Equestrian Hub Magazine June 2019 by equestrianhub.com.au

JUNE 2019

I N F O R M AT I V E , I N S P I R AT I O N A L

& A S P I R AT I O N A L

Inside: OUR HERO

COLLEEN BROOK

WINTER CONUNDRUM TO RUG OR NOT TO RUG?

CHARLIE BRISTER

GROUNDWORK = GROUNDRULES

TRAINING TIPS

ADELE EDWARDS BLASTS THE BARRELS

HORSE BREED:

THE HANDSOME HANOVERIAN

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19 JUNE

44 24

34 INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL & ASPIRATIONAL

HorseVibes Editor: Candida Baker candida@equestrianhub.com.au Advertising Enquiries: Lainie Towner advertising@horsevibes.com.au The Saddle Hub Sales Enquiries: info@equestrianhub.com.au

Cover photo: The magnificent Hanoverian stallion Remi Vigneron, from Remi Stud. Photo: Cheryl O’Brien. Layout/Design: Ailebo Consulting: design@ailebo.com Published by Equestrian Hub PO Box 13, Tintenbar NSW 2478 info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

CHARLIE BRISTER

OUR HERO COLLEEN BROOK

BOB BERG’S WORLD FAMOUS BUCKLES

HORSE BREED: THE HANOVERIAN HORSE

THE HORSE LISTENER

HORSE RUGS

ANTHONY PELLING

ON MY TACKBOX WITH NANCY CLARKE

SADDLE REVIEW

AROUND THE TRAPS

YOUNG RIDER TYLER KELLY

TRAINING TIPS FROM ADELE EDWARDS

STARS BY EPONA

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C O M I N G

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has returned from 15 years in Spain and is now living in Queensland.

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Our Tackbox is particularly poignant this month as rider Nancy Clarke gives us a very personal recount of the struggle with anxiety that has affected her beautiful mare Summer since she was a filly. Nancy and Summer recently underwent a 10-day clinic with Tanja Kraus that changed Summer and Nancy’s time together in a very positive way. It’s a wonderful reminder to keep persevering.

From the Horse’s Mouth With Fiona Todd

This month’s training tips are from the world of barrel racing. Adele Edwards is one of Australia’s most successful barrel racers and she is also highly regarded as both a trainer and breeder. Adele discusses the importance of good hands, seat and legs to be successful in any discipline.

It’s our winter edition, and we have heaps to keep you entertained by the fire.

Our horse breed this month is that ultimate performance horse, the Hanoverian. And what could be better than to have an excuse to grace our cover with one of these beautiful creatures? Absolutely nothing, in my humble opinion since I happen to own one of these very special horses myself. Our cover shot is courtesy of Cheryl at Remi Stud, and if you want to buy or breed a Hanoverian, Remi Stud is a great place to start. You’d have to be living in tropical north Queensland not to have experienced one of the most extreme starts to winter we’ve ever had – and thus begins the annual debate – to rug or not to rug? That is truly the question. Our staff

writer Dannii, goes undercover (so to speak) to debunk many of the myths, and answers the FAQ’s of rugging. We always love an Andalusian – and even more an Australian who’s achieved a world wide reputation for dressage on these majestic horses. Jane interviews Anthony Pelling, a Grand Prix rider who

Finally our editor and resident Horse Listener, Candy, answers the inevitable call: “There’s this horse…” And so it came to pass that we start following the journey of a little mare called Sapphire. There are many Sapphires in this world I hope there are just as many Candys! Of course, there’s more. HorseVibes, as usual, has stories to inspire and inform you all. Please grab your favourite tipple, your ipad or laptop – or phone – lie on the lounge in front of the fire and enjoy this truly magnificent edition.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

BRISTER’S BRIEF

From Racehorse to Pony Clubber The young and the old came together recently at a clinic held by Pony Club NSW and Racing NSW to focus on retraining retired racehorses, writes CHARLIE BRISTER

different riding backgrounds - but with very similar aims for the horses. Scott was an obvious choice as he has done so much work for the thoroughbred rehabilitation trust including helping to set up a program for inmates and youths to learn about horses and to channel their energies into retraining racehorses. He also trained with Miguel Tavora and has had a lot of experience with classical dressage. Peter Haynes had a very successful eventing career which culminated in winning the Australian 3DE Championships in 1998 aboard Alcheringa. Nowadays he is a sought-after coach in all three phases of eventing.

Before the horses were ridden we started with each horse being worked in hand. Which is quite different to lunging a horse. You will quite often see a hot horse just being lunged into the ground before being ridden. This is great at making them tired but doesn’t teach them very much. Over time the horse gets fit but even more set in its ways.

The demonstrated techniques came from all disciplines – jumping, western riding, and dressage, but this clinic differed from most by focusing on groundwork as the foundation for all the more advanced work. This angle is often very strong at western riding clinics but is rarely the key focus at eventing and jumping clinics. (A shame in my opinion.)

Rather than just trying to exhaust the horse, ground work – in conjunction with lunging - can be used to very calmly teach the horse new ways to move their body, how to respond to pressure and how to stay out of the handler’s personal space.   Groundwork exercises used by the handler can get the horse to back up, come forward and yield the quarters to pressure - just to name a few goals. Groundwork can include lunging but not with the aim of simply getting the horse tired.

ith everybody’s sights set on embracing diversity and new beginnings for retiring racehorses, Pony Club NSW selected a group of talented and keen members to participate with the aim to educate young riders about how best to prepare horses for a life after racing.

Unfortunately, however, groundwork is often looking for positive changes that are actually (even if they seem simple to look at) hard to fit into a 45-minute clinic lesson. So riders often don’t learn the basics of control and lateral work, which are the absolute basis of groundwork, despite the huge benefit and many issues which can be fixed with that kind of work - especially with a retired racehorse. Peter Haynes and Scott Brodie joined me on the instruction panel, delivering

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

Little habits that don’t seem too important at the beginning can create much bigger problems later on.

Sadly most hobby riders don’t see the need for groundwork until they have a problem. Even when they do have a problem many of them don’t recognise it as being a problem, but they are quick to criticize their horse for being a little above the bit in the dressage or for lacking ability in the jumping phases, without realising that it can be attributed to a lack of groundwork in the beginning. So much patience is required to retrain

BRISTER’S BRIEF

A: Keeping a horse interested with free-jumping on the lunge. B and C - Helping horses think their way through obstacles such as this bridge, is great training for the future.

horses, and the devil, my friends, is in the detail. Little habits that don’t seem too important at the beginning can create much bigger problems later on. That’s why addressing them at the start of your training program is essential.   If you can’t get your horse to stand still while you get on, why should it be expected to remain at the halt when schooling? Why would it do a half-halt in dressage, or check slightly before a jump? And yes – this can all build from being unsettled at the mounting block! Even the great George Morris had to do a bit of work from the ground to get a horse understanding the lateral work

better at a recent clinic in Sydney. At the same clinic, he paid homage to Buck Brannaman who is held in extremely high regard throughout the equestrian world. Buck wears chaps and rides western, but if you don’t know who he is ask google ASAP! He understands the parallels between good outcomes on the ground and under saddle. He helps dressage riders and jumpers, as well as training happy, fluently forward moving horses. The fact is we can learn from master horse people from every discipline. There are many different ‘methods’ from Andrew Mclean to Pat Parelli and

everywhere in between. The information is there. Just check out You Tube if you want to learn what any of the great trainers are doing – and it’s worth checking out trainers that are not in your discipline. Some are better than others but it’s still better to try new methods than to continue doing the same thing day in day out. In the end it was a terrific clinic with the pony clubbers, and they embraced the diversity of education provided. Their current and future horses will be lucky to have them. I can’t wait to see retired thoroughbreds getting more of a go once they leave the racetrack.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

Colleen on her Warmblood, Corvette, and her daughter Liz Koob on her Thoroughbred, Music, riding on the family property. Photo: Horse Magazine.

OUR HERO “Similar to children, really.”

Colleen Brook on why it’s all about the horse, the horse...

Talking to her, what quickly becomes apparent is her broad-minded approach to training, and her interest in how a horse thinks. “I’ve always been interested in the psychology of horses,” she says. “I’ve firmly come to believe that although the classical way of training is still the best for what we want to achieve as eventers or showjumpers, the more things you can do the better – vaulting, natural horsemanship, clicker training, you name it…”

Colleen Brook is a quiet achiever in the equine industry, but the alternative training methods she’s used have produced some of Australia’s best performance horses, writes CANDIDA BAKER.

Colleen insists that in training a horse you need to help it make the choice you want it to make. “You can’t trick a horse into doing something you want it to do,” she says. “It’s never going

to work. My introduction to clicker

herself showjumps and has frequently

him, and just used the clicker and some

training was watching Georgia Bruce at

here’s truly not many people who can say they have three generations actively participating in horse life,

a symposium, and I was impressed by it. I know that horses usually only say ‘no’ when they’re frightened, and the clicker seems to break that circuit. I had

but Colleen Brook is one of them. Her

a horse, No Secrets, who was terrified of

mother, who is 95, still judges once a

water jumps. So I plodded along with

month at Clarendon Jump Club; Colleen

food reward, and he ended up jumping

represented Australia internationally and

the big water jumps at SIEC which are

her daughter Liz, jumps and events.

notoriously difficult.”

When Colleen and her husband Stephen Koob, who sadly passed away five years

But, she says, you must have a her to being one of the highest graded

sustainable system. “There’s no such

property, just outside Sydney, where

coaches in Australia, with an NCAS Level

thing as a free lunch in horse training,”

she’s lived for the past 25 years, she

3 general coach accreditation, NCAS

she says firmly.

chose it partly because it was in a

Level 3 showjumping and eventing

She points out that her daughter Liz

pocket of premier horse people. “We’ve

specialist accreditation, as well as

currently has a difficult horse. “She’s

got Dave Cameron around here, Chris

becoming an NCAS Coach Educator/

not easy to manage,” she says. “She’s

Chugg, Helen Chugg and George Sanna,

Assessor with Certificate IV Workplace

jumping 1.25m now but it’s persuaded

to name just a few,” she says. “This area

Trainer and Assessor qualifications. The

her to have to think a bit laterally. The

services a lot of people for equestrian

family has also bred competition horses,

thing about a horse is that they’ll go,

activities and there’s a lot going on.”

and has some young ones coming along.

‘you know what, I’ve only got a certain

Part of that ‘lot’ is Colleen’s own

“They have to find their own way a bit,”

amount of half-halts in me, after that

extensive work training both her horses,

she says remarkably amicably for a horse

and other peoples, her coaching, and her

trainer, it seems to me. “You can’t force

outthink them.”

own competition career, which has led

them on to your timeline.” She pauses.

