Shane Rose and The Bandit. Image by Britt Grovenor Photography.
Earlier this year, a fall from off the track Thoroughbred The Bandit nearly cost Shane Rose an Olympic start. Six months on and Shane is not only a four-time Olympian, but Bandit is also a CCI4*S winner.
Shane Rose and The Bandit on their way to winning the CCI4*S at Canberra International Horse Trials. Image by Britt Grovenor Photography.
In March this year, Shane Rose suffered a horrific fall that left him in hospital with 19 separate fractures and a severe concussion; four months later, he became a four-time Olympian. It’s a story that will go down in equestrian folklore; a recovery that shouldn’t have been possible, but for Shane the only outcome he had in mind.
Behind the story that gained mainstream media attention around the national was a horse named The Bandit. It was the off the track Thoroughbred whom Shane fell from during that ill-fated cross country schooling session, however Shane doesn’t doubt the horse’s ability and says that it was simply an accident that bought them unstuck that day.
“The fact that he’s such a good jumper gives me confidence that he’s not likely to make a mistake again like he did that day,” says Shane. “I’m sure it was an accident and, unfortunately, it ended up hurting – rather than just being a simple fall.”
In September, Shane competed for the first time since the accident on a horse other than his Olympic partner Virgil. Taking a team to Sydney at SIEC Eventing, he entered The Bandit in his first four-star.
“I was a little nervous at Sydney, not just on him – it was the first time I’d ridden a horse this year other than Virgil at a competition. It was probably the first time I’ve actually been nervous and thought, ‘Well, I hope I don’t get hurt’. I’ve never actually being worried about that in the past,” says Shane.
The Bandit was clear in both jumping phases and finished third in the CCN4*. “We just went slow, as it was his first start back and we had a short turnaround to Canberra International Horse Trials. He jumped well; he was good,” reflects Shane.
It was then on to Canberra, where the pair contested the CCI4*S and won on their dressage score of 36.5. Shane says that in terms of nerves, he was feeling much more confident than at Sydney and was back to normal.
“He’s a nice horse,” says Shane of Bandit. “He was good at Canberra; he was still obviously a bit green at the level, but he just keeps improving, which is nice. He is getting better on the flat and he’s coping better mentally all the time.
Shane says The Bandit is a talented jumper. Image by Britt Grovenor Photography.
“He’s pretty solid across the board really,” continues Shane of the horse’s strengths. “He’s got three really nice paces, he’s very good cross country, and he’s a very good jumper. Being a Thoroughbred, he obviously gallops really nicely.”
Since Canberra, Shane and Bandit have gone on to place second in the CCI4*S at the Queensland International Three-Day Event in Tamborine.
BORN IN JAPAN
The Bandit, now 12 years old, has certainly lived an interesting life. Before becoming a four-star horse with an Olympian in the saddle, he had 38 starts for four wins and raced across two countries and four Australian states.
Shane and Bandit on course at Canberra. Image by Britt Grovenor Photography.
Bred in Japan, by Empire Maker (USA) out of Ravi’s Lovin (USA), The Bandit began racing there in 2014 where he had three starts before being imported to Australia. He then raced under trainer John Sadler around Victorian tracks, including Flemington and Moonee Valley, until the end of 2016. He was no plodder and raced against some well-known horses such as 2016 Melbourne Cup winner Almandin and fan-favourites Who Shot Thebarman and Tom Melbourne.
Switching to trainer John Thompson and then later moving to trainers Richard and Micheal Freedman, he raced in NSW from 2017 until mid-2019, and then had his last few races towards the end of 2019 under John and Chris Meagher in Queensland.
He retired in November 2019, aged seven and finished his career with wins in Japan, Victoria and NSW – accumulating nearly $300,000 in prizemoney.
THE BANDIT ARRIVES AT BIMBADEEN
The Bandit found his way to Bimbadeen Park, home of Shane and his wife Niki, by chance. The couple, who alongside their eventing team also operate a Thoroughbred breaking and pre-training business, were doing some work for Paul Fudge of Waratah Thoroughbreds around the time Paul had to sell his farm in 2021.
“They had a bunch of retired horses sitting in the paddock,” recalls Shane. “They sent a truckload over and The Bandit was one of those. He’d been in the paddock for a while. When he first came, I had a couple of the kids who were working for me riding him and then they moved on, I started doing a bit more with him.”
The Bandit began his FEI career in the CCI2*S at Wallaby Hill with Shenae Lowings at the end of 2022, and then progressed through to three-star level with Shane the following year. He’s had wins along the way, including Tamworth CCN3*S, however the latest CCI4*S win at Canberra has been his career highlight to date.
THE CROSS-TIE OUTLAW
Like every good horse, Bandit isn’t without his quirks. Chatting about the horse last year, Shane told Equestrian Life that while Bandit was a sweet-natured horse to have around the stables, he did have a tendency to be an outlaw in the cross ties: “You can only tie him up on one side of our cross ties, because he exits the building if you tie him up on the other side!”
A year on, and Shane says this has improved – but the horse still has his quirks.
“He’s got his favourite bay that he hangs out in, and we don’t have him in there for long periods because the longer he’s in there the more agitated he gets, but he’s certainly growing up and coming together quite nicely. He’s improving all the time. The more he can hold it together mentally, the better he’ll be… he’s certainly got the ability to be a very good horse.” EQ
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