Tim explains that his long friendship with Greg Perry was the key to acquiring the horse. Greg had raced Sparky Lad (Smart Missile x Lady Hepburn) successfully in Australia, with more than AU$300,000 in prizemoney to his name under trainer Chris Waller, but always promised that when the horse finished racing, Tim could have him.
“He was a horse we thought very highly of even while he was still racing,” Tim recalls. “Often the ones we’d like to ride turn out to be good racehorses, but they also look like great eventing prospects. With the right pre-training, you get a glimpse of what they might become — whether in dressage, cross country, or jumping.”
From track star to eventing prospect
When his racing days were over, Sparky Lad was transferred to Tim, who set about producing him for the international stage. A son of Smart Missile, he proved straightforward, talented, and naturally careful.
“He’s always been an easy horse to train,” says Tim. “He’ll do anything, he’s a good mover, a good jumper, fast and straightforward — the sort we all hope to find.”
Clarke Johnstone takes the reins
After a serious fall sidelined Tim, New Zealander Clarke Johnstone, who was based with him for a time, stepped in to ride his horses. Around the same period, Johnstone purchased Menlo Park from Tim — a horse who went on to be his Olympic mount last year.
“It made sense that Clarke also took Sparky Lad with him to England,” Tim explains. “He’s done a fantastic job producing him steadily through the grades.”
Success in England
That partnership has now delivered international results, with Sparky Lad placing at short-format four-star (CCI4*S) level.
However, it was his recent victory in the inaugural Arena Racing Company (ARC) Racehorse to Eventer Challenge Cup at Cornbury House Horse Trials that has proven to be the most lucrative. The Thoroughbred-only class – run at British Eventing Open Novice level, using an FEI CCI2*-S dressage test – carried a first prize of £45,000. Clarke and the 11-year-old gelding finished on their dressage score of 26.2 to claim the impressive winner’s cheque.
A delighted Clarke Johnstone said: “This is the biggest prize I’ve won during my career – the prize is amazing and the initiative is fantastic, so thank you very much to Jayne McGivern, David Howden and Arena Racing Company. Ex-racehorses are wonderful athletes, and they try their best for you. I hope that this class encourages top riders to ask their local racehorse trainer whether they have a horse that might suit eventing.”
“It’s so exciting to see England taking eventing at this level so seriously,” Tim says. “For us, it’s also a great example of life after racing — and proof of just how versatile our Australian Thoroughbreds can be.”
Looking ahead
The plan is now to step Sparky Lad up to a long-format four-star (CCI4*L), with every chance of the 11-year-old gelding becoming a real international star.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be following this,” says Tim. “He really is a star for the future — and I feel lucky to have been part of his journey.”
