Kelly Ffrost riding off the track Thoroughbred Lord Hemingway. Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
Para dressage rider Kelly Ffrost is no stranger to setbacks, but that hasn’t stopped her from achieving impressive results at international level. Most recently, she’s enjoyed a competitive partnership with a special off-the-track horse.
Kelly Ffrost competing with off the track Thoroughbred Lord Hemingway. Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
When Kelly Ffrost was 15 years old, she was seriously injured in a head-on car collision – however, it was complications arising from a medical condition in 2016 that would change her life forever. After an aneurysm was discovered near her heart, a stent was put in; this later blocked and cut off all blood supply to her waist, causing a major heart attack and a heart condition. It also resulted in Kelly becoming a T10 incomplete paraplegic.
Having grown up around horses, Kelly was always determined to ride again. It wasn’t long before she connected with Julia Battams at Equine Pathways Australia and quickly immersed herself in the world of para dressage. In recent years, she has competed at Grade 3 Grand Prix level and was part of the selection pool for both the 2022 FEI World Championships and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Kelly’s journey to the elite end of the sport hasn’t been without its own setbacks. “Following my World Championship selection campaign in 2022 aboard Arabella Grace Carbines’ Highfield Luda Dijon, I then broke my femur in a riding accident at the end of the year. I was off for seven months with that injury,” explains Kelly.
It was far from the ideal start to campaigning for the Paris Paralympics, but that wasn’t going to stop Kelly from giving it her all. Riding Lucy Coates’ Karabil Park Janz, Kelly was long-listed for Paris before breaking her tibia at the Victoria Dressage Festival in 2023. “I didn’t get back to riding until August 2024, as the doctors just weren’t happy with how it was healing; it was taking its time to heal because I don’t weight-bear. So I missed all the key Paris qualifiers, which was a bit disappointing… we had the FEI minimum eligibility scores from 2023, but I needed Equestrian Australia selection scores in the immediate lead up to the Games.”
LORD HEMINGWAY STEPS UP
Lord Hemmingway, by Americain out of Lady Rum Dum, raced as Lord Rum and had 17 starts for one win in a 1950m Maiden Plate at Yarra Valley. With no serious talent on the track, he finished racing in November 2019 – after which a new career beckoned.
With Karabil Park Janz retiring, Kelly was on the lookout for another to ride when Lord Hemingway came along. Previously, he’d competed in off-the-track classes at Preliminary level and also had a two-star eventing start.
Kelly’s daughter is one of Darcy’s biggest fans! Image by Kate Sheffield Photography.
“He’s 17.1 hands but
quite a laidback horse,
he’s very, very cuddly.”
“I received Lord Hemingway on lease from Emma Shannon, who I’d bought a horse from previously,” explains Kelly of how the partnership came about. “Emma was having time off with children, so ‘Darcy’ was out of work and sitting in the paddock… and I needed a horse to ride. So, he came over and we chucked someone on him, and they put in some work with him. And then I jumped on!
“He tried his hardest to understand what I was asking of him, which was really good. He can be pretty lazy, but I think that’s great; it’s better him being a bit lazy than fiery and hot! He is really sensible; he doesn’t spook. You want that sensibility in a para horse, and ‘Darcy’ has really taken the cake for that, which is really good.”
Although they have only been together six months, Kelly and Darcy have already tackled the Grade 3 Grand Prix tests at a Boneo Park event and then the Victorian Dressage Festival in December where they were crowned the Grade 3 State Champions.
Personality-wise, Kelly says Darcy is simply a gentle giant: “He’s 17.1 hands but quite a laidback horse, he’s very, very cuddly… my daughter comes along to competitions with me and she’s in love with him, she walks him everywhere!
In addition to partnering with Kelly, Darcy has also been used at two Equine Pathways Australia clinics for a Grade 4 and a Grade 5 rider in recent times. “He’s pretty versatile and easy to ride; he’s very soft and he doesn’t do anything silly. That’s what you want, especially for riders with less experience.”
With Emma’s two children now old enough for her to pick up the reins again, Darcy’s following chapter will see him reunited with his owner for the next stage of her riding journey. The story of this wonderful horse’s post-racing career is far from over, and he’ll no doubt put many more smiles on faces in the years to come. EQ
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