In this issue
Moving to New Jersey in 2019 to work for Catherine Haddad Staller, Hope Beerling broke in a young grey mare that she has brought along to now be a chance for a start at the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses.
Watch the world’s best showjumpers, brush up on your riding skills and enjoy a memorable encounter with a champion Arabian at Qatar’s fabulous five-start equine resort, Al Shaqab in Doha.
The Virtus Global Games team got their ticket to France, Aussie eventers are vying for an Olympic slot in Ireland, and the Australian flag flies high in the German dressage arena; it’s all happening overseas this month. Back home, the Olympic and Paralympic selectors have been named.
You don’t have to leave Australia to become a better rider – but if you get the opportunity then grab it by the reins! That’s the conclusion of three young riders we meet in this month’s magazine as they all make their mark overseas.
Taking a horse from grassroots to elite level is a long yet familiar journey for Rohan Luxmoore. The veterinarian did it with a homebred named Bells N Whistles – and now he’s stepping up the grades again with his latest prodigy, LH Valentino.
Training with the great Isabell Werth in Germany, Australian expat Will Matthew has two horses at Grand Prix level – one of which he hopes could make the Australian team for the Paris Olympics.
The Comiskey clan were out in force at the 2023 Ringers Western Gold Buckle Campdraft Championship at Willinga Park, with the legendary Pete Comiskey leading the charge.
Roger Fitzhardinge believed he had given up riding for good until he crossed paths with the four-year-old gelding Bloomfield Vision. He’s now picking up the reins again to see where the journey takes him.
Molly Lines was just 13 and hadn’t competed beyond EvA80 level when she first began riding six-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred Tadpole. Six years later and the pair recently won their first start at four-star level.
Much like the extreme discomfort humans suffer when choking, it is equally distressing when a horse chokes – and the treatment is much more involved than judicious thumps between the shoulder blades, says Dr Maxine Brain.
When you have a problem in the training, it is not the horse trying to make you mad, says Kerry Mack as she runs through the underlying general principles to help you refresh your approach.
The 1985 cult film Ladyhawke wasn’t instrumental in putting bums on seats, but it helped put bums into saddles and popularised the then little-known Dutch Friesian breed.
From Queensland racetracks to the American equestrian mecca of Kentucky, Dunedin Black Watch – or ‘Nelson’ – constantly reminds Hayley Frielick why she loves off-the-track Thoroughbreds.