Category: Welfare

As a racehorse Kilwinning Luck was average at best. He managed two wins in 25 starts and an awkward movement on his front nearside had stewards considering whether they should let him race at all. In the end it was a bleeding attack that forced Kilwinning Luck into retirement.

Nelson Smyth grew up around horses but wasn’t that interested in them until he went to watch his sister participate in pony club and discovered the disproportionately high number of girls to boys.

Fast forward to 2018 and this unlikely pair has gone all the way to the highest level in Australian showjumping. Now renamed Laurel Glen Lucky Time, Kilwinning Luck is the only full thoroughbred to be competing in World Cup events in Oceania.

Nelson is no stranger to competing on off the track thoroughbreds. After discovering his natural talent and passion for showjumping as a teenager, he joined Olympian Ron Easey’s travelling team in his first year out of high school. Ron was initially Nelson’s coach and when Ron injured himself he asked Nelson to compete on his horses.

Nelson’s first big trip was to Cairns where he was named Leading Rider. He then won Champion Horse and Rider at The Royal National Show in Brisbane before being selected for the National Elite Young Rider Team. He began competing on his own horse, Classic Mischief, an unraced thoroughbred which had been re-trained as an eventer by Sam Lyle.  After a few years of competitions Nelson sold Classic Mischief to a young girl in Western Australia who also made it onto the National Elite Young Rider Team. She only retired Classic Mischief last year at the ripe old age of 22.

While Nelson was away on one of his trips his father Kerrod was offered another off the track thoroughbred, Kilwinning Luck. His trainer Lyle Rowe was a showjumper himself and was confident Kilwinning Luck would succeed in that discipline. Kerrod first put him over the 60cm cross rail and after handling that with ease jumped a 90cm barrel. Kerrod started lunging him then Nelson took over when he came home.

“He was a bit of a naughty horse at the start but we persisted with different ways until Lucky understood what we were asking him to do,” Nelson said. “We gave him plenty of spells and when he figured it all out he improved out of sight. There’s a lot of work involved because you have to teach the horse to move in a way they never have before.”

Nelson and Laurel Glen Lucky Time competed in their first showjumping event six months later. It was the start of an exciting journey and for the next few years they travelled up and down the east coast of Australia from competition to competition.

Towards the end of 2017 Nelson and Lucky were comfortably jumping 145cm so he set a goal of competing in a World Cup showjumping event within 12 months. He made the relevant applications to the Federation of Equestrian International and in September at the Royal Adelaide Show he ticked his first World Cup event off his bucket list, finishing an impressive 13th overall. They did another World Cup event at Sale in November, finishing 12^th against the best riders in Australia, New Zealand and The Pacific.

“When I first got Lucky I never imagined we’d go this far but here we are,” Nelson said. “He’s tough and he’s such a trier. Over the five years I have had him we’ve developed a really strong relationship.

“I’m proud of what we have achieved together. Some of the horses we’re up against in World Cup showjumping are worth upwards of a quarter of a million dollars.”

Now Nelson has his sights set on the World Cup Showjumping at the Boneo Classic in January.

“I’ll be happy if we continue to improve,” he said. “This will be our third World Cup event together so hopefully it’s lucky!”

It takes a special kind of horse to be a successful trail rider. They need to know where to go when the rider doesn’t know how to direct them, stay calm especially if the rider is nervous and stand still when the rider decides to try and take their jumper off over their helmet and gets stuck halfway.

“That happens more than you would think,” Jason Newman, Owner/Operator of Tamworth Kootingal Trail Riding Adventures said. “Our horses need to be bombproof to counter the inexperience of our riders. We don’t take chances.”

Tamworth and Kootingal Horse Riding Adventures caters for first timers through to experienced riders aged 12 and older.  Jason carefully hand picks his trail riding horses and tests them himself again and again to be certain they are suitable for the job. He has ten horses in his team at the moment and the star of the herd comes as a surprise to most.