She should know. With her horse-mad

ago, first bought their Wilberforce

you’ve got no chance’; so you have to

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

OUR HERO

A: Colleen on Rebound at Wentworth Park, the Benson Hedges Grand Prix in the mid 1980’s. They won in 1985. B: A classic of its time, and one of Colleen’s favourite books.

researching what I needed to know. I’d teach myself the aid for shoulder-in from

Reading seems to be a lost art, which is a tragedy as far as I’m concerned ...

books, and I’ve never lost that habit.” In fact, she says, she gets “miffed” that this generation relies so much on help from other people. “Reading seems to be a lost art, which is a tragedy as far as I’m concerned,” she says. “But even then – people – there’s YouTube. Anything you want to know, any tips you can find out, it’s all out there.”

Her book shelves are filled with classics: Riding Logic by Wilhelm Müseler, published in 1937 and still considered a

mum, Colleen was riding by the time she was four, on the family property in Bellingen, near Coffs Harbour. “I was born in Bellingen,” she says, “and we moved to Sydney in the mid-sixties

Sydney, so we moved.” Colleen grew up riding a lot of horses. “I rode a lot of horses, and went for lessons, but in those days your coach

classic today; American Gordon Wright’s numerous books which saw him acclaimed as one of the most influential horseman of his generation; Russianborn Vladimir Littauer’s The Principles of

when I was 11. My father’s family lived

never came to shows or saw you

at the foothill of the Dorrigo mountain,

compete, you did a lot on your own,

and it’s beautiful country there, but

so you had to try stuff by yourself,

riding, and, says Colleen: “Every jumping

there were more opportunities in

and that’s when I seriously got into

book that’s ever been written – I don’t

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

Riding, an important – and controversial advocate – of the more forward-seat

OUR HERO

know what would happen if there was ever a fire here! I’d lose an entire library.”

Of all of those horsemen/authors, one that influenced the current maestro, George Morris, was Gordon Wright. And it was George Morris, Colleen explains who had such a major influence on all the showjumpers in Australia in the 1980’s. “He’s 81, and he still considers himself to be a student,” she laughs, “and that’s one of the reasons why he’s such an extraordinary coach. When he first

C: Desensitising Corvette with the friendly game helped along with a feedbag. He used to buck so Colleen needed to relax him. Photo: Horse Magazine.

came to Australia some of our mob had never even had any lessons, but George was able to crystallize complicated technical advice into a phrase and make it understandable. I think for all of us he is such an inspiration because a lot of us in Australia ride in a forward, light way. We have a lot of riders here with a natural, but sometimes unusual style, and George – influenced by Wright –

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OUR HERO

was a naturally forward, light rider, so we got him and he got us.”

D: Left: Author Samantha Miles with Colleen, who had a chapter in the book, at an Equitana book signing.

(Most recently Vicki Roycroft credits George for giving her a “tune-up” on his last visit that enabled her to win the Dubbo Grand Prix last month.) There’s a difference, Colleen says, between what she classifies as riders with a more ‘normal’ style. “Most riders need a system that’s accountable,” she explains. “They need to be able to go a + b = c.” Something she would like to see a lot more of in Australia is Equitation classes. “Equitation is big in the US, as are Style classes in Europe. I’ve judged a few classes over the past ten years, and I think Equitation is a great basis to go from. For example, there are quite a few show

jumpers that don’t have great dressage technique. Equitation can teach young horses and riders techniques that can then translate into showjumping.” She cites the example of one task she put into a competition. “We had a fence with a very tight angle, and their task was to turn short at it with a minimum

E: Colleen’s 95-year-old mother Joyce, who still judges once a month at Clarendon Jump Club and other events.

amount of strides. If they did a short amount of strides and knocked the fence they still scored better than the riders that took the maximum amount of strides and cleared it. That was a bit of a surprise to them, but it was to teach them about coming in short. The strides varied from nine to 19, and those that tried to do it in less were rewarded for

Australian, Victorian and New South

Prix and was on the winning Nation’s

that. Not every rider wants to jump

Wales jumping champion; who’s won

Cup team three times, and still competes

their horse big, particularly when they’re

the Alice Laidlaw trophy a record ten

today at the age of 65.

young and Equitation is great for that.”

times at Melbourne Royal, competed

“The more tools you have in your

I’m intrigued by Colleen’s interest in

at the World Equestrian Games in

toolbox the better,” she says. “If you’re

alternative methods of training. After

Stockholm, the World Cup Finals in the

in any doubt about clicker training,

all, this is a woman who has been

US and Germany, won the Tokyo Grand

what first attracted me to that was this

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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OUR HERO

woman who trained whales in Florida. She would go to aquariums and train whales, and she decided to translate that to horses. I read the first page of her book, and she pointed out that you can’t put a halter on a ten-ton whale and say ‘come here’, so to encourage that animal to come to them, they use clickertraining. These days clicker training

F: Colleen on ASB Quindoctro at Sydney Royal. Photo: Julie Wilson.

G: Colleen on her first ‘good’ horse, Trooper.

is routinely used in zoos to click and reward large animals so that they learn to be able to be treated more easily, and again, I think it’s very valuable.” Depending on the horse has also seen her adopt some Parelli techniques as well. “The thing about Pat Parelli was that he wrote, or writes, everything down so it’s become a progressive system – if you don’t have access to that kind of system, sometimes you need help. You’d be amazed at how often good riders have a progressive system while they’re on the horse, but on the ground they treat them like babies, or have inconsistent training methods with them. What I want to see is people enjoying their horses, playing with them and enjoying them. Another Australian horseman whose systems and writing I have a great deal of respect for is Andrew McLean. The fact is in order to enjoy a horse, it has to be under control.”

HorseVibes own columnist, eventer and coach Charlie Brister has been learning from Colleen for a decade. “She’s an amazing coach because she doesn’t overload you,” he says. “She’s always looking to make things easier for the horse – that’s her mantra – how can we make it easier. She researches dressage, eventing, jumping, groundwork – she’s a wealth of information. Plus she has a great sense of humour.” Sounds like if there’s an Australian horseperson out there with a book in them, it’s Colleen Brook. JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

High End Buckles for the Wild West Australian Bob Berg has claimed a unique place in the history books of Western riding with his high end buckles, western jewellery and custom knives, writes JANE CAMENS.

t’s a long way from growing up in Finley, in country New South Wales (population below 2,000) to running a factory in Vietnam that produces your own designs, but then Bob Berg has always been a bit of a quiet trailblazer. “I left home and the Riverina when I was 17,” he says, “following the rodeo trail, riding bulls and broncs and generally enjoying the cowboy way of life.” He set off to compete in New Zealand’s South Island Regional Rodeo Circuit and six months in, successfully returned home with his very own bull riding title – which only gave him a thirst for more. He soon set his sights on America, where the larger scale competition with higher ranking bucking stock seemed alluring and promising (but not for the faint hearted, by any means). What Bob couldn’t know then was that his time competing in the International Rodeo Circuit would change his destiny forever. “I spent many years competing in the American and Canadian rodeo circuits, sharing rodeo adventures with great lifelong buddies like John Malick and Jimmy Cleveland,” he says. These daring young men competed together in rodeos at world famous events such as the Calgary Stampede, the Big Indoor Circuit, Madison Square Garden, the Cheyenne and El Paso Rodeos in Texas, to name just a few and Bob quickly made a name for himself as an All Round Cowboy and Bareback Riding Champion, respectfully. To this day Bob has some very fond memories of his overseas travels. In fact, he says: “I was on top of the world until the fateful day I broke my leg riding bulls.” Never being one to miss an opportunity – even in the strangest places – Bob managed to turn a broken leg into his future path. “I was laid up with my broken bones, and I just happened to stay with my good friend Kenny Harper, who is a silversmith

FEATURE and a very good one at that,” he says. “So I made the decision to learn every thing I could from him so that one day I could become a silversmith myself and perhaps even make a living from it.”

In November 1976, just after winning the All Round Cowboy and Bareback Championships at the CCA Finals, and on the mend from his fall, Bob returned home to Australia where he went into production making mechanical bucking bulls - one of which featured in the hit movie The Urban Cowboy. “You can still find these amusement rides at your local traveling show, or maybe even at the local school fete,” Bob says. “They’ve been known to entertain folks for years and I’m sure they’ll continue for years to come.” In the meantime, always looking to diversify, Bob and fellow Australian John Osborne became the first people to import Texas Longhorn Cattle into Australia, a breed which has since

grown enormously in popularity. It was during this incredibly productive period that Bob turned his hand to making buckles, putting his new-found skills as a silversmith to good use back on his home soil. With Bob’s creative flair and his western trophy ideas, it wasn’t long before his buckle-making business was

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

established, quickly growing into what is now his world-famous Bob Berg Designs. I discovered these fabulous buckles for myself one day when Wayne Banney, a former Rodeo Champion Cowboy himself, showed me his Bob Berg Championship Trophy Buckle. It was

FEATURE

beautiful, and Wayne carefully explained to me why the buckles are considered to be so special, and are so sought-after. “A lot of the trophy buckles selling on today’s market are replicated versions of Bob’s designs,” Wayne told me. “But a genuine Bob Berg Buckle holds its own unmistakable character. Bob was actually the first person in the world to design buckles incorporating titanium metal. He’s unique in having the skills and the technology to instill colour into titanium in the fine details.”

A & B: Bob’s jewellery is also unique.

