Mary Hanna and Ivanhoe, winners of the 2024 FEI Dressage World Cup Pacific League Final. Image by James Abernethy.
Mary Hanna has represented Australia at six Olympic Games, six FEI World Equestrian Games/World Championships, and five World Cup finals – soon to be six. Renowned for her dogged determination and persistence, the words “quit” and “give up” are not part of Mary’s vocabulary.
Mary Hanna and Ivanhoe are all focus at the 2024 FEI Dressage World Cup Pacific League Final, held at the Victorian Dressage Festival in December. Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
Mary’s star sign is Sagittarius – optimistic, a love of freedom, humour, fairness, ambition… a few words that describe a Sagittarian. They are said to also be smart, caring, deep and wildly impatient, careless, boastful, attention-seeking, brutally honest, adventurous, philosophical, passionate and, above all, optimistic. If ever a star sign hangs so appropriately over the head of someone it would have to be Mary Hanna, without any doubt! Mary herself, as well as those who know her, would smile and nod and agree!
On questioning Mary, 70, what on earth keeps her travelling the world and taking horses to compete on the international stage at the biggest competitions – when she has been as successful as she has been already – Mary takes a deep breath and replies: “That’s a good question… I just love doing what I’m doing. I love the training, I love the competition, I love the travelling. I love everything about the sport and above all I love to train and ride and work with my horses. I love the horses and look forward to the improvements I can make in them.
“I just love doing
what I’m doing…
“I’m always very conscious of trying to improve myself every day. I’ve never thought of myself as a good rider. I always know I need a lot of help, and I need to make myself better. Riding horses is so good for my mental health, my physical wellbeing, my whole demeanour and outlook on life. I could not possibly imagine a day without horses. They are my life. They are the reason I get out of bed every morning. To think I can train them to a level to compete on the international circuit inspires me beyond belief. I love to travel. I love to pack my bags. It’s just me. It’s what I do, and I’ll do it forever.”
‘GET ON WITH IT’
In the last few years Mary has had serious health issues. No one would have known. “Yes, I’ve had a battle with cancer, and as much as one would like to think it’s over now after having a huge course of chemotherapy and 30 days of radiotherapy, it’s unfortunately ongoing. I just have that skin that seems to attract cancer cells. In fact, I’ve just had another SCC [squamous cell carcinoma] removed from my face and some plastic surgery. It’s just part of my life now. You just have to get on with it.
“At the time [of the initial diagnosis], I have to say it was totally soul destroying. Like everybody, you say ‘why me?’ But I had no choice but to get on with it, so chemo and radiotherapy was the beginning. I know you want to ask me how I coped. I’m going to tell you. It was the horses, especially Ivanhoe, who kept me going no matter how bad I felt. I rode every single day, treatment or no treatment. I would ride sometimes and almost pass out, but I didn’t care! I was riding and that’s all there was to it.
“I kept riding throughout my treatment and [Swedish Olympian] Patrik Kittel taught me throughout that entire time. He kept me going. He inspired me and kept my body and my mind on track. He helped me get through that really hard time. I also had many friends and of course my husband, my rock, Rob, who were inspiring and kept me going as well. I certainly am no quitter, and this wasn’t going to get me to quit either. My direction was not sidetracked at all. (Sagittarian!) It’s just that there was a large speed hump.
“It’s difficult to describe it, but it is unending. Once you get on board the cancer train, so to speak, your journey is always interrupted – like stopping at stations when you would rather be on the express train – with specialists trying to find secondary or other problems; of course, the quicker they dealt with them the better.
Mary is set to compete at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland in April. Image by One Eyed Frog Photography.
“Eventually they come and tell you that you’re clear and then the next week you go to the skin specialist, and they find another one that needs to be removed. I simply now accept the fact that you have to be vigilant and go with the flow, so to speak. I don’t have time to slow down… and my horses, my husband, and my friends in my life push me along this track.”
Cancer certainly hasn’t slowed Mary down. In December, she won the FEI Dressage World Cup Pacific League final at the Victorian Dressage Festival with Ivanhoe, meaning she now has the opportunity to compete at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland in April.
“There are plenty of positives as an outcome of my cancer and cancer treatment. The most important is it makes me realise that life is for living and that you must make the most of every day and not think about the past or necessarily the future, but you must have goals and head towards them. This is why I’m going to take the opportunity yet again to take my horse to the World Cup final to represent Australia and the Pacific League. It’s not as if this trip and travelling and taking horses and competing internationally is my first rodeo!
“As a consequence, it is pretty much second nature to me and being a Sagittarian I do like to pack my bags, I do love to travel, and I can’t wait to take this opportunity. I’ve learnt to grab every minute and enjoy it. I love the training, I love the horses more than anything, I love the competing, and I love the travelling. I can’t wait to prepare my horse for a flight overseas to compete. I find the preparation invigorating.”
