A PASSION FOR eventing

There hasn’t been a time in Alena’s life when horses haven’t been involved. Her cousins were avid riders in their youths, and she did everything she could to spend as much time as possible on their Hunua farm with the horses. At three-years-old Alena got her first pony, Smudge, and from that point on, she was well and truly hooked. “My Aunty and cousins were the ones who originally got me into horses, although Mum did ride when she was younger, so she was always super supportive of the idea. Unfortunately, my first pony, Smudge, passed away a year or so after I got him, so I joined the local riding school so Mum and Dad could check it wasn’t just a phase. Unfortunately for them, it definitely wasn’t,” she laughs. “I begged and begged for a pony of my own, so for my fifth birthday, Mum and Dad purchased Nickleby from the riding school. He was a super-cute, albeit very naughty, 11.1hh grey Welsh pony. If anything, he taught me how to fall off - it happened most days for a fair while!”

As she was quite a small child, Alena’s mum Jacquie thought it would be a good idea for her to develop her riding skills in the dressage arena before being let loose on the cross-country with her cousins. Her first competitive mount was Little Miss Squirt, a fiery skewbald mare who Alena trained through to placing in the Level One Pony of the Year. Next came the first purchase from Mihi Shepherd, the outstanding little chestnut Ngahere Romeo who won the Level Two Pony of the Year with Alena. The final pony for her dressage career was Kozee, another purchase from Mihi and the winner of the 2016 Dressage Pony of the Year for Alena.

“I literally only started growing in my late teens,” Alena laughs. “I was such a small kid on a big pony when I was younger that Mum wanted to make sure I had an excellent skillset before I was let loose in a big paddock, let alone out on a

MY AUNTY AND COUSINS WERE THE ONES WHO ORIGINALLY GOT ME INTO HORSES, ALTHOUGH MUM DID RIDE WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER, SO SHE WAS ALWAYS SUPER SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA.

Right cross-country! Of course, I was so desperate to be out on a crosscountry course with my cousins at the time. Still, in the end, the slight detour was worth it, as it helped immensely to develop my foundations on the flat from such a young age. I feel very fortunate to have had Jeanette Benzie as my dressage coach in the early years; she kickstarted my riding career.”

Below - ONLY THE BRAVE happy in his stable.

“I WAS SUCH A SMALL KID ON A BIG PONY WHEN I WAS YOUNGER THAT MUM WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD AN EXCELLENT SKILLSET BEFORE I WAS LET LOOSE IN A BIG PADDOCK, LET ALONE OUT ON A CROSS-COUNTRY !

“After a few years of successful straight dressage campaigns, which included two Horse of the Year titles, two Young Rider titles and representing New Zealand at the World FEI Dressage challenge, I began playing with some eventing, and after selling my last dressage horse Astek Ginsling (Kinnordy Gymbello/Flying Pegasus) in 2017, I made a move to full-time eventing. It was always a running joke at the time to see if I would ride in tails first in dressage or eventing. It turns out it was eventing that made the cut!”

Alena’s eventing career truly began with the dressagebred Donner XS, a 15hh gelding by Donnerwind V out of Belmont Ballerina (Gruenhorn du Trichon), bred by Jody Hartstone. At eight years old, Squirt was a pretty late starter to eventing. Still, what he lacked in size and experience, he made up for in heart, flying up the levels from Pre-Training to 2* in only his first two seasons. “Squirt taught me such a massive amount in our seven years together; he was the first horse I ever produced in eventing, and I was lucky enough to take him right through to 3* level. I learned a lot about developing an event horse from scratch. He was also crucial in how I learned to get horses ready for long-format events - with those short little legs, he had to be super fit to make it around the track within the time! Together we were fourth in the 3* at Horse of the Year in 2019 and won the Puhinui Three-Day 3* Young Rider title in the same year. This led to being named on the ESNZ Talent ID Squad in 2020, which has been so great in helping me advance as a rider and build solid foundations for future development.

“Unfortunately, all good things must end, and at the start of 2022, I retired Squirt from upper-level eventing. It was heartbreaking because I had a huge goal to aim for the Young Rider Trans-Tasman team in 2021; however, COVID-19 cancelled the competition, and 2022 wasn’t the year for us. He found a wonderful new home now, which has allowed me to refocus on my other horses coming through and, at the time, opened up an opportunity to add another horse to the team. I’m very grateful for all he taught me.”