In 1999 the PBR, (Professional Bull Riders) called for tenders asking the world’s top silversmiths to submit a design for a championship trophy cup. A field of seven top silversmiths applied and submitted their designs, with Bob’s design being chosen for the prestigious PBR Trophy Cup – valued at approximately $250,000. “It’s by far the most famous trophy in the world today,” says Bob. “I was honoured

Wayne Banney, a former Rodeo Champion Cowboy himself, showed me his Bob Berg Championship Trophy Buckle.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

C: A Bob Berg classic and a perennial favourite. D: An early buckle from 1984. E: 2019 and the buckles are even more popular than ever. F: Bob Berg – a classic cowboy. G: The mark of a true Bob Berg buckle.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

FEATURE

Horseman Wayne Banney shows off his prized Bob Berg buckle.

to submit the chosen design.” These days Bob is now based in Dalat, Vietnam, operating and working hands on in a well-organized state-of-the-art manufacturing warehouse, with an effective production system in place. Bob employs a team of 80 men and women. “I’ve spent the last three years training them to become buckle artists themselves,” he says. “I oversee all production, to make sure we keep the high quality for every single order we

produce, and that every buckle is perfect before it makes its way to the world wide market.” And world wide his market certainly is, particularly since the PBR and Bob reached a private agreement to on-sell the copyrights to the PBR exclusive design for a sum of $10,000 US, money which is designated to be put back into the sport. And as a tribute to his Australian heritage, Bob is currently offering a Trophy Sponsorship Package

worth up to $250,000 Australia wide, available to all Australian rodeo and equine events. A long way from Finley, indeed. For more information on Bob Berg Designs or the Sponsorship Package contact Kelly Condon, the Director of Australian Sales and Marketing on facebook: www.facebook.com/ BobBergBuckles.KellyCondon/ Or via email at: kelly.bobbergdesigns@gmail.com

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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HORSE BREED

The Hanoverian Horse The Hanoverian has proved itself as the ultimate performance horse for well over a century, writes DANNII CUNNANE.

he Hanoverian is an incredibly popular warmblood breed throughout the world, well known for its athletic and sporting prowess in the main Olympic disciplines. Whether it’s their expressive paces in dressage or their immense power in showjumping, the Hanoverian has also influenced many other horse breeds throughout the centuries to pass on its wonderful qualities. Hanoverian horses can be traced back into the 16th century and hold the longest traceable genetic lineage in the equine world. This beed of horse was purposely bred and raised for agricultural and military purposes because of their great strength and endurance.

Breed origins The Hanoverian lines stemmed from three influential stallions - The Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the GoDolphin Barb. These stallions were of high quality and were put over the heavier German mares to produce horses suitable for agriculture, harness and cavalry. In 1735, George II, King of England and Elector of Hanover, founded the State Stud at Celle in Germany with the purpose of making high-

quality stallions available to local breeders. This stud was also important as it launched the central registration of breeding and foals. At the beginning of the 19th century thoroughbred and English halfbred stallions were increasingly used to refine the breed, and in 1844, a German law was passed that allowed only stallions that were passed by the inspection commission to be used for breeding purposes. This prompted the formation of a specific Hanoverian breed society in 1867 whose aim was to continue to produce exceptional coach and military horses. This society continued until 1922, when the Society of Hanoverian Warmblood Breeders was founded, which privatised ownership of the studbook.

A change in breeding direction After World War I, the breed began to decline. Armies were no longer looking for calvary horses, they were forging ahead with motorised vehicles. Modern machines also started making their way onto farms, so agricultural work with horses was beginning to become redundant. These reasons caused the focus of the breeding of these beautiful horses

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

HORSE BREED

The majestic Remi Vigneron has good reason to stand proud – he’s the first Australian bred Hanoverian stallion to be licensed by the Hanoverian Verband. He was also given the Champion Hanoverian award at the end of the German judges tour to Australia, and was the first stallion to win that award.

HORSE BREED to shift to riding, creating a modern riding horse that was both strong, yet comfortable to ride. Further refinement of the genetic pool progressively produced the modern Hanoverian horse that is recognised today.

After World War II, the breed was refined with both Trakehner and Thoroughbred horses to produce the elite sporthorses we admire so much. The goal was reached to breed an elegant horse with a trainable temperament, a strong back and athletic movement. Colour was not of great importance, but the modern Hanoverian does not include palomino or buckskin. The breeding produced an athletic horse which is well known and highly sought after in all Olympic disciplines.

Breed characteristics Hanoverians are elegant, strong, and robust horses. They are bred to be willing and trainable, and have a powerful body, athletic movement, and strong limbs. Most are chestnut, bay, black and grey and regulations prohibit horses with too much white. Buckskin, palomino and cremello horses are not allowed to be officially registered.

These incredible horses can stand between 15.3 – 17.2 hands high, however, most are commonly in the range of 16–16.2 hands.

Breeding stock evaluation A: Remi Vigneron undertaking the freejump part of the licensing assessment. B: A Hanoverian Classification day during the Hanoverian Verband’s fourweek assessment tour in Australia.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

In Germany, stallions and mares must pass rigorous testing if they are to be accepted into the stud book, so excellent health is a must. Every year Hannoverian testing takes place in almost every country to document and recognise the best that are presented at each event.

Stallions Each year, the regional clubs in Germany nominate a total of 700 twoyear-old colts as stallion candidates, of which only 100 attend the actual

HORSE BREED

Hanoverian horses can be traced back into the 16th century and hold the longest traceable genetic lineage in the equine world

C: Antique Print of the Hanoverian horse by O. Eerelman, 1898.

D: Fiderfurst by Fidertanz imported to Australia, goes back to the Godolphin Barb. E: The popular stallion Stedinger, who was imported to Australia, goes back to the Darley Arabian. licensing in October. A panel of judges, experts in their fields, form the lisencing commission, evaluate each young stallion for his suitability as a sire of future Hanoverians. The evaluation runs over three days. Prior to pre-licensing there is a veterinary exam, where the colts must be deemed free of osteochondrosis lesions, vices and other heritable conditions. The colts are then

assessed on bitumen to ensure that they have sound, straight, true gaits, as well as straight, sound legs. If the horses pass the pre-license and vet exam they are then judged on the suitability of their gaits for dressage, and their competency in jumping. At the end of the process about half of the young stallions will have earned their temporary breeding license, while the other half are typically gelded and

go on to lives as riding horses. Following these three days, there is a stallion sale which announces all the new licensed stallions for that year.

Mares The Hanoverian Verband also organises the one-day test for mares which are carried out over the four weeks of the assessment tour. These tests are a more in-depth evaluation of a mare’s suitability

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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HORSE BREED

The following horses can be traced back to the founding fathers’ lines. From The Byerley Turk line: Brentano II by Bolero Belissimo M by Beltain (formerly ridden by Hayley Beresford)

Rotspon by Rubinstein I

F: Olympic Equestrian Jumping in Hong Kong. Lantinus (1998 bay gelding by Landkönig) and rider Denis Lynch. G: A Hanoverian foal showing all the classic attributes of the breed.

From the Darley Arabian line: Quando-Quando by Quattro B (imported to Australia)

Stedinger by Sandro Hit (imported to Australia)

Showdown by Sandro Hit (imported to Australia)

Lauries As by Londonderry ( imported to Australia)

Stakkato by Spartan (show jumper ridden by Eva Bitter)

Don Johnson FRH by Don Frederico (ridden by Isabell Werth)

De Niro by Donnerhall (international Grand Prix success)

El Paso by Escudo I for riding. In addition to her talents for dressage or show jumping, the judges fully assess her character and temperament, including how easy she is to train.

candidacy or auction participation.

These tests are held at the Hanoverian Riding and Driving School in Verden and at the Hessen State Stud in Dillenburg.

The young mares are evaluated on their

Mare and foal shows The district German clubs are primarily responsible for local mare and foal shows. This is an elite opportunity where foals born within that year are presented, usually at their dam’s side, to a panel of licensed breed judges. Foals of acceptable quality are branded, their papers are signed, and they are entered into the foal registry. Judges also use this venue to recommend exceptional foals for stallion

Filly foals return to the mare shows as three-year-olds to be evaluated for entry into the studbook; as only such mares can have registered Hanoverian foals. conformation and gaits to ensure that they are of sufficient quality.

(ridden by Marcus Beerbaum)

Escada FRH by Embassy I (ridden by Ingrid Klimke)

Salinero by Salieri (ridden by Anky van Grunsven)

From the Godolphin Barb line: Florestan I by Fidelio Fidertanz by Fidermark I Fiderfürst by Fidertanz

Further information

(imported to Australia)

Not only is the Hanoverian a beautiful

For Pleasure (Showjumper ridden by Marcus Ehning)

horse, it is extremely popular in Australia. They are highly sought after

Weltmeyer by World Cup I

throughout professional riding circles for

Wolkenstein II by Weltmeyer

their elite performance abilities, and also

Warum Nicht FRH by Weltmeyer

make amazing schoolmasters for up and

(ridden by Isabell Werth)

coming new riders.

Prince Noir by Prince Thatch xx

For more information about the breed,

Fishermans Friend by Fabriano

(imported to Australia)

visit the Hanoverian Horse Society

(imported to Australia/dec)

of Australia website. JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

THE HORSE LISTENER

Will Sapphire turn out to be a Jewel? A new journey unfolds for a little grey horse who got herself into some big trouble, writes CANDIDA BAKER.

At first Eva and Tyra hazed the new girl, but now Sapphy is one of the gang, and so they kept an eye on her while Candy worked with her.

ne thing I’ve learned to trust on my horse journey is that the next horse in need of some TLC or rehabilitation, or rescue, or even just a holiday, will find me. In Sapphire’s case, the last horse who was with me for four months, Aztec, was not even on the truck - due that morning - when a friend rang me. “Candy,” she said. “There’s this horse.” (Words of course that any sane person runs away from by the way.) It turned out that my friend, who lives on Mount Tamborine, knew a family who had bought a 14.3hh seven-yearold Stockhorse Arabian cross for their 11-year-old beginner rider daughter. The little mare, although quiet, hadn’t taken long to figure out that if she made nasty faces at her young owner, or swung her back end around to her, the girl didn’t know what to do and backed off. Horse 1, owner 0. But Sapphire was nevertheless, once she’d been caught - an event she was also beginning to turn into a major drama - quiet to ride. One day, however, when the girl was riding her bareback at a walk, a friend who was with her told her to trot. I’m assuming she was probably sitting far too far forward on Sapphy’s wither, because as soon as she broke into a trot, she also did a pig-root, unseating her young rider, who landed unceremoniously on the ground, burst into tears and announced she was never riding her again. She did, of course, but unfortunately with non-horsey parents, she had nobody – except my friend – to help her, and it was quickly obvious that the girl had got so scared of Sapphy it wasn’t going to work. Whereupon the father announced that there was only one place for the horse to go, and it wasn’t a place from which there was any return. This is even though he had spent

THE HORSE LISTENER

Picture: Sapphire watching Candy warily.

Hence the call to me. So the following week I went up to Mount Tamborine to meet Sapphire, my friend, and her young owner. The first thing I noticed was that Sapphire wasn’t the least bit interested in any of us. They’d coaxed her into a large yard with a shelter in with the dint of food the night before, and now she simply stood there as if to say, why don’t you just all go away? They warned me that she might be difficult to catch, and I assured young Lilly that I had a few tricks up my sleeve. So I wandered into the yard in a very casual fashion, only to have Sapphire

‘

some thousands on this pretty mare, who would not look out of place in a showring if that was your druthers.

