2021 Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Award winners announced

Racing Victoria (RV) has announced the winner of the 2021 Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Award, which recognises the achievements of equine experts preparing retired racehorses for secondary careers.

For the second year running, Fiona McIntyre has taken out the coveted RV Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Award for her tireless work in promoting Off The Track thoroughbreds, helping to create as many pathways and opportunities as possible for ex-racehorses.

In the past 12 months, Fiona has achieved outstanding results with off-the-track horses on both a competitive and non-competitive front, including finding a suitable home for Torreggiante, affectionately known as Torre, through RV’s RESET Program, helping him to enjoy a happy and healthy second career.

Fiona’s dedication and talent for transitioning racehorses to make the most of their life after racing was also highlighted in 2021 with the transformation of the Chris Waller-trained Able Fun to a competing show horse, who has already picked up a few ribbons since the resumption of competitions in Victoria this year.

A Retrainer Capacity Grant recipient, Fiona has also been busy expanding her property to increase the number of horses she can take on and retrain for second careers after racing.

“For many years Fiona has worked tirelessly in promoting Off The Track and retired racehorses at every chance she gets, and she doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down now!” says Jennifer Hughes, RV General Manager, Equine Welfare.

“Fiona has a genuine love and passion for thoroughbreds and is a great advocate for the breed and the various Off The Track programs in everything she does, as well as continuing to educate trainers, owners, the equestrian community and the general public about life after racing opportunities for racehorses.”

In an extremely competitive field, Jade Wills, owner and director of JW Equestrian, was awarded Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Runner Up for her unwavering commitment to finding alternative, useful and loving homes for retired racehorses, resulting in over 130 off-the-track thoroughbreds being rehomed this year alone.

Jade Wills, owner and director of JW Equestrian, was awarded Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Runner Up.

A 2021 Godolphin Stud and Stable award winner for thoroughbred care and welfare, Jade has recently expanded her operations to incorporate a riding school, providing increased opportunities to educate the equine community on the benefits of off-the-track thoroughbreds, as well as expanding the possibilities for retired racehorses to enjoy secondary careers in various disciplines including polo ponies, eventers, show jumpers and trail riders.

“We were lucky enough to have Jade set up shop in Victoria once she realised her passion for finding new homes for retired racehorses, and since then she has grown insurmountably, so much so that she has retrained over 250 horses into loving new homes since setting her business up in Barnawartha in the north-east of Victoria, after moving across the ditch from New Zealand in 2016,” says Jennifer.

A panel of five esteemed judges, including Dr Andrew McLean, CEO of Equitation Science International; Catherine Murphy, sports journalist and presenter at the ABC; Fiona Selby, Director, Boneo Park; Carly Dixon, RV Executive General Manager of Corporate Affairs and Robbie Griffiths, President of the Australian Trainers Association, selected the final winners which were presented today (7 December 2021) at an intimate event co-hosted by Equestrian Victoria.

“It was an honour to be on the judging panel for this year’s RV Retrainer of the Year Award,” says Carly Dixon. “I and my fellow judges had a very tough task to narrow down an eventual winner from the high-quality list of finalists.”

The RV Retrainer of the Year received a cheque for $5,000 to assist with the continuing development of their retraining and rehoming work, and the runner-up received $1,000 to go towards their work with off-the-track horses.

The Off The Track horse of the Year was also presented across four different categories:

•    Off The Track Horse of the Year – Show Horse, joint winners – JD Kiamichi (Racing name: Tarantino) and Stage Presence (Racing name: Persistency)
•    Off The Track Horse of the Year – Dressage – Coromandel Bay (Racing name: Ha Kul)
•    Off The Track Horse of the Year – Eventing – Mr Pig (Racing Name: Winnie’s Horse)
•    Off The Track Horse of the Year – Jumping – Secret Mojo (Racing Name: Secret Mojo)

Rebecca Farrow won OTT Ridden Hack on Stage Presence at this year's Barastoc Horse of the Year © LMG Photographics

Rebecca Farrow and Stage Presence, who was named joint Off The Track Show Horse of the Year. He was also a finalist in the dressage category.

Introduced in 2020, Racing Victoria’s ‘RESET (Racehorse, Evaluation, Support, Education and Transition) Program’ provides direct support for horses that are sound and have good prospects but have not been successful in transitioning to a second career outside of racing.

In recognition of the great work by many RV Acknowledged Retrainers to retrain and rehome a RESET horse within the past 12 months, a RESET Achievement Award was introduced.

The winner of the 2021 RESET Achievement Award is Louise Abey, who was recognised for her exceptional efforts retraining Retro Lass, Mareeza Brown and Soomayya, who she trained with calm and effective retraining methods to transform them into well-rounded performance horses.

Lou’s willingness to go over and above the RESET program requirements by providing her horses with multiple outings and exposing them to a range of different scenarios is outstanding and has set a bench mark for the program. Lou was also recognised for her commitment to promoting Off The Track and the RESET Program.

This article was written in conjunction with Racing Victoria.

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