Based on a lovely 10-acre property in Runciman in South Auckland, Alena currently has a team of three horses.

The queen bee of the team is Cassiana Xtreme, a nine-year-old 16.3hh bay mare by Cassiano and out of Cheleken Heidi (Ramirez/Aberlou), who is currently competing at 3* level.

Alena is clearly a rider who can get on well with mares, and her second teammate is Charlton Elite, another nine-year-old mare. She is by Eurosport Heartbreak and out of Double Delight and was bred by Nicoli Fife of Charlton Stud.

Rounding out Alena’s team is Only the Brave, a seven-yearold 15.1hh Thoroughbred gelding by Niagara and out of a Soviet Lad mare.

Alena has also been competing Nicoli Fife’s Charlton Halo, a six-year-old grey mare by Corofino II and out of Charlton Poi (TB Drums of Time), who finished the season by winning the Training class at Rotorua Horse Trial.

“Hazel (Cassiana Xtreme) had great success last year, winning the Rotorua 2*-S and the Taupo Three Day 2*-L. I love working with Hazel, she’s a very athletic type and ticks lots of boxes, so I’m looking forward to continuing to progress her through the grades. Hazel was purchased from Xtreme sport horses in February 2021 as a seven-year-old; she had done a bit of show jumping, including success in the Takapoto five-year-old style classes. She has taken to eventing quickly but is definitely the yard princess - she 100% knows it too!

“Elite is my fun horse that I can do anything with. She has evented up to Pre-Novice successfully, but loves to show jump.

IT WAS ALWAYS A RUNNING JOKE AT THE TIME TO SEE IF I WOULD RIDE IN TAILS FIRST IN DRESSAGE OR EVENTING . IT TURNS OUT IT WAS EVENTING THAT MADE THE CUT! ”

Currently, we’re show jumping at 1.25m, and I’m looking forward to getting out to some more shows in the spring and going around some 1.30m tracks and Pro-Ams.

BG (Only the Brave) is the world’s cheekiest horse. He’s currently competing at Training/ Pre Novice and has had a few great runs and a few blips along the way too! In April, he won the Training at Matamata in the Thoroughbred class. Then he went straight on to Kihikihi, where he won the 105 Vosper Law Show Down at his first Pre-Novice start. We then headed to the Taupo Three-Day, where he decided the first jump on the cross-country was the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen!

“I’m looking forward to continuing to produce him up the levels, though. For all his quirks, he’s super talented, and I love riding him.”

Alena is now eyeing up spending winter in Europe to continue building on the skills her coaches have taught her by training with and learning from some of the best of the best. She completed a four-year university degree in December, graduating with a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation through the Auckland University of Technology, and is now working full-time in the equine industry.

“This winter, I’m heading off to England to do a stint working and experiencing life in international eventing yards. The plan is to start at Bundy Philpott’s for four to five weeks and then have a few short stays at some other Kiwi yards and potentially some British yards, too. To save up for the big trip, I’ve been working at Cyprus Point Racing Stable in Karaka in the mornings, which I’ve been enjoying, plus riding for William Willis at Matawhio Sport Horses.

“Working in the industry is a great way to keep my skillset up, which is complemented by having help from some seriously awesome coaches. I’ve worked with Andrea Raves since I was a kid in dressage, and she’s been a great asset in moving Hazel’s dressage to a higher quality. Nicoli Fife is also a massive influence; I was very fortunate to base with her for three and a half months, from November 2021 to February 2022, when Auckland was in lockdown. Nicoli has been a great mentor to me, has a wealth of knowledge as a dressage coach and judge, and is a successful upper-level event rider and breeder. Lizzie Green has been my go-to for everything jumping since she returned to New Zealand in 2017. I’ve also been very fortunate to have the help of Jeff McVean, Penny Castle and Blyth Tait, thanks to being part of the ESNZ Eventing Squads. I must admit, though, even with such an amazing team around me, my mum is still the most influential person; she is my rock and has been with me through every high and low of our crazy sport. She’s always the first person I call and has been my biggest supporter throughout my whole riding career; plus, when I see a big jump out on cross-country, she’s always the first to roll her eyes at me and tells me to walk it a couple of times until it gets smaller and to not to be such a wimp!” C

I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO PRODUCE HIM UP THE LEVELS, THOUGH. FOR ALL HIS QUIRKS, HE’S SUPER TALENTED, AND I LOVE RIDING HIM.