Once you establish that you are a horse’s leader by making it move away from you, its greatest desire is to be with you.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

immediately glance at me out of the corner of her eye, and equally casually place her body so her rear end was facing me. Hmmm, I thought. Time for the carrot stick and a bit of the catching game. So I raised my arms and lightly held the stick in the air just to see what she would do. Well, she proved that a) she was sensitive b) she wasn’t dangerous c) she was clever, by simply scooting off. So we began our little dance of me asking her to move away, move away, move out of the shelter, don’t rest, go away, don’t come near me, until finally she stopped, licked and chewed, and walked straight up to me. Lesson one. Don’t try and catch a horse that doesn’t want to be caught, get it to catch YOU. No horse wants to be

THE HORSE LISTENER

away from its leader, or its herd for too long. Once you establish that you are a horse’s leader by making it move away from you, its greatest desire is to be with you. You absolutely can’t over-estimate the importance of reverse psychology with horses! Just don’t try it in a massive paddock. Once I’d caught her, she was a sweetie. We took her rug off, and she revealed herself as a pretty, well-conformed Galloway. I noticed, though, that she was very nervous when I was around her head, and when I asked Lilly about it, she told me that the breeder they’d bought her from, who had also started her, told her that if Sapphire didn’t do what she wanted she should hit her in the head. I was flabbergasted. “And did you?” I asked. “No,” she said. “I couldn’t bring myself to do that, but I think he did it quite a lot.” (I think he did, because this is an ongoing unravelling for Sapphy, to not startle when someone approaches her.) But what I also noticed was that she was incredibly responsive, now that she’d decided to be with me. She backed away in the space of a nano-second, came in, turned on the hind-quarter and yielded on the fore-hand as if to say, “Like this? Or, like this?” I was impressed. I also ran my hands all over her and noticed that she was a bit out in the pelvis, stiff in her shoulders and, I thought, a little locked in her near rear stifle. Of the three things, the only one that bothered me was the last. Stifle lock can be a major pain for both horse and owner, but she moved freely at all three paces, and she had everything else going for her, so I decided – of course I did – that Sapphy would come home to join Tyra, my beloved adopted Save a Horse Australia horse, and Eva, my young off-the-track who had managed to injure herself some months ago, and is still recovering (more of that in another column). So in due course, Sapphy arrived. She showed her little marey colours straight

Sapphy has a poll release from chiropractor Matt Butler.

away, and tried to tell me that there was no way she was going to let me near her. But, to be honest, I’ve dealt with horses with way worse behavioural problems, so I just laughed, and told her she had plenty of time and that all we would do to start off with is I would stroke her a bit while she was eating.

ground-work, with riding next on the agenda. She’s become a pleasure to be around remarkably quickly – she’s also fine with dogs, children and motorbikes in her paddock, and she shows signs, when I separate her from her friends of feeling comfortable after only a few moments anxiety.

So a month into the journey, she’s had four or five groundwork sessions, and shown herself to be remarkably easy to do join up with – choosing to stay with me even when I let her back out in the paddock with the other horses. She still makes marey faces, and I still laugh at her.

I’m looking forward to the next stage of Sapphy’s journey, and to her letting me know what kind of horse she wants to be, and what kind of life she wants to live. If you’re a Horse Listener, then you’re honour-bound to Listen to the Horse.

She’s had the chiro, she’s had her hooves trimmed, she’s on some supplements and we’re getting to the end of the

Candida Baker runs a Facebook page, The Horse Listener. She is also the President of Equus Alliance

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Hone your winter horse skills with our rug refresher course Rugging in winter is always (pardon the pun) a hot topic, writes DANNII CUNNANE, with owners either for or against on this constantly debated subject.

he decision to rug may suit one owner, but not another, so it’s important to remember that this is not ‘one size fits all’ and circumstances and factors will dictate what is best for your horse.

The longer coat was designed to keep the horse warm in extreme weather, and in some parts of Australia (as well as the world) this includes ice and snow. On a chilly winter day, it’s natural for your horse’s coat to seem a bit ‘puffier’ than normal – that’s the coat doing its job.

With this in mind, we hope that we can shed some light on rugging pros and cons and help those struggling with the decision to make the choice that’s right for their horse.

When the horse gets a chill, the hypothalamus, the primary control centre for thermoregulation located deep within the brain, triggers the contraction of the smooth muscle that attaches to the lowest point of each hair follicle. As a result, each hair straightens up and stands on end. This extra fluffy coat creates a large insulating pocket of air right next to the skin. The same reaction, called piloerection, is what causes goose bumps in humans.

The natural coat – an overview of how their winter woollies work As we all know, horses have a natural coat that protects them from the elements. As the daylight hours shorten, the horse begins to grow a longer coat. This coat change is triggered by the light that entering the horse’s endocrine systems, thereby governing hair growth. The short hairs of the summer coat fall out and longer hair grows in its place to help the horse stay warm throughout the colder weather.

So why rug? While it’s true that wild and free-living horses survive without rugs, they move a great deal more than their domestic counterparts and are able to find their own shelter from bad weather. Moving keeps a horse warm - standing does not produce energy and can therefore make

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

a horse cold. One of the main responses to the question of why rug is that horse owners want their horses to stay warm during the cooler months and a fast way of doing this is to use a rug. The horse uses fuel (fat stores and feed) to keep itself warm. That warmth becomes trapped within the coat in a little air pocket between the skin and the tip of the hair. If the horse is not rugged and does not have enough food to supply its heat energy, it may lose condition – also known as ‘dropping off’ as it has

to spend a lot of energy keeping itself warm. Owners may find that rugging takes some of that pressure off and the horse will stay warm without having to use its energy reserves. Another reason an owner may choose to rug is if their horse is clipped. A clipped horses coat will not grow back until the next season and the horse will need to replace the coat insulation that it has lost. Without insulation it cannot keep warm. A horse will burn energy to keep itself warm, but if there are no natural winter woollies to trap the heat, the heat will escape.

Horses that require rugging Very young and very old horses that have trouble maintaining body temperature. Sick horses or those with a poor body condition, such as very underweight horses that need to put their energy into maintaining basic health, not keeping warm. Horses that have recently relocated from warm to cold climates and may not have had a chance for their coat to adapt. Any horse that your vet says is at risk of hypothermia (a dangerously low body temperature).

A lightweight blanket will simply press the hair down and eliminate the coat’s ability to hold and heat air, without adding any warmth. When rugging for cool weather, either opt for a heavier blanket or, if your horse’s natural winter coat is thick, leave it without a blanket as long as it has adequate shelter. Depending on the types of rug used, it may need to be removed during the day if the temperature will rise significantly. Some rug fills are warmer than others, and we have all felt how hot it can be to wear a jumper in the sun, so ensure that your horse can have the rug removed if required.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

A: The Bucas Buzz Off Rain Zebra rug comes with a sun reflective colour that helps your horse stay cool. B: A summer cotton combo, with belly straps to help keep the rug in place, perfect to protect from midges and flies, and from light showers.

A Note: A horse sweating under the rug

choose from, and it can get very

can be detrimental to its health and not

confusing. Some have stuffing inside,

all owners have the luxury of living close.

known as fill, that provides heat

This is something important to consider

insulation to help keep the horse warm.

when choosing to rug or keep the horse

The most common winter rugs are

‘natural’. In cooler states it is less of an

below.

issue, but in hotter climates a horse may need to be unrugged in the morning and rugged again in the late afternoon.

Combo vs neckless: The combo means that it’s a combination rug – it has an attached neck-piece and occasionally a

Types of rugs

cover that goes over the horse’s head to

There are so many types of rugs to

protect the face. A neckless rug does not

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

offer a neck or face option and covers the chest, shoulders, barrel and rump of the horse. Turnout rugs: A turnout rug will help protect your horse from harsh weather conditions such as the cold, rain, wind and snow keeping them warm and dry. These are often waterproofed and offer various levels of protection and warmth. Stable rugs: Horses that are clipped and living indoors will benefit from a stable

FEATURE

Temperature 15°C +

Stabled/Clipped

Stabled/Unclipped

Turned out/Unclipped

Turned out/Clipped

Zero fill

Nothing

10-15°C

Light weight (100g) or zero fill

Nothing or zero fill

Nothing

Nothing or light weight (100g) or zero fill if wet & windy

5 -10°C

Medium weight (250g)

Light weight (150g)

Nothing or light weight (100g)

Light weight (150g) plus neck cover

Zero - 4°C

Heavy weight (300g)

Medium weight (200g)

Nothing or light/ medium weight (150-250g)

Medium weight (200g) with neck cover

-10 - zero°C

Heavy weight (300400g) with neck cover

Medium weight (200-300g) with liner

Light or medium weight (150-300g) with neck cover

Heavy weight (300-400g) with neck cover plus liner

Below -10°C

Heavyweight (300-500g) with neck cover plus liner

Medium or heavy weight (300-400g) with neck cover

Heavy weight (300500g) plus neck cover

Heavy weight (300500g) plus liner and/or under blanket and hood

bacteria grow which will cause rain scald or other infections. When purchasing a horse rug you need to consider the following: • breed and condition of your horse • the weight of rug fill • fabric strength • style • size

• environment. Rugging for temperature

While there are some colder temperatures in Australia, we aren’t usually in the minus Celsius often. Our friends at EQUUS England have provided the following temperature guide. Please note that it is only a guide and an owner should make an informed judgement for their own horses needs.

rug that will provide warmth to a horse

horse’s temperature and prevent it from

that is unable to move around freely to

dropping too rapidly as it cools down.

generate their own body heat during

These are not waterproof.

Rugging for health

Rain sheets: Also known as a rain cover

Rain Scald: Some owners will require their horses to be rugged due to health issues such as rain scald and Queensland itch.

colder months. Lightweight stable rugs can also be used to help keep horses clean that mainly live inside all year round. These are not usually waterproof.

these rugs are made of waterproof fabric and may be lined with a thin cotton-like lining. The purpose of the rain sheet is

Coolers and fleece rugs: Cooler rugs

to keep the horse dry in wet weather. It’s

should be used after exercise when the

very important to buy a rain sheet made

horse’s body temperature has increased.

of breathable fabric as the horse can

Using a cooler rug will help regulate the

sweat and then become cold or have

Rain scald, also known as dermatophilosis or streptothricosis, or in plain old Australian, rain rot, is a common skin disease in horses

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

C: A turnout rug designed for harsh conditions. These rugs will also help older horses in cooler climates to conserve energy. D: A mesh combo, plus headpiece – these rugs are made of a fine mesh, which protects from insects but stops horses getting too hot. They can also help prevent an itchy horse from scratching, particularly around the head and ears.

caused by a bacteria, which is the same organism that causes mud fever in horses. Once in the skin, the bacteria causes inflammation of the skin as well as the typical symptoms associated with rain scald. There are two different manifestations of rain scald - the winter form, which is more severe due to the longer coat of the horse, and the summer form, which is less severe. Horses are usually affected on the back, head, and neck, where insects commonly bite, and the legs, which are commonly infected if the horse is kept in moist paddocks. Initially, the horse will display a matted coat and bumps that will then progress to crusty scabs and lesions. The horse may also be itchy and display signs of discomfort. The right horse rugs can protect your horse from developing rain scald in many different ways. Insect bites are a persistent source of skin damage in horses, which can make them more

infections in the process.

