Author: Abby Delucyk

Ava, a lover of Thoroughbreds, is thrilled to welcome Ricochet Bullet, her third Team Thoroughbred Graduate, to her competitive team. Ricochet Bullet joins former Belltrees residents, ‘Bobs Cooltoo’ (AKA Harvey) and ‘Shepley’, adding to the mix in Ava’s stable.

Bobs Cooltoo, Ava’s first Team Thoroughbred NSW graduate, had a very successful 2023 as her main competition horse.  After a brief racing career, Harvey underwent retraining at Belltrees before finding a home with Ava on her family’s Northern NSW Farm. Described by Ava as the “Coolest, quietest guy out there”, Harvey can transition seamlessly from the perfect competition mount to the ideal Pony Club partner. Their notable achievement came at the Inaugural Equimillion competition, where they took out the Junior 80cm Showjumping class and $15,000 in prizemoney. Motivated by this success, Ava and Harvey are focusing on eventing and showjumping, aiming for continued success in 2024.

Having fallen in love with Harvey, Ava returned to Belltrees to find another valuable addition, this time for her mother, Rebecca. Shepley, formerly trained by Tracey Bartley, joined Belltrees and embarked on his retraining journey. Described by Ava as possessing “the most gentle and kind nature”, Shepley has proven to be safe and easy to handle, making him the ideal horse for her Rebecca to develop her skills. Shepley has already participated in some low-level events, showcasing his potential as a dressage champion. Exciting plans are in store for Rebecca and Shepley in 2024!

• 

• 

The newest addition to Ava’s team is ‘Ricochet Bullet’ (AKA ‘Frankie’), who has seamlessly settled into the family. With promising potential as a future eventing champion, 2024 will be used to understand Frankie’s skills and ability off the track.

We wish Ava and her team of talented Thoroughbreds good luck in 2024.

By Abby Delucyk

When envisioning a typical 16-year-old girl, you might not imagine her going to bed at 8pm with the aspiration of waking up early at 4am to ride trackwork. However, for Poppie Gorton, this is her dream life.

Poppie was inspired by her mother’s love of horses from an early age and had a dream to pursue her love of riding. “My grandma made me a rocking horse when I was born and apparently, I just refused to get off and would stay there all day,” Poppie said.

Poppie began riding at the tender age of three, and her competitive spirit led her to enter her first competition at just six years old in Scone. While she only attended Pony Club twice, Poppie consistently took riding lessons and gradually progressed to participating in clinics. She has been fortunate to have the same coach, Sandy Lucas, for 13 years.

Poppie’s passion for Thoroughbreds is evident through her proud ownership of five off-the-track Thoroughbreds. “I love that with horses, you have a built-in best friend. They aren’t just built for going fast, they actually love their next job and are so versatile. I was drawn into eventing because of the adrenaline rush you get doing three disciplines in one,” she said.

With multiple competitions under her belt, Poppie shifted her focus to the Inaugural Equimillion competition, featuring $1,000,000 in prizemoney. “I didn’t have high hopes leading into the event as I had an injury 2 months before so only really had a few weeks to prepare.” Despite this, Poppie exceeded expectations and was crowned Grand Champion of her class, taking home an incredible $15,000 in prize money.

As Poppie invested her time into riding, school started to become a second option. Eventually, she made the decision to leave school at the end of Year 10.  

With her riding skills advancing, a friend named Rosie introduced her to the world of race riding. This new career path hadn’t crossed her mind until she saw a video of Rosie galloping down the straight where her interest was immediately provoked. Through Rosie, she was introduced to well-known Hawkesbury trainer, Brad Widdup who saw talent in this rising star.

With Brad’s support, Poppie’s parents agreed to her joining the local Hawkesbury stable as a trackwork rider. As her journey progressed, Brad suggested that Poppie explore the role of an apprentice jockey, considering her lightweight frame.

“Working with Brad is everything I’ve wanted and more. The whole Widdup family has supported me, and it feels more like I am working with a family. They understand I am still young and learning”, Poppie said.

Poppie is now on the path to becoming an apprentice under Brad, aspiring to follow in the footsteps of legendary jockeys like Kathy O’Hara and Rachel King. She sets her short-term focus on obtaining her apprentice license and working towards her first jump out.

