Words and photos supplied by Amy Strapp

Back where it all started...

“Travel does not exist without home…. If we never return to the place we started, we would just be wandering, lost. Home is a reflecting surface, a place to measure our growth and enrich us after being infused with the outside world.” Josh Gates

Wow!! What a month it has been here (talk about a ride you never want to get off!), I hardly know where to start… I’m tempted to start at the end and tell you all about our new horses! But in the interest of making sense I had better take a deep breath and go back a few steps to give you the highlights of the month that lead to their arrival…

Within a few days of returning home the first big highlight was of course the retrieval of Ozzie from Quarantine! Ozzie (my French Jack Russell) is my consistent between both my European and Australian lives, my best mate and just a really cool dude to have around so once he was back here with me everything started to feel real and it was time to get started.

Before I began with the horses it was time to catch up with family. With Mum having re-married while I was away I had a whole new extended family to meet upon my arrival home. Peter , Mums husband, I had met briefly on two occasions in Europe and I already knew he was fantastic and makes Mum very happy (big thumbs up)! So next step was to meet his (and now also our) whole family. This was obviously something I was a little nervous about but it turned out to be terrific, such a lovely and supportive family, both of each other and us as the new arrivals.

Next step was catching up with old clients and friends as well as meeting all the new clients that make up Mums showjumping team back here! What a team it is too, the most immediately noticeable trait of this team (after their classical positions and educated riding) was how close and supportive everyone is. Being successful in this sport really is so much bigger then the riding, you need a great team behind you and your horses. Mum has established this really nicely here with a  great circle of clients who all are aspiring to achieve results through kind classical training. The team also still includes the same friends, owners, vets and blacksmiths that have supported her through her career and they are supportive and excited for our new future endeavours.

“Surround yourself with people who have dreams, desires and ambition; They will help you push for, and realise your own." Unknown

I was busy immediately with horses in training and once my NCAS qualifications were through I jumped straight into the teaching. Helping the team at winter training shows and seeing everyone’s support of each other at shows and achieving great results was awesome!

Then within a few weeks I was straight in the deep end so to speak as Mum packed up and went on holidays with Peter to Spain! So Mum handed over the reins to me and the past three weeks now have been a bit of a blur as I have been so busy, but it has been great fun!

Now for the most exciting part - I said in my last blog I had been looking at studs around the country to find some flash young horses for my mother and I to produce. Well, while in Perth last month I was lucky enough to come across a particularly exciting young horse that I absolutely fell in love with, so once home I convinced Mum to fly back to Perth with me to take a look at the stud that breed him.

Just a few days before Mum left on holidays we did just that! We got on a plane and headed over to Sue, Rory & Emily Hovell’s Yalambi Stud where we ended up leaving with not only the gelding I had originally spotted but also another stunning mare we just could not leave behind!

Having been lucky enough to ride some truly amazing horses in Europe I had a very clear idea of what I was looking for in a horse and more specifically a canter, this combined with Mums finely tuned eye and huge amount of experience, we were a tough judge for a young horse and had been looking for a while. So we were very pleased to arrive at Yalambi Stud to find such high quality breeding and young horses to choose from!

At Yalambi they have a very keen focus on the depth and quality of their mare lines and have been over to Europe to import mares and stallions for their stud, selecting each one individually for their blood lines, jumping ability, temperament and type , then built on that breeding since 1999 and so as a result the quality of the young horses they are producing is particularly exciting.

Which leads me to introducing the new members of the team...

Yalambi’s Fendi (mare)

Sire: Val D’Isere VDL (Atlantic x Nimmerdor x Purioso)

Dam: Trendy Lady  (Indoctro x Nimmerdor x Lucky boy) 

&

Yalambi’s Isaiah (gelding)

Sire: Cooper van de Heffinck (Caretino x Landlord x Athlet)

Dam: Faith van d’Abdijhoeve (Heartbreaker x Randel Z x Siegfried)

Both horses have settled in well and we are very excited for their futures! 

Stay tuned to hear more about the next steps in their journey and mine! 

“A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but is persistence.”

Wishing all the best of luck to our amazing representatives at the Rio Olympics in Brazil! 

Till next time 

Amy xx