A rugged horse must be groomed thoroughly and frequently. vulnerable to infections. Horse rugs, particularly fly mesh rugs, can help prevent insect bites and indirectly protect your horse from additional

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

Since insects carry the bacteria that causes rain scald, horse rugs can stop your horse from even coming in contact with the bacteria in the first place. Fly mesh rugs also don’t retain moisture very well, and rain scald bacteria does not thrive under dry conditions, so horse rugs can be instrumental in both preventing and addressing rain scald. Using a waterproof synthetic rainsheet combo rug in heavy rain will also help keep the horse dry and rain scald free. If your horse has already had a case of rain scald, rugging them when it rains is even more important. Queensland itch is caused by the hypersensitivity to the bites of sand flies (midges) of the species culicoides. While the bite of the midge is an irritation, some horses develop sensitivity to the bite and will rub themselves so much that they cause injury to their skin.

FEATURE

D The cause is actually an allergic reaction to chemicals in the saliva of the midge. When this reaction occurs, specific chemicals are released in the skin. These chemicals cause an irritation, which in turn causes the horse to scratch and rub. It occurs in varying degrees of severity in horses of various breeds, and there appears to be a genetic link. The culicoides midges feed primarily at dusk and dawn and tend to feed on the horse at specific sites, particularly around the head, tailhead, withers, and base of the mane; however other areas, including the chest, back and rump can also be affected. The midges like to breed on wetland, and around rivers, lakes and standing water, so susceptible horses kept close to these conditions are more likely to be affected. In Australia, whilst it’s called Queensland itch, it can be found anywhere north of Sydney, along the coast up to tropical far north

Queensland. Over the dividing range, in the drier climate, it disappears. While Queensland itch usually shows itself in the summer months, midges can be present during winter months in certain states. If your horse has a susceptibility to midges, rugging them to avoid bites will assist with the prevention of a flare up.

Rug technology There are a few rugs that have been designed for owners who cannot change rugs regularly. One such is the Bucas Power Turnout rug, which is high-tech, provides perfect comfort for the horse, has antibacterial properties and gives protection from the elements at both lower and higher temperatures than other rug brands. This rug caters for horses in -25 degree to 13 degree celsius, so having to add extra rugs in cold weather and removing rugs when the temperature rises is no longer required.

While this rug is a higher price than the standard brands, it offers peace of mind to those who want to rug, but cannot make the commitment to frequently change rugs as the weather dictates. If you research this kind of rug, there are also several others on the market, with different products that ensure the horse doesn’t get too hot and makes rugging life easier.

Rugging tips A rug should be removed regularly to make sure it is not rubbing, letting in water, making sure the horse hasn’t lost weight or gained too much weight etc. If you unrug hour horse and notice any of these issues, steps should be taken to rectify them. Rugs also prevent horses from rolling and mutual grooming, which naturally exfoliates their skin. A rugged horse must be groomed thoroughly and frequently to get rid of the build-up of dead skin, dirt and hair.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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FEATURE

Rain, sleet and snow can reduce the natural insulating properties of the horse’s coat. Keep an eye on the horse during these conditions because if their insulation is interfered with the horse can become cold, and that can cause mild to severe health problems. Watch out for signs of a cold in your horse, any excess mucus from the nostrils is a warning sign, particularly if it thickens or is not clear. A bacterial infection in the lungs is difficult and expensive to treat in a horse, and can even be fatal.

“Excuse me, but why on earth are you wearing this red thing? I’ll take it off for you!”

What choice is the correct one?

What if you don’t want to rug?

thick trees. This will keep the horse warm

If an owner does not want to rug their horse and they have a full coat, there are still some things to be considered.

and protected from the elements should they need to seek shelter.

The horse must have access to shelter, such as a three-sided structure or windbreak formed by a wall or line of

should be provided to help the horse

Bates Innova 17.5”

$1,700

Adequate forage, such as grass or hay maintain heat. If hay is not available, then a substitute should be provided.

Bates Show+ 17”

$2,500

In the end it’s up to each horse owner to make an educated decision about what is best for their horse. Changeable temperatures and conditions need to be kept in mind combined with breed, weight, climate, work-load, and the quality of the horse’s natural coat. If unsure, we recommend that the owner consult someone with genuine horse knowledge and knowledge of local weather in your area.

Bates Caprilli 17”

$1,250 $1,100

For more information visit:

equestrianhub.com.au JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Look what I’ve done! How to avoid a bad rug day Step 1 Start your measurement from the exact middle of the horse’s chest directly under the middle of the neck. Starting at this point, pass your measuring tape across to your horse’s shoulder, then around the shoulder and all the way along past your horse’s belly/side of your horse, finishing at the end of the horse’s rump. Imagine your horse is standing with its backside firmly up against a wall and your measuring tape should reach to the wall. This is the end point of your measurement

Step 2 After you’ve finished your measurement, you will know your horse’s measurement. If you are in doubt, always go a size larger rather than smaller, particularly if there is going

to be another rug underneath, or your horse is a wider shape, or is between sizes.

Step 3 When you are fitting your selected rug/

Height chart approximate example Height of horse

Rug size

12- 13 hands

5’0”

13 – 14 hands

5’3”

14 – 14.2 hands

5’6”

14.2 - 15 hands

5’9”

15 – 15.2 hands

6’0”

15.2 – 16 hands

6’3”

16 – 16.2 hands

6’6”

16.2 – 17 hands

6’9”

17 hands and over

7’0”

blanket on your horse, ensure the straps are secured correctly and, for safety reasons, secure them in the following order. (When removing your rug/blanket follow the reverse order)

Secure the chest straps at the front of the rug/blanket Secure the belly straps, ensuring they are not too tight. It is important that you can comfortably place a clenched fist between the straps and the belly Secure the leg straps loosely around the horse’s legs, passing the second secured strap through the first secured strap. It is important that the straps do not hang over or below the horse’s hock when secured and that the black elastic strap with the clip is secured directly to the rug. Make sure your horse’s back legs have enough room to stretch out without the back leg strap becoming tight. Rugs that are too loose are in danger of slipping, rugs that are too tight can impede movement and cause muscle soreness.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Anthony Pelling – he still calls Australia home After 15 years in Europe international Grand Prix Rider Anthony Pelling is back in his home town of Theodore, and pondering his next move, writes JANE CAMENS.

ne of Anthony Pelling’s highlights last year was representing Australia at the Young Horse World Championships, riding Napoleon Candau, a talented Andalusian. The pair placed fifth in the final of the Concours de Dressage International (CDI) stallion class, and for Anthony, who had trained the young stallion from the beginning, it was a fitting end to his European career – a fullstop before a new beginning back in Australia.

since childhood. He grew up in

Horses have been Anthony’s passion

Lisbon working with her horses.

Theodore, about 500kms north-west of Brisbane on a property where his father had a Brahman cattle stud, and his mother bred and rode Andalusians. Anthony first started riding when he was five-years-old, and as he grew older, both he and his mother used to travel south to attend classical dressage clinics. He was only 13 when he was given an invitation from renowned Portuguese instructor Nadine Francois to spend three months at her property outside

“She had a lot of horses and not much space,” he recalls. “I lived on the edge of the stables, sleeping on a cement floor with a rug. It was winter, and I was all by myself, but I was a tough kid and I coped.” Even so his daily routine was gruelling for a young teenager. “Every morning I’d prepare all the horses and leave the stallions for others to ride,” he recalls. “Later I’d do gymnastics without irons, which taught me how to sit correctly. In the afternoon I was allowed to ride the school masters who were aged 16-18 years old. I was isolated but it taught me to ride, that’s for sure!” He returned home to go back to school and to his own horse, a school master called Remington, bought for him when he was six. It was a partnership that lasted until Anthony was 14, when he went off to boarding school and adopted rugby as his key sport. Life was following a fairly straight forward trajectory when he went off to the University of Queensland to study animal science, but as fate would have it, Anthony met a Spanish breeder who invited him to work for him riding his horses in Spain for three months. Initially in Spain on a student visa with the aim of not only working for the breeder but also learning enough Spanish to do the theory component for entry to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art at Jerez de la Frontera, Anthony discovered that he really enjoyed both the riding and life in Europe. “I had a good time,” he says. “I started to work and really wanted to do something.” When Anthony was 22 the breeder offered him the job of head rider. “He had 14 or 15 stallions, not well trained, and I was keen to take over their training - I started learning, and teaching everything I could about dressage. Initially I wasn’t very welcome because I was taking a Spaniard’s job, but they gradually warmed to me!”

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

‘

FEATURE

‘

Riders all over Spain patted me on the back and said: ‘Don’t leave’.

Main and inset: Anthony Pelling and Saqueadora Candau.

FEATURE

A In the years that followed, Anthony trained and competed the stud horses nationally and internationally in all levels of dressage, from young horse classes through to Grand Prix. He completed several of the Master clinics of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and trained with numerous top instructors, beginning with Rafael Soto, multi Olympic medallist, official trainer to the Spanish Olympic team and Master Rider at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.

National Dressage Team. Together they

His main instructor and mentor for over a decade was Bert Rutten, two-time Olympic rider for the Netherlands and former Chef d’Equipe to the Dutch

Equestrian Games and two European

had numerous successes, including winning various titles at the world finals of the pure Spanish horse association (Asociación Nacional de Criadores de Caballos de Pura Raza Española, generally shortened to ‘ANCCE’). Other trainers he has worked with over the years include Joaquin Legares, a well-known rider and classical dressage trainer in Spain; Jose Antonio Garcia Mena, who rode for Spain in two World Dressage Championships, and Dani Martin Dockx, also a Spanish team Olympic rider.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

But the sad truth about riding for a professional breeding stable is that as soon as a horse wins national and international accolades, it’s time for it to be sold. This happened to Anthony and his pupil horses again and again - it can be tough for the person who has put in the blood, sweat and tears into the training. Towards the end of his time in Spain the effort Anthony had put in with each of these horses, only to have to hand them over to someone else, left him feeling burnt out. His first Grand Prix mount, for example, Babieca Candau, trained by Anthony and successful in the Salon Internacional del Caballo de Pura Raza Española (SICAB)

FEATURE FEATURE

A: Anthony Pelling with Africano Candau in front of the indoor arena. B: Babieca Candau warming up for the Grand Prix test on the Sunshine tour. C: Urdidor Candau Competing PSG at Jerez CDI. D: Anthony competing on Napoleon Candau in the CDI 3 Star Stallion Class at The Young Horse World Championships in at Ermelo, Holland, 2018.

