Jamie and Ella-Rae Seccombe with cutting horse Hell I’m Smooth.

Jamie Seccombe has cutting covered

By Equestrian Life

Jamie Seccombe has trained with some of the best in the business; now, he’s making a name for himself in the cutting pen in his own right. A recent property purchase means ‘James Seccombe Cutting Horses’ now has a place to call home, and the construction of a new arena cover means horses, humans and cattle are keeping their cool this summer…

“I think animal welfare is a big issue nowadays, so by having the arena cover we’re minimising heat stress on the horses, the cattle… and myself,” says Toowoomba-based cutting horse trainer, Jamie Seccombe. Two years ago, the rising star on the Australian cutting circuit purchased an 80-acre property with wife Ella-Rae and together they have set about making it their home and a business base for ‘Jamie Seccombe Cutting horses’. They’ve made a number of improvements, with the installation of an ABC Sheds-built arena cover over the main cutting pen being their biggest investment to date besides the property itself.

“My cutting pen is 40m x 30m, and then I’ve got cow pens down one end. The arena cover is 50m x 31m, and it’s 5m high to the gutters; it covers the whole cutting arena plus the pens. Not only are the horses and myself under cover, but so are the cattle who I borrow from people to work; it’s peace of mind for the owners knowing that their cows aren’t just sitting in a hot pen all day.”

The arena cover is large enough to cover the cutting arena and cow pens.

Jamie explains that when working outdoors in the hot Queensland sun, being in the shade makes all the difference. “There is a huge difference in temperature on a hot day in the sun versus under the arena cover; you notice a massive temperature drop and feel the instant coolness when you walk under that shed. I used to work in the sun from dawn until dusk. Now having this covered arena, I feel with the horses… the sun’s not zapping the energy out of them as much when we work. And I’m not so zapped by the sun at night time when I come in.”

Jamie says the installation process was quite quick and ABC Sheds provided excellent communication throughout.

ABC Sheds’ covers are made from quality steel.

The completed cover, with just the arena fencing and cattle pens left to re-install.

Jamie says that the cover will also be of huge benefit in winter time when they go through rainy periods, as it allows him to continue working horses in the lead up to shows regardless of the weather. “We’re under it all day, so it’s a good investment considering I’m going to have it for the rest of my life,” he concludes.

The shed provides shade from the hot Queensland sun for horses, humans and cattle.

Jamie says that he’s rapt with shed, and the building process via ABC Sheds was smooth sailing. “It’s a great arena cover and ABC Sheds were fantastic to deal with. They were one of the cheapest in terms of quotes, but I think they’re also one of the structurally better built sheds. A lot of people I know had built them and said how structurally good they were; the steel is high quality. For such a big shed it was actually very quick to construct, and it was up in under two weeks. ABC Sheds kept me informed during the whole process; I couldn’t fault their communication with us.”

Cutting a career with horses

Growing up on a 60,000-acre sheep and cattle property in outback Queensland, Jamie has always been a farm boy at heart and long held an affinity with horses – so it’s little wonder he’s ended up with a property and business that reflects this. His competitive endeavours began on the Pony Club circuit before becoming a successful polocrosse player, however it was while studying at Longreach Agricultural College that he realised horses were more than just a hobby. Jamie has since worked with some of the best in the industry locally and abroad. When his passion for cutting became evident, he secured a job working under Todd Graham to learn from one of the sport’s legends. His success in the cutting pen began when he claimed the NCHA $5000 Novice Horse title in 2015 aboard One Stylish Turpentine, and he hasn’t looked back.

Jamie in the competition arena.

© Southern Belle Photography

Four years on in 2016, Jamie developed his own business and begin training independently. Initially he worked out of James Speed’s property south of Emerald, however he and Ella always dreamed of owning their own property – and this dream was fulfilled when they purchased their current Toowoomba home from none other than Todd Graham.

The cutting pen is in regular use, with the property housing 35 to 40 horses in work – the majority of which are owned by clients – as well as the cattle needed for training. Although Covid-19 has wreaked havoc with events over the past two years, Jamie says that he’s been lucky in Queensland as there have still been quite a few shows to attend. “We still had half a dozen shows that we went to last year, and many included an age event in their program so that our Futurity horses (three-year-olds) could compete against other Futurity horses, and so forth. We were very lucky and thankful that we could still go and show our clients’ horses; it meant they at least got what they paid for.” It was a good year in the competition arena for Jamie, and he claimed wins at numerous events.

The road to the futurity

Looking to the year ahead, like many Jamie is looking forward to a hopefully interruption-free competition calendar, and as he explains, his new home in Toowoomba is centrally located to make the most of it: “We’re in an ideal spot here, where a lot of the shows are only a couple of hours away. We have little weekend shows like Chinchilla, Goondiwindi and Roma. We’ll then go to aged events, like the St George Futurity, Toowoomba Futurity, and we’ll travel to Victoria in winter and for their Futurity… so there are a lot of shows that we get to go to in a normal year.”

Jamie is looking forward to this year’s Futurity in Tamworth.

Of course, the big event that all cutting enthusiasts are looking forward to is the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity in Tamworth at the end of May; for the past two years, the show has fallen victim to the Covid cancellation curse, however this year it’s looking promising that the event will go ahead.

“I’ve got four Futurity horses to show at Tamworth; three fillies and a colt. I’ve got a Metallic Cat colt, ‘Badger’, owned by Craig Ross; a Smooth As A Cat filly, ‘Acacia’, owned by Darcy Twohill; a Phalaris filly that we call ‘Reba’, owned by Sarah Inglis; and an Aristo Tuff filly that we call ‘Shimmer’, and she’s owned by Rod Leeky. They’re really good; they feel well, and I have a good show team including good Derby and Classic horses. We’ll probably have a team of about 18-20 horses between me and my non-pro clients. The NCHA Futurity is where the atmosphere is and it’s the one that everyone wants to win as a trainer. We can’t wait!”

You can find out more about Jamie Seccombe Cutting Horses via the business Facebook page. For more information regarding ABC Shed’s equestrian building solutions, click here to download the brochure.

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