Love Gun is an off the track thoroughbred who failed to fire as a racehorse. He began his career with John Thompson in Sydney but poor trial results showed he wasn’t up to city class so he was transferred to Melanie O’Gorman’s Tamworth stables. In his one start for her he came 17 lengths last so she knew she had to find a good home for him sooner rather than later. She approached Jason to see if he wanted Love Gun as a trail riding horse and initially he wasn’t interested.

“I said to Mel I don’t mean to be rude but thoroughbreds are born to run and I don’t think he will make a very good trail riding horse,” Jason said. “But Mel insisted he was ideal so I agreed to have a ride on him. From the get-go he was so placid and laid back. He was only three at the time but was like a cool old horse.”

After about ten rides Jason was satisfied Love Gun was going to be a suitable addition to his team and began retraining. He took everything in his stride and never put a foot wrong.

“It’s like he was born for this industry,” Jason said. “I can outrun him with thongs on but he is such a sweet-natured horse and none of the silly things riders do faze him. I am thinking of renaming him Forrest Gump because that’s the sort of personality he has.

“He fitted in beautifully with the rest of the herd and doesn’t bite or kick. It’s clear he has had a good education previously as well. That’s really important.”

It’s a relief for Melanie knowing Love Gun has gone to a nurturing home where he has a purpose. When Jason next needs a horse for his trail riding business Melanie O’Gorman’s stable will be the first place he looks.

“You still have to be careful and assess each horse individually,” Jason said. But I’d happily take another thoroughbred like Love Gun. We’ve had him for three years now and he’s just a pleasure to be around.”

Find out more about Tamworth Kootingal Trail Riding Adventures here.

Skygge ran his last race at Orange on 23^rd November. By 27^th he was easily jumping 50cm under the guidance of talented young equestrienne Stephanie Mackillop.

“He raced on a Friday and I rode him the following Tuesday and he was so willing to learn and very quiet,” Stephanie said. “Even better he is showing lots of talent already.”

Skygge’s owners made the decision to retire him after a disappointing 11^th of 12 finish. The will to win he once had was gone and their focus turned to finding him a quality home.  One of the owners Neill Ross had had Skygge, affectionately known as Scotty, since he was weanling so nothing but the best would do. He turned to his long-time friend Jock Mackillop who welcomed Skygge to his Sydney property, Highgrove, for his daughter Stephanie.

At just 22, Stephanie is a rising star on Australia’s showjumping circuit and although she has competed on thoroughbreds before, Skygge is her first off-the-track retraining project.

“I really enjoy retraining because you can mould the horses into what you need to them to be,” she said. “When you succeed on one you know it’s because of all the hard work you put in. It’s very rewarding.”

Stephanie, who owns Team Mackillop Equestrian, has spent the past few weeks taking Skygge through the basics. They have been doing flat work, cantering on both leads and going over small jumps.

“He’s been easy to teach so far,” Stephanie said. “He’s very soft, listens well and is not spooky at all.

“Racehorses need to learn to use their body in a different way for showjumping which can be quite confusing for them.

“They need to get accustomed to new gear, a heavier saddle, longer stirrups and different aids but he has taken to it like a duck to water.”

Stephanie is so confident in Skygge’s ability she has entered him in the Bega Showjumping Cup at the end of the month.

“That will be the real test for him,” she said.” “It’s four days of jumping. We’ll start small and go from there.”

As a budding showjumper who has successfully transitioned from racing life, Skygge needs a new name.

“I think I am going to call him Beam Me Up Scotty,” Stephanie said. “His stable name was Scotty and he’s leaping into the sky so it makes sense and it’s a bit of fun.”

Former owner Neill Ross, who has been part of the racing industry for more than four decades, couldn’t be happier with the new partnership.

“I’m over the moon,” he said. “I worked for trainer Kevin Hayes as a young man and he instilled in me the importance of ensuring the future of each horse after racing. Kevin always found good homes for his horses and never put any through a sale yard.

“A horse is not a short term phase, it’s a lifetime commitment and Beam Me Up Scotty is going to have a cheer squad at his competitions for the rest of his days.”

