Off the track Thoroughbred Marchbank with owner Amy Slayter. Image by Equine Images Victoria.
The prestigious young dressage horse championships at Dressage & Jumping with the Stars are almost exclusively the domain of purpose-bred Warmbloods – however, in 2025 a four-year-old Thoroughbred is set to break the mould. With a 71% qualifying score to his name, Amy Slayter’s EHR Marchbank is an exciting horse for the future.
Marchbank exceeded Amy’s expectations from their first meeting and has an incredible temperament. Image supplied.
Ever since a Thoroughbred introduced her to the sport of eventing, Amy Slayter has long been a fan of the breed and these days still has a couple of retired off-the-track (OTT) horses at home in the paddock. In recent years Amy developed a keen interest in dressage, and so a few years back she purchased a Warmblood – however, when she began considering a second horse, she was drawn back to Thoroughbreds.
Discussing the prospect of a second horse with her coach Tracy Wyngard-Gill, Amy decided that an OTT would be the perfect fit. “We had both worked with Thoroughbreds a lot over the years, and it seemed like a great opportunity,” she says, explaining that their first port of call was Sarah Berry at Equorum Horse Refuge, a Racing Victoria Acknowledged Retrainer. “She and her team work with a lot of Thoroughbreds… she takes her time with them and produces them really well.”
Originally, 17-hand, three-year-old Marchbank was at the bottom of Amy’s list of four horses to inspect, as he didn’t fit the ideal profile for an amateur rider. However, he exceeded all expectations.
“He’s proof you don’t
need a Warmblood to
be competitive.”
“Banksy came walking up the hill; he’s got a big white blaze, three white socks, and he just walked in with an enormous amount of presence. He was chill as; he didn’t feel like a three-year-old. Tracy got on him, took two steps of trot and said, ‘I think this one’,” recalls Amy.
Marchbank had trialled once, but Amy says it was apparently woeful. “He wasn’t built for speed,” she laughs.
DRESSAGE TALENT
Marchbank recently stepped out at a Victorian Dressage Club competition with Tracy in the saddle – his third-ever show – achieving 71% in the four-year-old class and gaining a qualification for the four-year-old championship at Dressage & Jumping With The Stars (DJWTS).
“We were competing against five other Warmbloods, and these were all horses that have been purpose-started for dressage; Banksy really didn’t start working until August [2024] in a sport horse capacity,” explains Amy, adding, “Prior to that, all he did was gallop!”
“We went into that competition thinking, ‘Let’s just put him in there, take it as a practice, and see what he gets.’ Our goal was to gain a DJWTS qualifying score, so we were more than chuffed to come out with a 71%. He’s proof you don’t need a Warmblood to be competitive.”
Marchbank with Amy and coach Tracy Wyngard-Gill. Image supplied.
For these young horse classes Tracy is taking the reins, as she has competed at international young horse competitions previously.
“DJWTS is a professional competition and Tracy brings the European young horse riding experience. I also identify as an eventer… I’m still getting into dressage. We wanted him to be showcased in the best way!” Amy explains.
Tracy not only has an extensive background in the dressage world, but also the racing industry. She worked at Flemington Racecourse before heading overseas for more than two decades, working at Dubai Racing Club for many years and also achieving the Level A competitive coach licence in Germany, specialising in dressage and jumping – which led to work as a professional dressage trainer and competitor. These days, Tracy is based in Australia but remains involved in the global racing community as the International Liaisons Manager for Saudi Arabia Jockey Club. She is also a keen dressage coach and rider, with Marchbank proving to be the dream convergence of her two passions.
Amy rides Marchbank at home and has also competed him, most recently at the Victorian Dressage Festival in the Off The Track Preliminary Championship.
“Marchbank had a great show at the Dressage Festival [December 2024]. After a little four-year-old moment in the warm-up, he put his head in the game and didn’t put a step wrong for the first test, achieving 68.9%,” enthuses Amy. “His second test was solid, however both of us are working on our competition mental game and didn’t have enough focus! Regardless, considering that he has only been ‘dressaging’ for just a little over four months, we couldn’t be happier with him. We are starting to practise the Novice movements and hope to move up after DJWTS.”
Amy is looking forward to the future with her talented young OTT. Image supplied.
“He can only develop from
here. He’s so exciting.”
THOROUGHBREDS IN THE DRESSAGE ARENA
Having seen countless Thoroughbreds and purpose-bred dressage horses, Tracy is certainly qualified to comment on what it is that makes Marchbank an exciting young dressage prospect.
“He has very natural paces; that’s one thing you come across a lot with Thoroughbreds… their paces are generally very correct. They have a great canter and a great walk, and that’s the basis for everything. You can always create a trot, and that just comes with work and strength… but Marchbank, he has really lovely, natural paces – including the trot!”
Tracy says that one of Marchbank’s biggest attributes is his brain. “His brain is incredible. You don’t come across too many young horses that have the brain to cope with these big young horse competitions, regardless of the breed.”
Amy echoes Tracy’s sentiment: “Banksy came off the track mid-2024… there were a couple weeks where he wasn’t sure what his job was, but now he knows his job he literally walks into the arena, pulls himself together and goes, ‘OK, I know what to do!’”
“He’s only four and he’s 17-hands,” adds Tracy. “He hasn’t even grown into his legs yet. He has a lot to offer, and a lot of growing to do. He can only develop from here. He’s so exciting.”
Beyond DJWTS, Amy believes Marchbank can go all the way to the FEI levels: “Everyone that we’ve ever worked with since we’ve started with him says he can go the distance… we’re definitely aiming for the FEI levels.” EQ
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