestrian community for her passionate love of thoroughbreds. “The best thing about thoroughbreds is their attitude. They are forward-thinking, intelligent horses, more so than other breeds of horse. Thoroughbreds have beautiful faces and eyes which they look at you and show their love,” she said.

Thoroughbreds are Vicki’s breed of choice for competing, such as her iconic Apache who she got straight after his retirement from racing.

“It’s actually a funny story how I got Apache. I was in Cowra doing a clinic when the guy running it mentioned that he has a little horse that just jumps too high for him and asked if I would have a look at him. I wasn’t at all fussed but eventually agreed. I got on and rode him and after the first jump, I thought ‘Wow, he was pretty good’. His owners didn’t want to sell him though, so I just forgot about him for the time.

“3 weeks later the guy called me and said his owners are going to sell him, did you want him, but I didn’t remember what horse he was talking about. He was only selling for $500 and $50 for transport so I thought why not and sent a cheque in the mail. I went down to Bankstown to pick him up but forgot how small he was! Driving back, I was thinking how Wayne (her then husband) was going to kill me because he was such a small chestnut like under 16hh. Turns out to be the best horse I’ve ever owned.

“This was a perfect example of how you don’t find good horses, they find you,” Vicki said.

This dynamic duo achieved the unimaginable in 1987 when they won the Grand Prix in Rome, with Vicki being the first Australian and women to do so. Apache was also ranked in the top 20 for the best horses of that year.

“I trained him (Apache) from cross rails to the Grand Prix. He just came out of nowhere to win and won the biggest class. We won a lot of competitions together until I had to sell him for financial reasons,” Vicki said.

Vicki’s success didn’t just stop in Rome, but instead spanned across the globe. Competing in 3 Olympic games, Vicki was awarded an Australian Sport Medal in 2000.

“I have been very blessed to travel with this sport taking me all over the world. The 3 Olympics I competed in were very special and all great in their own way. My first Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 was probably my favourite as we had a great team and Wayne was the flagbearer for the Australian team which was incredible,” she said.

As Roycroft became Australia’s golden girl in showjumping, the pressure from home started to mount. “You need to expect pressure. I always felt less pressure overseas as you’re more of an underdog but in Australia, I always felt the home crowd expectations,” Vicki said.

Although the pressures were there, Vicki had a great support team behind her every step of the way.

“The great American trainer, George Morris, was a very big mentor for me as he has been there to help me in Rome and places like that. He is still a dear friend now and I bring him out to Australia to do clinics with me,” Vicki said.

Despite being separated now, Vicki’s husband Wayne Roycroft was also influential in her career.

“Wayne was an outstanding coach of 3 of our Gold Medal winning teams. He and his father, Bill taught me a lot and I was able to learn through their coaching,” she said.

Winning more World Cup Qualifiers than any other Australian rider, Vicki’s determination is backed by the advice, “You’ve got to earn what you want. People expect things to be put in their laps, but you must work for it,” she said.

Vicki’s drive to succeed is still alive today, with the idea of retiring never being an option for her.

“The thing with this sport is you can do it at whatever age. I still enjoy producing horses, especially off the track thoroughbreds as you get them off the track and make a sport horse out of them.

“That’s the pleasurable part of it, getting to work with the horse and improve it. That’s what I’ll be doing more of now,” Vicki states.

As Vicki continues to coach the next generation, her best piece of advice for new and upcoming riders is, “You’ve got to let your horses let down a little bit before training them. Let them get the racing syndrome out of their brains.”