From the day he was born Reprieve was full of promise. He was the first foal from multiple group-winning mare Shania Dane, was perfectly put together and had a beautiful temperament. The colt began his racing career in Sydney but it soon became clear he wasn’t going to be the star everyone hoped for. He was transferred to the Canberra stables of Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones where he managed to notch just one win before having time called on his racing career.

Barbara Joseph has been training for more than 40 years and has a reputation for finding quality homes for her racehorses in retirement. She has a large network of contacts which she uses to ensure the right horse goes to the right new owner but she didn’t have to look far for Reprieve.

“One of our trackwork riders Kylie Higginbotham had put her hand up to take him well before he retired,” Barbara said. “I was happy for him to go to her because I knew he would be educated and stimulated. It’s important these horses we have loved and cared for are going to have a quality life after racing. I don’t want them standing in paddock.”

Kylie brought Reprieve home and began re-educating him straight away. He took to jumping like a duck to water and earned a cheque in his first pre-novice one day event.

“He never put a foot wrong,” Kylie said. “He was just a beautiful, level headed, brave horse who always tried his best.”

Kylie then decided to give Reprieve a shot in the NSW Mounted Police but despite shining in most of his training he failed the final test and came home. This cloud had a silver lining though and the timing couldn’t have been better. Literally down the street a talented young equestrienne named Hannah Klep was left high and dry when her horse went lame. Her coach Fiona Gruen reached out to Kylie to see if she was willing to lend a horse to Hannah to allow her to keep training. Kylie agreed and offered Reprieve.

Hannah was just 14 at the time and had only been eventing since the age of 13. Reprieve was six and while that’s considered quite old for a racehorse, it’s young to be competing in equestrian sports. There were no problems though and the pair got off to a flying start.

“He was my first big horse but he was so quiet and easy,” Hannah said. “I fell in love with him and when I was offered the chance to buy him I did.”

Hannah took Reprieve to Pony Club and continued regular lessons with him. They began competing at introductory level and completed 14 pre-novice events before qualifying for One Star.

“He was learning while I was learning and he was just so good every step of the way,” Hannah said. “I think going through that journey together definitely strengthened our bond.”

Because Hannah was under 18 she had to request permission from Eventing NSW to compete at One Star Level. Permission was granted, Reprieve was given a passport (necessary for any horse competing in Federation Of Equestrian International events) and off they went. Over the next 12 months they competed up and down the east coast of Australia and qualified for the Melbourne International Three Day Event at One Star level where they placed in the Junior category. Hannah was then selected to represent NSW at the Interschools Australian Championships and was bestowed the honour of captaining the eventing team.

“Representing the state was an amazing experience and I was very happy to finish fourth,” Hannah said.

Having excelled at One Star, Hannah and Reprieve were ready to step up to Two Star events which they have now been competing in for the past 12 months. Their biggest challenge to date came at the Australian International Three Day Event in Adelaide over the weekend. Now 19 years-old, Hannah was the youngest rider there and faced some of the country’s best eventers, including Olympians, in the competition. They managed to finish 15^th out of more than 50 with Reprieve performing best in the Cross Country component.

“We completed the course clear and just 5 seconds over the optimum time,” Hannah said. “Because Reprieve is an ex-racehorse he has the speed and stamina needed for cross country. 17 horses in our class didn’t even get around the course and 12 had jumping faults.  I was so excited just being there, let alone completing the course and being competitive.”

Reprieve will now be sent for a spell over Christmas while Hannah will continue working at Bimbadeen Park horse breaking, training and spelling facility. They will resume training together in the new year with the aim of competing at Three Star level in February.

“You can tell he has been well handled in the past,” Hannah said. “We’ve done so much travelling and he’s always been an angel. I can just pull off to the side of the road, get him off the float and he will have a drink a pick. He’s also very versatile. I’m looking forward to seeing how much fitter I can get him. I’m so lucky he is mine.”

He was cut from the finest cloth as a blueblood racehorse and although possessing abundant talent, 28-year-old Bellomahal has since shown his real worth off the racecourse.