World Championships, was sold to a wealthy 71-year old Canadian who wanted to learn to ride because his wife was learning to dance. For a few years while he was living in Moron de la Frontera, a Spanish town in Seville province, Andalusia, Anthony owned his own horses and was in a relationship. But after the relationship broke down, and the breeding world seemed to Anthony increasingly mercenary, he sold everything, except his boots. It was time to come home. “My boss (the breeder) used to say that everything is for sale, except the rider,” he said. “When I was leaving I was

knocked over by the amount of respect I had. Riders all over Spain patted me on the back and said: ‘Don’t leave’. It was a big difference to years before when I’d arrived.” Although the family property was sold, Anthony has now returned to Theodore, where he grew up, where he is currently living on his uncle’s property. “If I could find a nice colt…” he begins, then stops, insisting that even if he found a horse he wanted it would be: “only as a hobby and for personal pleasure”. He’s made the decision to enrol at TAFE in Biloela and is now learning a

trade and is contemplating going on to university to study engineering. But when he talks about the horses he’s ridden, and even the horses that he might ride, it’s impossible not to hear the passion in his voice. He’s too skilled a horseman, and too knowledgeable about the Andalusian breeding world, to let it all go. “Everyone tries to get me back riding,” he says, “but at the moment I’m happy giving the occasional clinic.” What’s the betting it won’t be long before Anthony Pelling is once more wowing audiences with his extraordinary horsemanship skills – in one way or the other?

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

ON MY TACKBOX

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again (and again)… Nancy’s talented but sensitive Warmblood mare, Summer, has often suffered from separation anxiety. A ten-day ‘Elevate’ clinic with Tanja Kraus turned out to be just what the horse doctor ordered, writes NANCY CLARKE.

hen Tanja and I first discussed the idea of a ten-day clinic it sounded as if it was exactly what I needed. It would be a chance for participants to have enough time to identify issues, work through them, and create new patterns for their trusty steeds. It was truly a wonderful moment when after all the hard work of organizing everything, it all came together and the floats began to roll in. Suddenly my place was filled with people looking for the hose, filling water buckets, cleaning out their floats and turning them into instant cosy homes while horses neighed at their new companions. One cheeky horse tried to undo its neighbour’s rug, and a sudden burst of stress-relieving laughter filled the air. Gradually all the visitors settled their horses, and we gathered around for our first communal meal of the ten days. What follows is a diary of the unfolding

trials, tribulations, emotions and achievements I personally experienced during the clinic – which I can truly recommend to anyone as a way to bond with their horses.

Day 1: The meet and greet session after breakfast is always an interesting insight into your fellow students on the clinic. We all shared a snippet of our horsemanship journey so far and our hopes and dreams for the clinic and beyond. There were as many different experiences as there were participants, and by the time we’d told our stories and Tanja had introduced us all to the main points of the next ten days, the morning was gone in a flash. After lunch it was our first arena time with our horses, and a flurry of energy woke the horses from their afternoon naps. My girl, Summer, a seven-year-old Thoroughbred x Oldenburg had been showing signs of anxiety when horses come to visit our home and the first

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

day was no exception. Summer gets consumed by the excitement of new horses and loses herself in the moment, panicking and trying to escape to her safe place down in the back paddock with her mum and the safety of the herd. It was a bit over a year ago when I started to notice a change in her behaviour when friends came to visit, whether it was from the anxiety I was suffering due to my job at the time or because she’s always lived in a herd with her mother and found it hard to adjust to change, I just don’t know. Summer is an exceptional horse out and about and has excelled in everything I’ve asked of her – including Working Equitation, Horseback Archery and Cowboy Dressage. So this issue had me dumbfounded. I’d been seeking an answer so I could help her when she started to stress for sometime and it was that journey which led me to Tanja. I knew a ten-day clinic was jumping in at the deep end but I figured to solve the mystery it needed to be bigger than just a visit from friends on a Saturday afternoon - because as soon as they leave Summer completely relaxes and life goes back to its tranquil state. I should say here that Summer had a bit of bumpy start to life - her mum dripped milk for two weeks before she was born and under the vet’s recommendation we gave her colostrum the day after she was born to make sure she got all the goodness her mummy had lost. I sat with her wrapped in my arms and legs as the vital fluids drained into her system, and she didn’t struggle once, she just lay there with me until the bag was emptied. But then when she was only a week old Summer showed signs of lameness in her front hoof. The vet recommended x-rays to ensure there was no infection, so I bundled her up into the float with her mother on that drive – all my hopes and dreams were in the float that day. I don’t think I took a breath from the

ON MY TACKBOX Tanja Kraus (left) on her baldy-faced paint horse, Cooper, and Nancy Clarke on her Warmblood, Summer, enjoying an evening ride.

‘

For the first time I truly understood the balance between physical ability and mental stability in our horse ...

w e N tore! s an c u o n y i t them while Gek for more info Clic

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ON MY TACKBOX

moment I sat behind the wheel until the x-ray results came back and she was given the all clear. The vet prescribed a cautionary dose of oral antibiotics and I was to give them to her daily. The medicine was the consistency of creamy honey and hard to push out of the syringe. By the fourth day Summer was wise to what was happening and it was getting harder and harder to administer. She was quickly losing all trust in humans and I was devastated. Her mum was becoming more protective too, which hindered proceedings. After some stealthy manoeuvres we managed to contain her but she screamed like I have never heard a horse scream before, it made me feel sick to the stomach. With the horrible sound still ringing in my ears I called the vet and begged him to let me stop the medicine. He didn’t agree but I couldn’t give it to my little girl again. Everyday for the next seven years I’ve worked hard to rebuild her trust but deep down it seems that her experience is still occasionally underlying her behaviour and it can manifest itself at any time as ‘Fear Aggression’ as it’s known in animals. But here we are seven years later, with many adventures under our belts already, with everyone in the arena ready for the first session, running through ground-work exercises of lateral flexion, forequarter and hindquarter yields. Summer chose exactly this time to manifest her anxiety - squealing and not settling with the horses that were to be her company for the next 10 days surrounding her. Gradually, with the dint of some solid groundwork, we got through some of the lingering anxiety issues and with help from Tanja we worked through the fog. It was a relief when she had a massive download, yawning and shaking it out - I didn’t realise how tense I was as well until I started yawning with her.

A: When it came to liberty work, Summer chose to stay close Nancy. B: Tanja Kraus – anxiety interrupted. Tanja simply places herself between Summer and the fence, and finally Summer’s anxiety lessens, and she becomes curious. It’s hard to balance your energy when your normally calm and collected horse loses it in a situation that to any other horse would be perceived as normal – at least after the initial greeting frenzy is over - but the ground work helped her find confidence in familiarity and a few brain cells started to click. I began

to refine my energy conversation and observed what my body was asking of her in detail. It was nice to watch her transform her movements into a balanced fluid forward and flowing rhythm.

Day 2: The first ridden session of the clinic and I

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

ON MY TACKBOX

hate to say it, but Summer was horrible, her internal struggle is really real and I was desperate to find a way to help her back to her calm, confident self. She couldn’t even keep her feet still by the mounting block so I just kept offering her a good deal every time she settled, and eventually I was able to mount safely but that was short lived and soon we were taking instruction from Tanja on how to help her out while I was in the saddle. Getting her mind engaged meant a lot of hind-quarter yields and releasing to forward. She would settle for brief moments where I was able to join in the clinic activities then something would trigger her and we would be back to our exercises. Thank goodness for instilling a good one-rein stop in her training - who knows where it might have escalated without it? What I learned on that first day was that horses have anxiety for as many reasons as humans do, and any given situation will trigger one horse when yet another horse will be fine in the same environment. This would shape my journey for the next 10 days, learning the tools to enable me to help my horse out and allow her to find her confidence in any given situation - with or without me.

Day 3: Summer spent the night in the yards away from her herd. It was heartbreaking seeing her so stressed and hearing her calling through the night. In the morning Tanja and I decided it was unfair and unnecessary to separate her from them given that she was at home, so from then on we let her go back with her herd for the evenings, with a bit of time spent in the yards through the day to simulate a work-day outing and to create familiarity in the routine. Due to Summer’s unique behaviour she was selected by Tanja for the morning demonstration for helping horses to learn self-soothing – so that

C: Best Friends Forever. Summer has been with Nancy since birth, but still has her horse ‘issues’.

they can learn ways to help them calm themselves down when they are feeling overwhelmed emotionally. The aim is to help them achieve balanced mental health when they’re in stressful situations. All we did was to let Summer out of her yard. Of course she went straight to the fence separating her from the herd. Having to stand there while she ran up and down the back fence, faster and faster, sweating and spiralling into a manic state was tough for me, but watching Tanja was a revelation. Tanja interrupted Summer’s manic cantering but did not ask anything of

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

her. The more Tanja interrupted the behaviour the longer the breaks were between her bouts of running, which also gradually slowed down. Summer began to approach Tanja and it looked to me like she was waiting for Tanja to give her something to do. By not asking anything of Summer, Tanja all of a sudden became very interesting to her, much more interesting than running along the fence! Tanja showed Summer strong leadership by not getting involved in her drama, by showing her everything was ok and by standing strong but quiet in herself. It finally gave Summer the confidence to lower her head, eat and start to release her anxiety,

ON MY TACKBOX

break, a few beers and a little retail therapy to ease the strain on our brains.

Day 6: Each day brought new knowledge and improvements to my horsemanship. Summer was really starting to tune in now as she found comfort in the routine. Every day I kept her in the yards with the other horses and each night she went back in with her herd. Each day she settled more and found comfort in the consistency.

Day 7: And what a day it was. Playing down the back with stunning views of Flinders Peak in the morning and then an afternoon session focusing on elevation and collection and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together with some great explanations and demonstrations from Tanja. With only three days left I finally got some true understanding of the athleticism our horses need to perform true collection, and the keys to communicating this to my girl.