“I wouldn’t trade my job for the world. It is hard at times to see your friends go out while you’re in bed early, but I know in the long run, everything will be worth it,” Poppie concludes.

By Abby Delucyk

Para-Dressage rider, Simone Salter made the unthinkable happen with Team Thoroughbred graduate Vegas Vic after competing in the Riding For The Disabled competition just two weeks after purchasing him.

Haven ridden since she was 8 years old, Tamworth-based Simone became a para-rider after she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. Despite this, Simone has continued to pursue her love of riding and is now a qualified Dressage coach and judge.

In need of a new competition horse, Simone reached out to Alec at Belltrees Retraining Farm after previously purchasing an OTTB through the Team Thoroughbred rehoming program at Belltrees.

The handsome Vegas Vic caught the eye of Simone when she first visited the farm.

“I needed to find a horse that had the right temperament and trainability. Alec knew exactly what I was looking for and suggested Vic,” Simone explained.

“Vegas Vic has a very cool, calm and collected demeanor which I love. He doesn’t like leaving his friends very much but other than that he is an easy horse to ride.”

This duo wasted no time and got straight into their training.

Simone rode Vic every day for a week before she floated him down to Sydney where they participated in an Equine Pathway Clinic. Their trip to Sydney was extended where they competed in the Riding For The Disabled NSW Championships.

“I was supposed to compete with another horse, but we had an accident and missed out on the qualifiers with him. I needed a horse to fill in the gaps and Vegas Vic was the answer.”

And the duo soared, taking home lots of ribbons.

“Everyone thought I was crazy. We made such a good connection to be able to do what we have done in the past two weeks,” Simone recalled.

With their success fast-tracked, Simone and Vegas Vic set their sights on the upcoming Equimillion competition.

“We are also attempting to qualify for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics which is a long process but that is where we are heading,” Simone concluded.

By Abby Delucyk

On Saturday April 17, Cristal Breeze galloped down the straight at Royal Randwick to take out the 2021 Provincial Mid-Way Championships. All while his strapper, Ellie Rogers, cheered him home with tears in her eyes!

This duo’s bond dates back to 2019 when Cristal Breeze first arrived on Australian soil, with Ellie tasked to ride him every morning for Kris Lees. “No one actually really liked him because he had a very spooky, shy personality. I found that he was slow to trust people which I quite liked about him, and our friendship really just grew from there,” Ellie said.

“I worked with him at the stables, brushed him and strapped him in his first start which he won at Canterbury in the June of 2020,” she said. 9 months after his first start, Cristal Breeze qualified for the Provincial Championship Final after coming in second at Newcastle.

“No one was really backing him too much for the championships and were picking different horses as Kris had 6 horses in the race. I was quietly confident he would run a good race but didn’t think he would have it in him to win,” Ellie claimed.

However, Cristal Breeze made the unthinkable happen, winning the 2021 Provincial Championships Final at Royal Randwick, with Ellie marking this moment a highlight in her strapping career.

After achieving this success, Cristal Breeze made the trip up north to QLD where he went on to race while Ellie was forced to stay in NSW. Despite this, Ellie kept a close eye on this champion and was in constant contact with his owners and Australian Bloodstock who previously helped import him.

“I think everyone knew that once he was ready to retire, I was the first in line,” Ellie said.

“It was after a race in Queensland that one of the owners actually dm’ed me on Instagram and mentioned that they think that might have been his last race. I was so excited but just didn’t want to get my hopes up too early,” she said.

It was a message that came from Australian Bloodstock owner, Luke Murrell, that allowed Cristal Breeze to be officially retired to Ellie.

This duo wasted no time and quickly got into retraining after he was transported back down to NSW. “Cristal is so quiet and relaxed. Everyone says he looks so happy now and has really come out of his shell.”

His home track, Newcastle Jockey Club chose Cristal Breeze as one of four picked to be a sponsored rider in the upcoming Equimillion competition. Ellie has entered Cristal into the classes of eventing and show jumping after he has shown lots of talent in jumping.  

“Our main goal is just to have fun and get some prizemoney as there is a lot on offer. We are going to take it step by step,” Ellie said.

We wish this pair good luck in Equimillion!

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.”