Bellomahal, a son of superstar sprinter, Maybe Mahal, has spent most of his post-racetrack days based at the Ballina & District Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Centre.

Kerry Johnston has looked after ‘Bell’ since his racing days and absolutely adores the horse.

“It is hard to put into words my love for this horse, the joy he has given me and others over the past 19 years and the impact he has had on people.”

Bellomahal commenced his racing career in Victoria, having been successful at Flemington and Sandown.

The gelding then headed to Sydney where he won the Spring Cup (Listed race) at Warwick Farm with Mick Dittman aboard.

His dam, Maybe Mahal, was a freakish Bart Cummings-trained sprinter that raced during the 1970s and was 1977/78 Australian Racehorse of the Year.

Maybe Mahal’s list of victories included two Lightning Stakes, a Newmarket Handicap, Craven A Stakes, George Adams Mile, Doomben 10,000 and Doncaster Handicap.

However, Bellomahal’s tally was much more modest, finishing his career with six wins and 13 placings from his 55 starts with $140,000 in prizemoney; good money nearly two decades back.

He wound up his racing days in the NSW Northern Rivers region under the care of Grafton trainer Mike Dougherty, who won a race at Armidale with him and had placings at Ballina and Casino.

“He was always a quiet horse; just a nice type to be around. He was gilt-edged,” Dougherty said.

“When I first offered him to the Riding for the Disabled they said he may be a bit too big and strong but they took him.

“I even offered them a ‘money-back guarantee’ and told them to send him back if he wasn’t the right fit – as I expected, he never came back!”

Veterinarian, Dr Oliver Liyou, has been looking after Bellomahal’s dental work for most of his off-track years and regularly inspects his teeth.

“He’s an incredibly relaxed horse and he’s always been looked after extremely well.”

Bellomahal then landed on Kerry Johnston’s property in February 2000.

“My property at North Teven was, at that time, the home of Ballina & District Riding for the Disabled and he was a gift from Michael Dougherty of Grafton.

“Bell joined other horses at the Centre and was given some training and an introduction to basic aids.

“He responded well to this training and started his life as an RDA horse assisting many children and adults to acquire riding and horsemanship skills.

“It was quite a transformation for him to go from a racehorse to a Riding for the Disabled horse. But he did and he became a much-loved and valued member of the RDA equine team at Ballina.

“In 2013 the Ballina and District RDA Centre moved to another property which had been bequeathed to them. Brian McNamara, a local farmer had donated his beautiful home ‘Glen Burnie’, a 40-hectare cattle property in Teven, to RDA.

“Bell was transferred to my care as he had not been ridden for a year due to his sway back making it difficult to fit a saddle comfortably on him.

“At this stage, Bell started his life as one of the five members of the horse herd facilitating an equine assisted therapy and learning program. This was especially appropriate for Bell as no riding is involved.

“He is the revered wise elder of the horse herd team and has a wonderful ability to respond to people.

“I remember when one of the herd ‘Roy’ was very old, had health problems and had to be put down.

“Bell had been very close to him and just froze when he realised what was happening. He let out this scream – you can never underestimate horses, they certainly know what’s going on.

“Now Bell is assisting children, youth and adults with social and emotional challenges in their healing journey.

“Bell is very sensitive to the emotional state of people around him and will seek them out with his presence.

“Bell enjoys his supplementary feeding program, regular hoof trimming by Abby Parkes, veterinary care by John Clunie and dental care by Oliver Liyou.

“He also is rugged up in summer to avoid the mosquitos, and has winter rugging to keep warm.

“But despite his advancing years he is a wonderful animal and deserves all the love and affection he invariably receives!”

*RDA (NSW) provides riding lessons for disabled community members with programs catering for people with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, injuries resulting from accidents, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, visual and hearing impairments, autism and amputees.

New South Wales’ Mounted Police Unit has a new recruit.

Valinorean, an unraced seven-year-old previously trained under the Darley banner, has passed the rigorous selection process to become a fully-fledged trooper.

