dream MAKING THE A REALITY

When Phillip Steiner and Cassina Dior jumped on that plane and headed off to the FEI Longines World Cup Final in Omaha, USA, they took the hearts of New Zealanders with them. The journey was prolonged, with the mare spending 60-plus hours on planes in the month leading into the event, arriving in the US via Australia, Bangkok, Doha, and The Netherlands. But it was well worth it for the quietly spoken farmer, father, horseman and truckie from Tauranga.

According to our latest FEI Longines World Cup finalist, Phillip Steiner, it’s as simple as that. “You need so much patience, but if you have that, things will happen eventually,” he says. At 51, Phillip turned a long-held dream into reality when he became the first Kiwi in eight years to compete at the prestigious event. “It was a long time coming.”

Currently based in The Netherlands with Hillary Scott, the Olympic Games are firmly on Phillip’s bucket list, just above show jumping in Dublin and the main arena at Hickstead. But he cautions, “The Olympic Games are really only half a goal until we qualify!”

Phillip’s journey started on a dairy farm in Ōtorohanga, in the King Country. His family hunted together, and the three kids attended Te Awamutu

Pony Club, where Phillip rode alongside the Nicholson family. He had a good instructor back then in Alan Fergusson, who oversaw the budding young rider.

“Since we had a dairy farm, we could only do close-by stuff, which limited us a bit. I always thought the whole truck lifestyle - following the circuit and staying in trucks - looked exciting, but we had to go home each night.”

As a 10-year-old, his heroes were Sir Mark Todd and the Man from Snowy River.

Phillip’s first pony was Hiawatha – a coloured pony who was the best hunter you could come across. “He was the best six-bar jumper too, but would not leave the cross-country start box!”

The “naughty” pony came to him via Jacqui and Anne Symes. “I was probably only the size of

Left hand page and above right- Phillip and beautiful Dolly before leaving for the FEI Longines World Cup Final in Omaha, USA. Right - It’s really something to make the final of the FEI Longines World Cup and stand beside such a prestigious tophy!

(my daughter) Francie, so he was big to me. My stirrups didn’t reach past the bottom of the saddle flap, but I did everything I could with him.”

It was Hiawatha who gave Phillip his first taste of success, too, in the Pony Six-Bar at the Island Reserve in Ōtorohanga. That led to success at Pony Club Champs and later his first Young Rider victory aboard a borrowed mount. “It was at Claudelands, and I had an old green jacket and a red helmet. I look back now and smile.”

But he did beat the likes of multi-Olympian Bruce Goodin and Paula Mussen.

“It was my first-ever Young Rider start, and I guess that really was the beginning of things.”

Then Cyril Yearbury called Phillip and asked him to attend a training camp in Taupō. “I said ‘no,’ but Mum and Dad made me ring straight back and say I would go.”

He slept in a truck and at the camp, learnt from Harvey Wilson and Merran Hain. “It was fantastic.”

At the same time, he was also dabbling a bit in eventing, doing horse trials to Novice level and finishing on his dressage score for the Waikato team at Pony Club Champs. “It was a huge thing to even get into that team,” he remembers. “It was a great thing to have done.”

But it was show jumping that captivated him. “I love the competition, the technicality of the courses and the lifestylejust looking after the horses, their fitness and the bloodlines. I don’t get bored with any of it. Every horse is different, and when you go clear, it makes it much more special.”

He met David Goodin – father of Bruce – at a pivotal time in his life. “David shaped me as a rider and a young man. He taught me the mechanics of riding and grew me to be responsible. He taught me about pressure, honesty, owners and life skills in general.”

It came about in a simple but unusual way. “I was at Claudelands, and I saw Bruce and Sarah Milne go, and I thought, ‘That’s how I want to ride’. I talked to Mum, and she suggested lessons.”

But then, while they were at Pukekohe Show, Phillip’s mum mistakenly drove off on David’s little motorbike, which just happened to be identical to theirs. “I was so embarrassed. Well, she and David got talking, and he said I could help there through the winter if I wanted.”

That winter turned into a year, and by the end of it, Phillip says he could do flying changes, see a good distance and do so much he had only dreamt about.

Phillip then set his sights on his next step by writing a letter to Olympic Gold medallist Joe Fargis in the Hamptons. “He was pretty famous at that time. He wrote back and said I would be overworked, underpaid and wouldn’t get to ride.”

Phillip packed his suitcase and headed to the States on a horse flight alongside a groom called Marty.

In a strange twist, when Phillip started his trip with Dolly, Marty was still doing the same job with IRT.

Within 10 days of landing in the Hamptons, Phillip was riding. He spent the summer there, again soaking up as much as he could from the experts, and even got to ride Mill Pearl – the horse Joe won a team Silver on at the 1988 Olympic Games.

Phillip again sought the best he could when he headed to Europe, where he worked for Swiss champion and horse dealer Max Hauri, then Lesley McNaught, where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Steve Guerdat and Pius Schwizer.

In recent years Phillip has been influenced by double Olympic Silver medallist Greg Best, who has been there for phone calls and training. “Until I made the ESNZ High Performance squad, I hadn’t had a proper lesson for five or six years. Over the past year, the High Performance training system has been really good and provided the push to help me get to Australia, which definitely set me up with contacts over here in Europe.”

He feels his trip to Australia last winter was key in preparing for the European campaign. While there, he reconnected with fellow HP squad member Josh Collins who, as a 10-year-old, had helped Phillip and his wife Sally out when they were based at Mount View Sport Horses.

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“I gave him his first breeches, and now the tables have turned.”

Phillip based with Josh in Australia, and while he has been away, Josh has been a regular contact. “It’s funny how the world goes round. If you are honest and go around trying to do a good job, it usually works out for you if you are patient.”

Patience is a word Phillip uses a lot. “You need it! There were times I would be riding on rainy days at home, traipsing through mud and just looking up at the sky thinking ‘what the hell’.”

In a sad twist, Sally had lost her World Cup star Well Wisher on the same day before Phillip and Dolly flew out of New Zealand. Phillip remembers that when she won the series, they were sharing bubbles on the truck ramp when Maurice Beatson raced over to say she had to go to the final. She didn’t. Phillip wonders if that’s why he made the call to go.

“You never know what is around the corner.”

as he heads towards hopefully making the New Zealand team to qualify the nation for the Paris Olympic Games is straightforward. “I don’t like to be in the arena every day,” he says. “I like to work Dolly in the paddock. Luckily here we have a 20-acre paddock to ride in – that’s pretty special in The Netherlands where I am based with Hillary Scott – and we have nearby woods.”

UNTIL I MADE THE ESNZ HIGH PERFORMANCE SQUAD, I HADN’T HAD A PROPER LESSON FOR FIVE OR SIX YEARS. OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE HIGH PERFORMANCE TRAINING SYSTEM HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD AND PROVIDED THE PUSH TO HELP ME GET TO AUSTRALIA, WHICH DEFINITELY SET ME UP WITH CONTACTS OVER HERE IN EUROPE.

He draws inspiration from top showjumper Thomas Fuchs who says training is not about drilling a horse every single day but rather should include a mixture of fast work, slower, arena, paddock and more.

“Sally and I do a lot of training over little bounce and cavaletti-type jumps. We don’t overjump them.” uses the iPad to record everyone’s rounds.

He dares not think about how much the campaign has cost, aside from saying that just getting Dolly to Europe was a tad over $50,000. Add to that all sorts of invoices for blood tests and vet visits for health checks, and the numbers start to climb.

He’d like to see the New Zealand World Cup Series finish in December at the Christmas Classic to give combinations a better chance to prepare and head offshore earlier.

Talent with horses runs in the Steiner family. Phillip’s sister Margaret is mum to Anneke van Rooyen, while his other sister Anne is mother to Deanna Horsburgh – both young women are making their own marks in the world of show jumping.

Phillip and Sally’s children have all shown they’ve got the gene too, with James now winning at Pony Grand Prix level and moving up to Junior Rider level.

Oliver is an

“He has two really good mounts and an opportunity to grow. He can ride them both so well and just seems to know how to walk his courses.”

Phillip figures that’s table talk – kids grow up listening to all that’s talked about around the kitchen table. Photography also used to be a passion for James, but he now juggles his riding with DJ-ing.

Phillip says that daughter Francie would have four ponies if she could. Her whole season is geared around the Answer Back Cup and her starry Little Bonnie.

Oliver prefers a different type of horsepower but is also a very accomplished pianist and very talented rugby player.

It’s a real family affair at shows where Oliver uses the iPad to record everyone’s rounds.

The family also has a few nice youngsters coming through at home.

While Phillip is away, the family trucking business continues under the watchful eye of his 2IC Marcus Rose, and the pair talk daily. They have two trucks going between cool stores and the port for eight

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The World Cup final was a huge eye-opener for Phillip in many ways. His classy mare Cassina Dior, bred by Pip McCarroll, caught the eyes of many, and he admits to turning down some rather big numbers. “You can’t buy a dream,” he explains. “If I sold her for a whole lot of money and went home, life would still be the same. I don’t know what will happen in the end – maybe Paris if we can qualify - but for now, I am really happy to keep her and see where we go.” C