D: Horses and humans relaxing together. E: The final day, and Nancy and Summer got to play with a Garrocha pole.

Day 8:

E and to realise that she was safe. All of this challenged my belief that to help a horse out you need to keep it moving. What I didn’t realise was that by keeping Summer’s feet moving from the moment she felt her anxiety building, I was actually making the situation worse and compounding the issue by putting her to work. Yes, there is comfort in repetition for our horses, but once they are past thinking all we are doing is adding energy to unwanted behaviour and fuelling their anxiety. That night I had a lot to think about.

Day 4: The next day we were blessed with

beautiful autumn Queensland weather. We went for a play down the back on 22’ leads and Summer felt much more like her natural self - with only a hint of the previous day’s roller coaster. We jumped logs, played peak-a -boo around trees, and all just enjoyed hanging out together. If felt like we were getting somewhere.

Day 5: The half-way mark and an opportunity to take stock of what we’d learned so far. Classroom Biomechanics in the morning and a cruise up to Tamborine Mountain in our Classic cars (my other passion) with the stereo blaring, singing along to some classic rock for a well-earned

The day of the Obstacle Challenge is where we put all the skills we’d acquired over the previous seven days to the test. Summer was at her personal best and we cracked a few firsts. For instance, we’d never ridden with a large Aussie flag before. We started small - with it wrapped around the flag pole and worked our way up to a full open flag, with Summer at a walk to make sure she was 100% ok before we went up to trot then to canter. I returned the pole to its resting place and moved on with a big cheesy grin on my face - I was so proud of my girl. Then…drum roll please – we danced with a Garrocha pole! After checking Summer was ok with a three-metre long pool pole we practiced the 10metre circle first, then a turn on the haunches with her head going under the pole, her ears hit the pole, which made me laugh – I know her ears are a bit big. We tried a turn on the forehand to put her hind under the pole and I nearly broke

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT EMPOWERING HORSES AND THEIR HUMANS

REGULAR LIVE COURSES WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE SHOW ONLINE COURSES Q & A TUESDAY

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ON MY TACKBOX

the second day, but she surprised me when she chose to be with me. When I walked away she crept closer to me, grazing while I listened to Tanja. Was this the change I had been seeking? Did we find it? I ended the clinic optimistic that I now had a whole heap of tools in my toolkit to help me understand my horse better.

Beyond the Clinic: F: Nancy uses a bosal to ride Summer in. G: A bit of a break up the mountain in their classic cars. All pictures: Robert Frola from Foto Synergy.

my wrist – there’s a knack to it that’s for sure. It was a huge day and I felt blessed to have such a wonderful, magical horse in my life.

Day 9: For our final lesson day each student picked a lesson they wanted to learn more about, with all of us joining in. I chose collection as my topic because I wanted a more in-depth understanding of true collection and engagement. There is a fine art to balancing your horse between seat and hand, and Tanja showed us some balancing exercises to encourage our horses to use the correct muscles to help build the strength it takes to maintain collected movements.

The detail in our communication is the key to keeping them supple and fluid through our ‘ask’. For the first time I truly understood the balance between physical ability and mental stability in our horse, and how important it is to be mindful of how we approach each interaction with our horses because after the crowds have gone home, and the ribbons gather dust, all we have left is our relationship.

A week later I invited some friends over for a play. As their float arrived I noticed Summer starting to pace the fence line – but not manically as she would have done before. A friend was borrowing my schoolmaster steed, Junior, and while I was tacking him up I noticed Summer had stopped pacing and was staring at us from her paddock. I simply continued with my job and suddenly in a thunder of hooves there was Summer right by the gate – ready and waiting. It was like something had clicked inside her and she wanted to be part of the action. She was keen to be haltered and saddled, with no squealing and only a few signs of very mild anxiety. I took her slow, keeping her distance from the visiting horse until I felt confident she was coping. We went for a play down the back with some obstacles and then out for a trail ride and only when we started heading back to her herd did her anxiety begin to peak. But this time it was different; this time I had some tools to help us get through it and we made it all the way home safe, sound and very happy. You can find out more about Tanja Kraus and her horsemanship clinics on: www.horsemanshipforperformance. com/

Day 10: The last day was our Liberty Day, and Tanja chose to focus on the connection - not what you can do at liberty with your horse. Summer was free to choose to run the fence again as she had on JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

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most importantly doesn’t slip forward at all, which has solved one of our biggest problems!”

SADDLE REVIEW

Carlyn is very pleased with her purchase from The Equestrian Hub and highly recommends her Ideal. “This saddle is just perfect for those refined Riding Pony types with broad shoulders and short backs,” she says.

Dressage Saddle CARLYN BRENNAN recently purchased an Ideal FWB dressage saddle for her lovely Arabian Riding Pony and couldn’t be happier.

“I

stumbled across the saddle whilst scrolling through the Equestrian Hub website,” explains Carlyn. “I wasn’t even in the market for another saddle since I’ve had five saddles for my mare since she was a twoyear-old because she was constantly changing shape.” Carlyn lives five hours from her nearest major city, so a saddle fitter was never going to be an option, hence her temptation to buy from the Equestrian Hub.

“I took note of the Ideal and the measurements,” says Carlyn, “and I was certain it would be a perfect fit for my mare so I decided to take the steps to purchase it. The Equestrian Hub has a trial period so I was confident that if it wasn’t right for my mare, I could return it.” Carlyn was impressed with the condition of the saddle when it arrived. “It has beautiful soft leather and looks absolutely brand new,” she says. “It paired with my anatomical girth and numnah, and unlike other saddles, it

“My mare is rising seven and has popped a small wither, so the saddle is a perfect fit for that also. I’d never heard of an Ideal FWB - only the ever-popular Ramsay so I was keen to give it a try. It was very appealing having the Zipmoney option and the ‘not happy send it back’ policy. I couldn’t lose,” she says. “I will absolutely use The Equestrian Hub again when the time comes for another quality product.” The Equestrian Hub has a large variety of second hand saddles in our warehouse, so why not visit www.equestranhub.com.au and have a browse. You never know what you might find. Saddles come with a two-week trial, finance options and a courier right to your door.

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

AROUND THE TRAPS

Ballarat International Horse Trials – 10-12 May 2019 A: Ballarat Business CCI3*-S (Winner) Simon Tainsh riding Remi Lord Of The Realm. B: Elmore Warmbloods CCI2*-S - Div 2 (Winner) Sophie Bennett on Bvlgari. C: 4Cyte CCI2* -S - Div 1 (Winner) Lucy Kolomanski riding Another Option. Pictures: Felicity Clay Photography

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

AROUND THE TRAPS

D: Ballarat Business CCI4*-S (Winner) Sophia Landy riding Humble Glory.

AROUND THE TRAPS

Northern NSW Hack Championships – 24-26 May 2019. E: Indigo Kelly with McArthur Park Remembrance in Rider 9yrs and under 12yrs. F: KS Bellevue Ridden by Ken Uren owned by Kim Taunton G: Ameila Waller with Westlake Eternity in Childs Pony Over 12.2hh Not Exceeding 14hh. H: Lyndhurst Miss Hong Kong Owned by A & E Kearney. Pictures: Danni Milligan Photography.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

AROUND THE TRAPS

I: Kate Kyros with her pony Bjaeburn Heavenly Soprano Champion Open Small Show Pony Hack Not Exceeding 12.2hh. J: AATC Kracker Jack owned by Rebecca Crane in Large Show Hunter Hack over 16hh. K: Willow Scotson with Cherrington Royal Ambassador in Childs Show Hunter Pony Not Exceeding 12.2hh. M: Baringa Georgina With Krystle McInnes. Pictures: Danni Milligan Photography. JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

YOUNG RIDER

Galloway on Chippenham Zulu this year. He also won the Show Hunter Hack and

Multi-Talented and Passionate

runner up Child’s Small Pony in 2017 as well as twice being awarded Runner Up Rider. In 2015 Tyler was also the Runner Up Rider under 12 years at the Equestrian Australia Nationals and he’s been awarded multiple Champion Rider titles at the Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra

With impressive results in the show ring, and a new-found passion for eventing, our Young Rider, Tyler Kelly, understands the importance of hard work, writes DANNII CUNNANE.

and Adelaide royal shows. Despite all his wins, Tyler understands that success doesn’t come easily and he puts a lot of time and work into his craft. “I get up at 5:30am every morning to ride before school and once I’m home

ur June Young Rider is Tyler Kelly, who hails from Scone in New South Wales. At the tender age of fifteen, he’s well rounded in a number of equestrian disciplines. “I’ve been riding since the age of four,” explains Tyler. “My main disciplines are show riding and eventing but I also enjoy campdrafting.” Tyler competes on two horses, Chippenham Zulu is an 11 year old, 14.3 hand high Riding Pony x Thoroughbred whom he’s owned for two years and competes in showing. “My other horse is Koko Envy, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred

I work late into the evening,” he says. who stands at 16.2 hands high,” he says. “I’ve owned him for five months and we compete in eventing.” Despite his young age, Tyler has already had some phenomenal success. “My top achievements have mostly been in the show ring,” says Tyler. “My most memorable win was being awarded Grand Champion Rider at the 2017 Grand Nationals after winning the Champion Rider 12-15 years.” Tyler was also presented with the prestigious ENSW Award for Young Athlete of the Year for show riding in 2015, and his other Grand National successes include Champion Child’s

“To do well you must work hard and I’m constantly pushing myself to do better, whether that’s focusing on my riding position or how I approach each ride on different horses. My grandfather was an Olympic gold medallist in Yachting and I’d love to follow in his footsteps and represent my country.” In the meantime, he says: “I’ll work had to have the little victories like improving my scores and progressing my riding skills.” While Tyler has had the taste of success, he knows that for him to achieve his dreams, his supporters are essential. “I’d like to give a big shout out to my mum,” he says. “She’s driven me across the country side just about every weekend, so I can compete, and she helps me with everything. I’d also like to say thank you to my coach, Nikki Richardson, who has helped me to get up and running with my eventing career. Thanks also to my current sponsors, including TT browbands, Kim Barnes from Custom Rugs and Lyn Stalling from Equissentials.” HorseVibes wishes Tyler a wonderful season and we look forward to seeing him reach his goals.

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

YOUNG RIDER

Main: Tyler Kelly on Zulu. Inset: Tyler on Koko.