Kylie Riddell is Senior Sargent at the Redfern-based operation, which covers the entire state, and oversees all of the horse and rider training. Valinorean, who is a full brother to enigmatic sprinter Chetwood, is now known as Isaac.

“He has a very calm nature. Even if he does become a little scared of something, he doesn’t let it define what he is doing at the time,” Riddell explained.

“I was there the first time he was exposed to the police band and you could tell he was a little wary but he didn’t let that overcome him. He still listened to the rider and that’s something that we look for in horses. It doesn’t matter if they are scared, it matters if they are obedient and still listen.

“He is a very personable horse. It was quick for him to become one of the favourites in the stable.”

Outside of the stringent physical checklist, candidates need to be bay, black or brown and must be at least 16 hands high, which in itself rules out many candidates. And that’s just the start.

“From there we go to soundness, thorough vet checks and obviously their temperament. We always trial them under saddle before we even take them on trial,” said Riddell.

It’s little wonder that there’s just 30 horses currently in rotation with ‘Mounties’. However, once a horse earns their stripes they are in for the long haul.

“Usually we run on 18 to 24 depending on our commitments, and the rest are spelled. We rotate through them,” Riddell said.

“They will stay with us for as long as they are physically sound and fit. Our oldest horses here at the moment are rising 22. They get more holidays than the others. It’s a bit of a semi-retirement plan. I find it prolongs their lives when they have a purpose and a job to do. We look after them well here. We have to retire them eventually but we always find them a good reliable home for them.

“We have to be a little more selective with the racehorses only because they have raced so it takes more to do another discipline or retrain them.

“In terms of an advantage, they are very athletic and generally are quite sound than heavier breeds. The thoroughbreds we have are also quite brave and don’t mind being by themselves. We have got a couple of thoroughbreds here that are very good lead horses so they will lead a parade or a public order.

“A lot of them are used to being around crowds. They are usually good with traffic. It does tend to take a little while for them to stand still at lights though, because they are used to being on the move.”

Isaac is very much now a city slicker having swapped the tranquil digs of Agnes Banks, and Riddell offered a glimpse into a week in the life of the Exceed And Excel gelding.

“If it’s a week day and he is not going out on patrol we might start with Centennial Park to exercise the horse. A walk, trot and canter to stretch their legs. Wednesday is shampoo day. Then Thursday through to Sunday he might get exercised in the mornings – either ridden or on the walking machine – and then go out on patrol in the afternoon or evening. A patrol lasts for anywhere between one to three hours on the streets,” Riddell said.

Isaac has adapted to his new career so quickly that Riddell is hopeful of him appearing in the Sydney Royal Easter Show come late March.

*Update: Isaac has since won first prize in the Police Horse Classes, held on the first day of the Show where judges look for the best turned out trooper, horse and gear!

“His rider Pat loves him and they’ve formed a real bond. We’re hoping that we’ll compete with Pat in the troop horse event and we’re also hoping to get him into the Police Musical Ride. We’ll have to continue to monitor how he copes with the police band which is just one more of the challenges that our horses get thrown at them – riding along with the band,” said Riddell, who leads the Ride.

Isaac, who went through what turned out to be a six month trial period, had been marked down as a possible Mounties horse from the get-go by Karen Day, Racing NSW’s Equine Welfare Manager and Scott Brodie who is the head trainer for Racing NSW’s thoroughbred re-training program.

“When we start working with a horse the guys on the ground will flag for temperament pretty early on because a police horse isn’t necessarily a performance horse. They need different things. A level head, to be calm under pressure and to put up with a pretty heavy workload,” said Day.

“The process was long (for Isaac). He went in for a trial in June and he only graduated at the end of January so they put a lot of time and effort into making sure the horses are right before they can join.

“Scott Brody was a Mountie so our association with them goes right back to the beginning. What Scott does is go in and coach the riders who are going to be on those horses because he already knows the horse so he sets the horse and rider up for success from the start.”

Ideally, Day says, there’ll always be two Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Trust (TRT) graduates in the Mounties trialling system at any one time. The latest candidate to be flagged is That’s A Good Idea who will be well known to punters being a Group-placed sprinter and at one stage, the Royal Randwick 1200m track record holder.

“That’s a Good Idea has just gone to the Orchid Hills property and he looks like he will probably get a shot. He has the right temperament,” Day said.

“As soon as he came in you can see it. He is already well balanced. We put a saddle on him soon after her arrived, rode him out in the open and he didn’t put a foot wrong so he probably has got what it takes. That level-headed attitude.”

Group One winner Delectation, who took the scalp of Chautauqua in the 2015 Darley Classic, is another that Day has high hopes for, but perhaps down the eventing path. Just another one of the ways the graduates can go.

 

“Delectation will be a superstar in whatever he decides to do. He came in with a tendon injury but nothing will stop him having a strong domestic life,” Day said.

“What we’re interested in is the horse’s wellbeing after they finish racing, that’s what we do.”

*This article was originally published in the March edition of the Racing NSW magazine.

Every day Naomi Benson drives 40 minutes from her home in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire to Scenic NSW Equine Centre at Denham Court to ride, train and spend time with her horse, Razz. The 19-year-old student adopted him from the Racing NSW Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Trust where she volunteers.

Razz is no ordinary horse though. He’s a retired thoroughbred with an impressive career behind him. Racing fans would remember him as ‘That’s A Good Idea,’ the speedy Peter & Paul Snowden-trained galloper who was stakes placed nine times and earned three quarters of a million dollars in prizemoney.

“I never saw him race but I have watched all the replays and researched his history,” Naomi said. “I managed to get in contact with someone who worked with him when he was racing and they gave me a stack of photos of him. It’s so nice to have them.”

When Naomi, who has been riding since she was eight years old, began looking for a horse she could train for show jumping her preference was for an off the track thoroughbred and Razz caught her eye as soon as he arrived at the Racing NSW TRT.

“When he first came in he hadn’t even been assessed but I liked the look of him and he had such a friendly nature” she said. “I asked Racing NSW TRT’s Community Manager Scott Brodie if he thought he would be suitable for me. A few weeks later after Scott had the chance to work him he said yes and arranged for me to have a ride.”

It didn’t all go to plan though. Naomi mounted Razz but he wouldn’t move. Scott gave her a few pointers and she tried again later that week. This time the ride went smoothly and Naomi couldn’t wait to hop off and sign the paperwork to officially adopt Razz.

“The process took a few weeks and during that time I would go and ride Razz and the other trainers at Racing NSW TRT would give me advice and tips,” she said. “They were really helpful.”

Before a horse is rehomed staff at the Racing NSW Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Trust ensure they are ready to transition into their new career as a competition or pleasure horse. They spend time re-educating it to ensure it’s rideable. They are taught basic commands, balance and to how relax and aren’t eligible for rehoming until they have mastered these skills.

Luckily for Naomi, Razz is a fast learner. She began furthering his education straight away and less than a month after leaving the Racing NSW TRT program they competed in their first dressage event together. They even brought home a red ribbon for second place.

“I was very happy with the result,” Naomi said. “But I was even happier with his behaviour. He was calm and relaxed. The other horses didn’t faze him. That put me at complete ease so I could focus on our performance.”

Just last week Razz and Naomi took part in their second dressage event and while they finished fifth this time, they beat their score from their first outing.

Now that Razz has got the hang of dressage, Naomi will soon begin training him for show jumping.

“I think we should be ready to compete in three or four months,” she said. “We need to perfect our flat work, especially our cantering and generally get more comfortable with jumping.

“I’m actually going to change his show name before then. I call him Razz and he’s been competing as That’s A Good Idea but he will soon be known as All That Razz.”

Naomi is confident she has made a smart choice welcoming Razz into her life and wouldn’t hesitate to get another off the track thoroughbred in the future.

“You can tell he was well handled as a racehorse as he has good ground manners and respects me,” she said. “He’s got so much power ready to use which will be advantageous for show jumping. I’m looking forward to seeing him progress with his education and I’m happy I can give him a quality life after racing.”