Mary and Ivanhoe scored 76.560% to win the FEI Dressage World Cup Final. Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
SIXTH WORLD CUP FINAL
Basel will be Mary’s sixth World Cup final, alongside Gothenburg, Sweden (1996), s’Hertogenbosch, Sweden (1997), and Gothenburg (1998) with Mosaic; Lyon, France (2014) with Sancette; and Gothenburg (2016) with Umbro.
Mary has actually now won the Pacific League final here in Australia eight times, but did not take Limbo to Las Vegas in 2005 and in 2018 when qualified with Calanta for the final in Paris the mare unfortunately sustained an injury in the lead up.
The pressure was really on for Mary at the Victorian Dressage Festival at Werribee for the Pacific League final in December. It was a huge competition with Wendi Williamson on Don Vito MH representing New Zealand having a serious crack, and what a great combination they were. And then there was also Dave McKinnon and Estupendo, who had beaten Mary and Ivanhoe in the CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle a few weeks earlier at EQUITANA.
I asked Mary how she felt about coming into the Pacific League Final, whether she changed her music or floor plan, and what her strategy was to try and make the most of her chances.
“I went through the Freestyle test from EQUITANA, as I always do, and carefully watched every movement,” she explains. “I always get my tests videoed and I’m always self-critical. I thought maybe I should change a few things, maybe I should adjust the music… but after watching it several times I realised I just needed to ride it better – so that’s exactly what I tried for. I worked hard on every movement. I realised where I made little mistakes; I trained those little mistakes out, I just decided I was going to ride better.
“It was a huge competition There was a lot of pressure, but I think somehow I tend to ride better under pressure and I feel supremely confident with Ivanhoe. He’s an absolute gem of a horse as he tries his hardest; he never gets spooky. He never gets worried by his environment. He never gets troubled by the pressure and he goes as I ride him. He fills me with confidence, and we are a real partnership having been through a lot together. He knows me well and I know him even better.
“That night [at the Victorian Dressage Festival] I did ride better and it all came together, and we were very privileged to win a very big class and get the chance to represent the Pacific Leage at the upcoming World Cup Final having a lot of experience behind us. There’s no use trying to change things when you decide a Freestyle is good and you know the music and the choreography inside and out; you just have to make certain that you ride with no mistakes and to the very best of your ability and focus simply on that, not worrying about anyone else.
Mary took part in Steffen Peters’ masterclass at the Victorian Dressage Festival. Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
IVAN THE GREAT PERFORMER
“I did watch Don Vito MH, and it was a beautiful Freestyle. It inspired me to be even better. I was elated at that win, and it makes me proud to think of the achievement. It was a very, very strong final and what a great horse Ivan is. He is so reliable, rideable and a performer, he loves it and rose to the occasion. I can’t really explain the connection. It’s trust, it’s confidence, it’s consistency, it’s belief, it’s competence… and it’s about surrounding yourself with good people who are able to make you feel important (of great significance and importance). It is all these things. I can only say it’s a feeling from within. To have a Grand Prix horse as Ivan and many before him, that you work with on a day-to-day basis and that you truly appreciate and understand, is something that can only be understood by myself and my horses. People may think that a bit strange, and I accept that, but it’s a very special connection and that’s all I can say!”
There was no question that it wasn’t a lay down misère to win the Pacific League Final. It was a top competition and I’m sure for Mary to have such a good percentage of 76.560% and in such a good, competitive field it must be a great step forward to go to the World Cup final feeling confident about performing under such pressure and coming out on top.
With Mary being a very keen coach, she attributes her continued improvement of course to Patrik Kittel, her trainer who spends many hours on video calls coaching Mary at all weird hours from his home with wife Lyndal Oatley in Germany. Mary also attributes a lot of her improvement to her realisation of her weak points by watching videos that she has done almost every day of self-analysis of her riding and training. She is so self-critical, being a very good coach, and can look through unbiased eyes at her performances and riding and be brutally honest about herself as if she was commenting on a student.
If Mary has a poor performance, she immediately goes to her video reference. She has every test videoed. She watches until she understands where all those marks came from or where she lost marks, and she just simply gets on the next day making certain that those mistakes will not happen again. It’s a slow and steady process but all you have to do in your mind is make sure you get better and don’t give the judges a chance to take any marks off.
Mary and Ivanhoe at EQUITANA last year, where they won the CDI-W Grand Prix. Image by One Eyed Frog Photography.
Leading up to the Paris Olympics last year, Ivanhoe was not in the greatest of health and had some immune system problems and skin irritation. It was a difficult time working with a horse and a timeframe when he wasn’t in top fitness and a healthy state. Mary worked with many therapists and plenty of natural therapy and acupuncture and TLC got Ivan through, and by the time the Olympics came he was in top condition, but he didn’t have a great start to that campaign. Nevertheless, they were still the travelling reserves for the Australian team – meaning Mary attended a seventh Olympic Games, although did not compete.
Since returning to Australia, Ivan went into quarantine with Fauntleroy, a new purchase of Mary’s. She says they buddied up and are the best of friends and they couldn’t be happier and healthier together now in Australia. Ivanhoe simply thrives on the Australian conditions.
THREE HORSES AT HOME
At the stables at she and Rob’s beautiful new property, Mary is riding three horses a day: Ivanhoe, Fauntleroy, and Elite Del Jerema.
Fauntleroy (by Blue Hors Farrell) was bought in Europe and was training at Medium. This horse reminded Mary of her beautiful horse Sancette, who went to the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 World Equestrian Games in France.
Mary and Sancette competing at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.
Fauntleroy is a real worker with plenty of energy and gives Mary a great ride. With good care and attention to his health and wellbeing, he is really settling into the contact super well now. He’s not one that likes a lot of noseband pressure, and this is an interesting point where he is way more comfortable in the mouth with a looser noseband. Recently at Boneo Park this combination won both the medium tests with great percentages.
The third horse is an Andalusian stallion that Mary absolutely adores. She finds training of the Andalusian – in comparison to the Warmbloods and her history with the Thoroughbreds back in the beginning – very interesting. As always, she says she loves the training and the different types of horses and their different attitudes and their abilities to make different movements is always of great use to her riding techniques. And her approaches to training. It’s not one size fits all. Her Andalusian’s stable name is ‘Jeremy’, but his fancy name is Elite Del Jerema. Mary has great aspirations for Jeremy to become a Grand Prix dressage stallion and is excited by his enthusiasm to do it as well.
Through her sister’s interest, Mary has developed an interest in and an aspiration to do working equitation. The diversity and the requirements of this equestrian sport is not only masterful but also athletic and artistic, she believes. It’s another form of true harmony and belief between horse and rider, and when you see it done it’s quite amazing, she says.
“I’m so interested, I’m thinking that I’ll get to doing it myself, it’s so fascinating,” says Mary. “And I think for dressage horses the diversity of training is fantastic; and also to be able to jump a small jump also makes a horse’s work more enjoyable, not to mention for the rider. It also makes a rider realise the control and confidence they have created in their schooling to then be able to let loose a little and realise the ease of control, faith and trust.”
Mary and Calanta. Image by Stephen Mowbray.
“For dressage horses
the diversity of training
is fantastic…”
Mary has had nearly 30 Grand Prix horses that she’s competed on. One of her all-time favourites was Calanta with whom she competed at the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics; if she could start again with a horse, it would be with her.
THE COMPLETE PACKAGE
On asking Mary what makes a successful horse and rider combination, she rattles off: “Stable mind – horse and rider – sound limbs and good feet and farriering, good trainability, a horse that wants to help you, a horse that rises to the occasion, a trainable horse and one that really wants to be on your side and help out when the going gets tough, a horse that is your soul mate – one that is strong constitutionally and is gutsy.
“I have been blessed with so many horses that fill all these criteria,” she says, “and I have to say, bless Ivan for our bond, as it is more than words nor photos can express. We are a team, along with Rob, family, grooms, farriers, vets, trainers, physios and the list goes on. I love every aspect of training a horse to international level and believe me I will endeavour with my every ounce of energy to continue till the end of my time… and that’s not soon!
“Be humble, train better, never think you know it all. Always seek to ride better – and that’s every day. You must be open-minded to all different trainers and training methods and pick up the good bits that suit you. No matter who rides or who coaches, there’s always something you can take away and be useful.”
On asking Mary how she stays fit and so athletic with such a great posture, she laughs. “You should see me off the horse. It’s not the prettiest sight! Unfortunately, I have some vertigo and some balance problems. By the same token, when I get on a horse I’m totally at home and at ease. I am not sure what kicks in, but it is fabulous. My arthritic pain goes away. I don’t think about any of the sickness problems that I have that interfere with me during the day; it’s like a whole new life. As soon as I get on my balance and all the problems disappear.
“I also do some yoga and Pilates, and a look at my posture when I’m riding and make sure that I do plenty of core stability work. I am sure it all helps. I am not fanatical about anything really in regards to fitness and the like but I am fanatical about the love and attention I have with my horses. As I said, they are what gets me up in the morning. They are my motivators. I consider myself very lucky to be able to do all that I do, and I never look back other than the last ride and how to make it better!”
Mary Hanna is an inspiration to all riders. Driven and single-minded, competitive and ambitious – she is never going to stop training or bettering herself. Mary has to be one of the greatest, most inspiring equestrian people the world over with her self-belief and self-motivation to stay at the top of her sport. What a woman. What an athlete. What an Australian icon in the sport of dressage and what a leader.
Mary, one has to take their hat off to you. Your success is beyond one’s imagination. A woman of grit, ruthlessness and determination. Make way! Mary Hanna is coming through! And don’t think you will get in her way. What a successful life and career – and there’s more to come. Just ask Mary! EQ
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Mary Hanna has an intriguing recent post on Facebook that she has called “Reflecting on the 2024 Paris Olympics”. I think this is a fascinating insight into the future by one of Australia’s most seasoned Olympians, certainly our most experienced dressage Olympian ever!
Back home with two new horses, Mary Hanna is excited as always to begin the journey yet again towards Grand Prix with two new horses.