TRAINING TIPS

Blasting the Barrels Adele Edwards has won every major barrel race in the eastern states in the past ten years, writes DANNII CUNNANE. She also happens to be renowned as a top-level breeder and trainer.

angus-based Adele Edwards and her husband Darrell own 3D Quarter Horses and have bred some of the most successful barrel racing horses in Australia from a very small and select band of broodmares. Nangus is a village on the Wagga Wagga to Gundagai Road on the north side of the Murrumbidgee River, and it’s claim to fame is certainly that it’s produced the woman who has become known as the Queen of Barrel Racing in Australia. Adele holds several national titles, which she’s won on different horses and she further proved her worth as a barrel racing trainer when she won the Equitana Australian Open Barrel Race in 2012 on her then eight-year-old gelding Moon Roc.

Adele Edwards rides Moon Roc, main, and Adele with Rocs Rager (inset).

But as much she’s known for her own competition achievements, it’s the fact that these horses, trained by her, have gone on to be successful for other riders, giving her a reputation for training reliable, fast horses.

has a simple formula for barrel racing success that can be followed by even beginners to the sport, and she was happy to share some of her training tips with me for HorseVibes. But first here’s the 101 Barrel Racing:

possible.

The popularity of Adele’s methods has seen her in demand as a clinician. She emphasises the importance of good horsemanship to ensure that barrel horses are able to excel in the arena. She

Introduction to Barrel Racing

The timer starts when the participants

Barrel racing is a type of rodeo event. The participants and their horses attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around barrels in the fastest way

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

In rodeo events, which are timed, the goal is to make a run at the fastest time. The time is either being watched by an electronic eye or by an attendant. and their horses cross the start line; it ends when the barrel pattern has been completed, and then the horse and rider can cross the finish line.

The participants can choose which barrel they will go around first, but they must do the right pattern. If a participant runs past a barrel, this will result in a ‘no time’ score. If the participant hits a barrel, there will be a five second penalty. The participants are allowed one minute to finish the race, disqualification occurs after a broken pattern or the rider over whipping.

Starting out

Adele believes that having good hands, seat and legs are vital to any equine discipline. “If you can combine these three, this should bring success and a rider should spend their time honing these skills,” she says. While it’s true that everyone can enjoy the sport of barrel racing without any specific training, Adele stresses that horses that are consistently fast require a high level of training.

“The horse should be taught everything at the walk first, and then you gradually build up to each different pace when they are consistently performing the manoeuvre correctly,” she says, pointing out that teaching the horse to slow down off the rider’s seat and voice, rather than using the hands is very beneficial when speed is applied. “The less the rider needs to do with their hands in a run, the better,” Adele says

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

TRAINING TIPS

firmly. “If the training is done right, then the hands are only going to guide, not pull.”

Control Adele points out that having good control of each different part of the horse, which includes the neck, shoulders, ribcage and hind quarters is something that will help make barrel racing easier, not only for the rider but also for the horse when speed is added. “The horse needs to know how to soften to the bit and drive from behind, it needs to have good lateral bend through the neck, and to be able to keep their shoulder elevated and to bend through the ribcage. I do many perfect circles with the horse using all four legs to move forward and with it bent through the whole body from head to tail, along with many other drills aimed towards achieving these goals,” she says.

A: Adele Edwards with Roc N Pink. B: An example of a barrel riding configuration.

She likens the importance of the backend of a horse to four-wheel drive in a vehicle. “You have to ensure that the horse stays in ‘four-wheel drive’,” she says. “If they stop driving from behind it slows the front end down and this will create turns on the forehand that slow our runs down through the turn. Similarly a horse who stops too much in a turn and rolls back over itself won’t be as effective as a horse who can move forward in the same shape as the object they are turning around without any stop/start. These turns are much more efficient and fast – they are what we call ‘form to function’.”

Position You know the real estate motto, location, location, location? Well, the same is true of the rider’s position, says Adele. “The rider’s position in the saddle is very important. Staying centred on the horse without excess leaning, either to the inside of the turn or to the outside of the saddle, will help the horse keep its balance throughout a turn,” she explains. “During a turn the rider’s weight shifts just a little to the outside jean pocket

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

and stirrup, but be sure to not overdo it, because weight is needed in the inside stirrup in order for the rider to properly utilise their inside leg.” Look where you’re going A barrel racer’s eyes are one of their most important tools because of the fact that where you look is usually where you ride. “If the rider looks at the barrel, then the horse will get too close to or hit the barrel. If you come in too close to the barrel, you will more than likely have to leave too wide,” says Adele. “The rider needs to look forward, down in front of the horse’s inside ear, to the ground where the horse needs to land its next step and ride to that point all the way around the barrel. Ideally in a run, the distance the horse will be from the barrel throughout the turn is around three to four feet. In training I like to leave more room, so the horse learns to always use forward momentum throughout the turn.” Adele’s strong horsemanship skills have made her successful at retraining problem horses and helping horses that are not performing at their best. She trains in a positive and calm manner ensuring that both horse and rider can understand what she is trying to achieve, and she’s spent time training with the best in the world to hone her skills. She is a well-respected horsewoman who has something to offer anyone interested in barrel racing, and she frequently runs clinics which are listed with the Australian Barrel Horse Association.

Get involved The Australian Barrel Horse Association publish all clinics and competitions. Barrel racing is a fun family sport where you can start out competing without having to spend money on a lot of items. There are some rules regarding dress code which may differ for each association, so it pays to check before you arrive. JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

STARS WITH EPONA

Aries Attention two-legged Rams: This is the perfect month to re-evaluate all forms of communication starting with your internet server plan, hardware, software, social media on to your links to friends, family and partners. Check also if there’s anything you’d like to study or teach. Bottom line – share ideas with others. For us equines, it’s a gregarious month. Make sure we have plenty of ‘heard’ (or is that ‘herd’) time or we’ll fret.

Taurus For two-legged Taureans, any changes you initiated last month are still in the works, maturing and gaining momentum. You’ll know soon if you made the best choice but, in any case,

elcome to the solstice month. This biannual event comes with a feeling of hope, community and well-being for two and four-legged peeps alike. Mid-winter or mid-summer, wherever you are, the June solstice is particularly carefree with the sun shining brighter and the grass a little greener right under your feet. You’ll want to try new things, have more fun, and let go of some irksome aspects of life. At the least, it’s a time to lighten up and enjoy the journey.

now is the time to be adaptive. Birthday bulls have an exceptionally good forecast as long as there’s no pounding square pegs into round holes. Be yourself. Going into winter, us equines need more calories. Please don’t forget!

Gemini This month activates your image, style and how you come across. Two-legged Twins will rethink the shop window. Is your wardrobe, hair and MO a match to the real you? Think of this month as percolation time for a new self-image. What will you allow? Us four-legged twins might need extra attention this month, from the vet, farrier or trainer. Just be glad that support is there when we need it!

HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - JUNE 2019

STARS WITH EPONA

Cancer

Libra

Capricorn Human Sea-Goats run on auto-pilot in

For the two-legged ones, this month

New horizons are going to bring fresh

is about letting the ego step aside and

insights this month so be ready to pack

allowing for more compassion to grow.

your bag at a moment’s notice. You

10th it’s best to wake up. Taking charge

No limits. No judgment. Life brightens

gain inner perspective by going off the

will help you make choices that resonate

when you commune with nature, spend

beaten path, be it via the imagination,

with who you are and where you want

time near water and nurture your

guided meditations or booking.com.

to go. When in doubt, assume you will

heart. For us equines, there is a feisty

The idea? Take your mind, body or spirit

benefit by putting more energy into the

trend. We’ll need more turn-outs, more

somewhere it’s never been before. Us

body, health and physical well-being. Us

space, more exercise and possibly more

equines prefer to chill at home as long

equines might be a bit lethargic in June.

as you hire a reliable stable hand when

Vigorous grooming before tacking up

you vanish.

will help.

training. High maintenance? Never claimed otherwise.

Leo

the early part of the month but by the

Aquarius

Scorpio

Two-legged Water-Bearers imbibe a

Two-legged lions do best this month

This month is all about shared resources

child-like spirit this month, so plan for

by focusing on goals for the future.

and collaborations, however, be warned,

more goofing-off than getting things

It’s a two-step process: 1) Make sure

you could get cocky. Even with luck on

done. It heralds creativity, and romance

you are pursuing authentic desires 2)

your side, don’t gamble away the farm. When it comes to financial ventures, do

abounds in the form of inspiration,

Take inspired action. Friendships are important right now as well, not just

your homework and remember there are

for inspiration but for essential, honest

no guarantees. Us four-legged Scorps

feedback. Us equines have a different

are a wee bit cranky, something a little

need though – improved bedding.

more sunshine, grooming and attention

Just because we can sleep standing up

can cure. You don’t want to leave us to

doesn’t mean we want to!

our own devices.

Virgo This month is all about your mission in life. Be it a profession, job or hobby, the

Sagitarius For two-legged Centaurs, June is all about re-visioning your relationships,

dates, dinners, walks under the stars… Us four-legged Water-Bearers are a little claustrophobic, making travel an issue, especially loading. Please be patient. Our flight gene switches on at the drop of a hat.

Pisces June has two-legged Fish rapidly sorting out the schism between career goals, financial responsibilities and domestic

stage doesn’t matter. What makes all

picturing them as an authentic match

the difference is that you love it, deeply

to you. The goal is to drop anything

and profoundly. Anything less and it’s

you’ve been tolerating and focus on real

to put a little more emphasis on making

not taking you where you want to go in

connections. You want to feel free to be

your household a sanctuary. When it

the long run. Us equines have it a little

yourself, no cramped style. Four-Legged

comes to us equines, we’re very sensitive

easier as our ambition whispers things

Centaurs can backslide this month,

to the ‘say and then you do’ mode of

like more hay, more sun, more mud to

inviting frustration and testing patience.

training. We’ll respond much better to

roll in…just fill those needs and we’re

Is it possible the training plan needs

real communication, trust and rapport.

happy.

adjusting?

Thank you.

desires. At this point in time, you want

JUNE 2019 - HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE

INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL & ASPIRATIONAL

Published by: Equestrian Hub PO Box 13, Tintenbar NSW 2478, 0414 760067 info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au

Equestrian Hub Magazine June 2019

Articles inside

STARS BY EPONA

TRAINING TIPS FROM ADELE EDWARDS

YOUNG RIDER TYLER KELLY

SADDLE REVIEW

ON MY TACKBOX WITH NANCY CLARKE

THE HORSE LISTENER

HORSE RUGS

BOB BERG’S WORLD FAMOUS BUCKLES

ANTHONY PELLING

HORSE BREED: THE HANOVERIAN HORSE

CHARLIE BRISTER

OUR HERO COLLEEN BROOK

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH