Australian show jumper Sarah McMillan and Tyrone VDL. Image by Click Capture.
Growing up surrounded by professional show jumpers, Sarah McMillan has been involved in the industry all her life. While completing school and a law degree whilst balancing her riding career was a challenge at the time, the now 31-year-old values the perspective her education has afforded her – and in turn, she’s having more fun than ever with her talented equine team.
Sarah McMillan, pictured here with Tyrone VDL, is on an upward trajectory in the world of show jumping. Image by Click Capture.
If you’ve ever spent time on the Australian jumping scene, you’re probably familiar with the McMillan name. Sarah McMillan grew up at Equus Australia with her parents Cathy and John, alongside business partner and legend of the sport Rod Brown, so it’s not surprising that the passion for all things jumping flows freely through Sarah’s veins. Australian World Cup League Rookie of the Year in 2022 and two World Cup wins later, Sarah – or Sos as she is known by those closest to her – is riding a career set on an upward trajectory. I sat down with Sarah to learn more about her journey to date, and her impressive team of horses.
“Sarah is riding a career set
on an upward trajectory.”
As Sarah joins me via Zoom from her home office, she has just come inside from a big day at the stables. Based at the McMillan family farm on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Sarah balances working as a director of a large agricultural whole goods and service company with managing a team of elite jumping horses. I ask how many horses she currently has in work, to which she responds, “Too many! We currently have nine in work plus four breakers, so 13 in total.”
Thirteen horses on the go and a corporate career: it’s an understatement to describe Sarah as a very busy woman.
“I grew up surrounded
by very good riders…”
Sarah competing with Queen of Diamonds at Young Rider level in 2013. Image by Michelle Terlato Photography.
EQUUS AUSTRALIA
Most horse people dream of growing up in a professional stable, riding and working alongside some of the country’s greatest talents. As a kid growing up at Equus Australia, a large-scale jumping business unlike those that exist today, Sarah was absorbed in the world of professional jumping from the moment she could swing a leg over a pony. Following an injury early in his career, John McMillan joined forces with Rod Brown and George Sanna to form the initial operation. “They had this incredible business revolving around show jumping that they built from the ground up,” Sarah reflects. “Until I was around 16 years old, I was living at Equus. It was a dealing stable with anywhere between 30 to 50 horses in work every day. Predominantly exporting sport horses, but we had also started breeding.
“At the time, working at Equus was a goal for a lot of young riders, it was like a stepping-stone,” Sarah notes.
“As a small kid, day-to-day I grew up surrounded by very good riders, a lot of whom I looked at more as family. I think, especially being an only child, I was sort of thrown into it. I became friends with a lot of people that came to Equus either to work, ride or have lessons. As a kid, I was being exposed to the best minds in the game and the professional nature of the sport. I think it completely shaped the way I go about the sport, which comes with its good and its bad,” she adds.
“There were always trucks going to shows and my pony would be put on the back and off we went. When they used to go to the big shows, they didn’t have the 80 centimetre and metre classes like they do now, so I began riding for a pony stud (Mareena Stud) down the road and did a lot of hacking for a while there. The day I turned 12 and was old enough for the Junior classes, I sacked the show ponies and was back on the truck.”
Reflecting on the whole experience, Sarah continues: “You can’t really compare it to any stable we currently have in Australia… now it is only ever really in Europe or America that they have larger-scale operations of that scope when it comes to show jumping on a professional level.
“I say to Mum and Dad all the time, ‘Why couldn’t you have had me fifteen years earlier?’ It was just a different time. They had truckloads of grand prix horses, and they were going to all the shows. Dad was on the phone dealing with the top international horse dealers and travelling all around the world being able to call it work. I just wasn’t old enough to really appreciate it,” she finishes with a laugh.
Going from her early years living and riding in a professional, commercial environment, Sarah shares that it was initially an adjustment moving from Equus to living and competing individually after her father John shifted careers. “Looking back on it now, I am glad we moved on when we did because I don’t think I would have ever gone to uni… or going to uni would have been a much harder struggle for me with the horse business in my backyard.”
COMPETITIVE PRESSURES
One theme that we keep circling back to is pressure. Pressure to be a professional athlete, pressure to feel like you are not slipping behind, and pressure to have horses at a certain level within a certain timeframe.
“As I got older, I was that kid who had been riding since before I could walk and had grown up in this professional atmosphere. There was an expectation for me to step up and perform and be this operator.
“By the time I got to year ten, some of my friends had begun to drop out of school to become professional riders, but that was never an option for me. They were doing it full time and taking more horses to shows and stepping up to grand prix classes whilst I was still battling away at school, competing in the young riders, and trying to keep up with the Joneses so to speak,” she adds. It was the same during university, where Sarah studied law. “I was getting a taste of what it was like to be on the other side a little bit because I wasn’t going to shows and I wasn’t getting the rounds. It was a massive flip for me while I was doing uni. I had to just bite the bullet and hope that I was going to be able to catch up.”
Part of “the stable of adolescent naughty boys”, Everest JEP was purchased as a two-and-a-half-year-old and is now jumping at Futurity level. Image by Click Capture.
Reflecting on those feelings now, Sarah shares: “This sport will always be there. The only reason you want to catch up is because you are comparing yourself to someone else. It took me a long time to work out and I think it is a pressure that a lot of riders struggle with. It’s not their performance as such, it is what other people think of their performance.”
Sarah’s mother, Cathy, worked as a teacher and her father John as a solicitor, so they always emphasised getting a good education. Provided with the incentive of assistance with her jumping career if she pursued tertiary education, Sarah laughs, “I think I was kicking and screaming when the rules were put in place, which I’m sure you were too,” she adds, knowing I was also delivered the same ultimatum at the completion of high school. Looking back on her university experience now, Sarah adds: “I am so glad I did it; sometimes I actually wish I could go back!”
Since she grew up in a very pro-education household, it’s surprising to learn that Sarah had a tough time with academics. “I really struggled at school; I could hardly read when I had reached high school and not out of a lack of trying. I did all the special education classes, had tutors and really tried. Mum and Dad did everything they could, and I really, really battled.
“I didn’t really have any interest in careers beyond horses, it was my entire world view. I’m so glad I was encouraged to go to uni because it gave me the perspective that there is a world outside of all this. It gave me a sense of accomplishment outside of the sport. If you quit tomorrow or get hurt and can never ride again, who are you? University gave me that perspective. The fact that I ended up with an honours degree after nearly failing year 12 was something that, as Mum and Dad said to me, ‘No one can ever take that away from you, you earned that.’”
THAT’S SHOW JUMPING
“What is so special about this sport, when you actually think about it, is the fact there is not one single person who is on a level playing field as you. Whether it is money, family pressures, health pressures, time availabilities, whether one horse has a bigger stride than another, and that track that day doesn’t suit it. There are so many contributing factors to your performance before you even step foot in the ring. Once I realised that my performances simply had to be a reflection of the work that I had done and to not worry about what anyone else was doing, that’s when I became a lot more comfortable with just following my own routine and process.
“In some sports, luck doesn’t really come into play. In ours, it does and that is humbling sometimes!” she adds laughing.
On the ways in which her education has benefitted her riding career Sarah shares, “The sport in Australia is going towards a place now where it is very difficult to be a professional and rely purely on the sport for your income. You need a back-up plan. You used to need a plan B, but now it is more like a plan A. You need to be able to fund it and it is nearly impossible to fund it without bringing in external financial support through avenues such as sponsors, owners, client sales horses, et cetera supporting you along the way.
“I am very grateful I was encouraged and had the opportunity to go to uni, because I definitely don’t think I would be the rider I am now if all of my eggs were in one basket.”
BIG FEW YEARS
Sarah has had a fantastic few years in the saddle. Named the 2022 Australian World Cup League Rookie of the Year, Sarah has made up for her once-perceived lost time with two World Cup wins under her belt with the 15-year-old, Cardento-sired gelding Tyrone VDL. Alongside Tyrone, Sarah has a budding team of young superstars whom she affectionately refers to as the “the stable of adolescent naughty boys”.
“I started four or five young ones at the same time, and they have really moulded me into the rider and horsewoman that I am now. These horses came into my stable because I thought, ‘These are young grand prix horses’, so it was a long-term commitment from the get-go.
Everest JEP won the Futurity at this year’s Waratah World Cup show. Image by Click Capture.
“Whilst I had ridden younger horses previously, these four really made me. They forced me to make some hard decisions of who I wanted to be as a rider and where I wanted to go, which was quite confronting at the time. I had a long-term perspective and plan for these horses and who I became in the arena at home just evolved from that. I have really embraced this methodology that I have now with my young ones, and personally, I think it works!”
When speaking of training and educating young horses, most people have a plan but few refer to it as a methodology. “I had a lot of time to think about it whilst I was daydreaming at uni,” Sarah jokes. The core ingredients of her methodology? Fun, relaxation and understanding.
Sarah’s young horses are initially started by Cody Rawson-Harris, who spends three days a week at the McMillan’s during this process. “Those days are long,” she laughs, “but I love the fact that he’s able to come and do it at home, because I am able to watch and learn about each horse. I am able to see the process that he is going through and what he is struggling with… which ones are spooky, brave, cold backed… because ultimately I need to know about each of them.”
When Sarah starts a young horse’s career, her number one rule is that they enjoy their job. “When they’re enjoying their job, they’re relaxed. I believe they are much more willing to work with you if you are the person they enjoy doing their job with.
“I take a lot of time with my young ones; potentially too much time! However, once they understand their job and how to jump and they understand not to have fences down, it’s really easy. I guess I somewhat sacrifice time in doing it, but I hold them back so that they’re always comfortable and they’re not trying too hard or getting worried, and then once the penny drops and they get it, we are good to go. It must be a positive experience.”
Sarah acknowledges that education is important too. “They have to be strong and balanced, but when it comes down to it, at the end of the day you need a horse that wants to jump a fence, jump it clean and is rideable. Rideability comes from experience and good flatwork.”
