Rohan Luxmoore with Neat N Tidy and LH Valentino at Gisborne Horse Trials earlier this year. 

Rohan Luxmoore looks to the future

By Amanda Young

Retiring a horse that has taken you to the upper echelons is a tough call. Starting again with new youngsters can be even tougher, requiring a long-term commitment and enthusiasm for the journey ahead.

When a CCI5* level eventing horse retires, it can leave a gaping hole in a rider’s team. Horses with the talent, trainability, soundness, braveness and athleticism to compete at the highest level are rare and take many years to develop.

It’s a situation Barastoc ambassador Rohan Luxmoore knows only too well. Balancing his career as a director and veterinarian at Gisborne Veterinary Practice with his passion for eventing, he’s achieved outstanding results with his long-term partner Bells N Whistles, also known as Shady. The pair’s achievements include 5th place in the CCI5* at the Australian International 3DE in 2016, and wins up to 4* level. However, Rohan’s busy life and commitments meant that while he was competing at the top level of the sport with Shady, he did not have time to develop young horses that would be knocking on the door of the FEI levels when the time came for Shady to retire from upper-level eventing.

With Shady turning 18 in 2021, that time has now come for him to enjoy a change of pace, as Rohan explains: “A few things happened which weren’t ideal, but have all worked out now. Unfortunately, when Shady was still recovering from an injury sustained in the 5* at Adelaide in 2018, he developed colic…”

Read the full article here in the April issue of Equestrian Life!