As we are discussing the training process, a thought crosses Sarah’s mind. “I guess to a degree, that is similar to how I completed my education. I battled and battled and battled and then I worked until I found a system that suited me so that law school was kind of easier – I’ve never thought of it like that before, it’s kind of cool,” she notes.
LONG-TERM PROJECTS
Of course, Sarah adds that working with young horses is not always an easy task. “For someone like me who is only investing in horses that I think are endgame horses and long-term projects, I also look for conformation that is going to last. Dad has always been like, ‘I don’t like its type’ to which I reply, ‘Get over it, if it jumps, it jumps!’
Sarah has two prominent young stars in Everest JEP and Kakadu BHV. I asked what she looks for when choosing a young horse. “We purchased [Everest] as a two-and-a-half-year-old. He free jumped like a freak. I got lucky being in the right place at the right time. Anyone in their right mind would have taken that opportunity had they seen him jump that day.”
Kakadu BHV won the Mini Prix Spectacular at Willinga Park in September. Image by Elegant Exposures.
When it comes to Kakadu BHV, Sarah shares: “We bought him as a three-year-old. He is the one that is renowned for having a play and pigroot as soon as he crosses the finish line – he loves his job! He had a real sparkle in his eye. He was so mentally alert. I guess it comes back to my methodology, they must have an eagerness to learn and be positive thinkers.”
Kakadu BHV and Sarah had a win in the Shepherd Mini Prix Spectacular at Willinga Park in September. “That was a really emotional win for me because it was on a horse that I produced,” Sarah shares. “Everest has had a few big wins recently including the Futurity at Waratah, but he is a bit of freak. You take one look at him, and you know that he is the real deal. Kakadu on the other hand, whilst he has always been a lovely horse, it has taken a lot of loyalty and my belief in him to get to where we are. He is not the most conventional going, but I had to keep my faith in what I saw in him and what I continued to see in him at home.
“Like anyone, there have been rounds where you wonder ‘Am I wasting my time with this horse?’, so with a win like the Willinga Mini Prix, I was like ‘Okay, I was right about this one’. I am really proud that I was able to pick that horse as a baby and do what I have done with him. I know it is not perfect, but at the end of the day, I chose him, and we’ve made it this far! It was a really emotional day for all of us. My parents have been there advising and watching the whole way through, it was almost as special as my World Cup win in Sale.”
Sarah and Tyrone winning the 2023 Sale World Cup qualifier; it was their second World Cup win, and they finished 2023 as the Australian World Cup League runners-up. Image by One Eyed Frog Photography.
To Sarah, who has been coached by her father for her entire life and lovingly supported by her mother, it felt like a family win.
TYRONE VDL
Of course, it wouldn’t be an article on Sarah McMillan if we didn’t delve into her partnership with Tyrone VDL, who was previously campaigned by James Harvey. Sarah explains how they came to be: “At the time, I only had young horses and Dad was super keen on the idea of Tyron … so in the middle of Covid we drove down and crossed the Victorian/New South Wales border an hour or two before they closed it. I was really sick with strep throat at the time. I had my first ride on him and that night I was so sick that I kept saying to Dad, ‘I have to go to hospital’. I wasn’t sick enough to not have a second ride on Tyrone the following day though!
“He has just been amazing. [This partnership] sort of wildly fit like a glove. Don’t get me wrong, at the start it was hard; he was a tough ride to nail, but we got it together pretty quickly and he has been great.”
The conversation loops back the theme of pressure: in this scenario, the pressure of riding a horse with an established reputation such as Tyrone. “I feel like there is always a pressure to get on something that is ‘made’. He jumped on the World Cup circuit and James did a great job with him. There is added pressure there, but it is also nice to have a full circle moment and be like ‘Well, I can still create a relationship with this horse and still make it my own’.” And she truly has.
“The older he gets, the naughtier he gets. At home he is obnoxious and totally abuses my methodology… and he knows it,” she adds with a smile. “I just want to keep him happy. If I put a bit of inside leg on at home, he will just start pigrooting. I can’t jump more than a few little fences at home because he gets so wild, but as soon as we take him off the property, he is an absolute lamb. He takes his job very seriously.”
As the best ones are, Tyrone is full of quirks: “He has us all worked out. You can’t catch him in the paddock if he thinks he is entitled to more paddock time. Sometimes I can bribe him, but new grooms or helpers, he tests them all out. He is as sharp as a tack, and he knows the whole process inside out!”
Clocking her first ever World Cup win at Shepparton in March 2023, Sarah and Tyrone have proven to be fierce competition in many of the major grand prix classes around the country. They added a second World Cup win to the resume in Sale last year to finish 2023 as the Australian World Cup League runners-up.
“Sale was another super emotional win for me. Perhaps you can fluke a win here and there, but your second World Cup win you think ‘Maybe I have made it now, maybe I am actually here for good’. It solidifies it,” she adds with a smile.
With an action plan in place and a methodology that is working, Sarah McMillan’s jumping career continues to bloom. Supported and mentored by John and Cathy and sponsored by Dapple EQ, Free Jump Stirrups Australia, Alberto Fasciani Top Boots Australia and RoseHip Vital Equine, Sarah McMillan is on her way to the top – and having a whole lot of fun in the process. EQ
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