20 Questions with Dan James

PERFECT PARTNERS

Gillian Rolton and Peppermint Grove

Described as one of the most wonderful horses to represent Australia, N. G. QUINLAN recounts the story of Gillian Rolton and her beloved partner, Peppermint Grove.

The horse’s hooves skidded and the rider hit the ground hard. Grimacing, she swung herself back up into the saddle and continued riding, knowing that the judges would have no mercy. The next jump was coming up, but her left arm did not seem to work and once again the experienced rider found herself unseated, this time tumbling headlong into water. She remounted the horse a second time and kept on going, little knowing that she had broken her collarbone and several ribs. Fifteen agonizing jumps and three kilometers later, she was in an ambulance and on her way to hospital.

The rider’s name was Gillian Rolton and the horse she was riding was Peppermint Grove. On that day in Atlanta in the summer of 1996, during the games of the XXVI Olympiad, Gillian gave one of the gutsiest performances ever witnessed. Her perseverance helped net her second Olympic team gold medal, both of which were won in partnership with the talented Peppermint Grove.

Gillian Rolton (née England) was born in 1956 – also an Olympic year – in Adelaide, South Australia. Her family was not horsey in the least, and Gillian grew up as a ‘surfie chick’ rather than a farm girl. In her 2003 autobiography Free Rein, she wrote, “Mum and Dad didn’t have any background with horses, apart from what they bet on at the horse track.” But before her age reached double digits, her obsession had taken root and she spent her days thinking about horses and how she could get one of her own.

Gillian’s parents presented her with her first horse, named Randy the Rig, when she was just ten years old. After riding competitively at a local level, Gillian realised that she enjoyed coaching others in the art of horse riding and so decided to become a riding instructor. It was a decision that would take her across the world to Edmonton, Canada, and then much

later, all the way to the Olympic Games.

Back in her hometown, she rode in the 1978 Royal Adelaide Show and won the title of Champion Lady Rider. By 1983 she was riding in international competitions and, in that same year, tried out for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She did not qualify because her horse, Saville Row, was injured. Gillian also missed out four years later, during trials for the 1988 Seoul Games because of a dislocated elbow.

After marrying fellow rider Greg Rolton in 1985, Gillian decided to buy him a horse. She purchased one for $2,000 and named him Peppermint Grove, after the beautiful riverside suburb in Western Australia. A four-year-old and only recently broken in, as Gillian rode him over a series of jumps she realised that he was a very special horse and decided to keep him and train him up herself. Husband Greg would just have to find his own horse, because Peppermint Grove showed too much talent to let him go!

After winning the 1988 Australian Championships, Gillian retired her competition horse – a bay gelding named Benton’s Way – and began competing with Peppermint Grove. Then in 1991, with finances becoming increasingly tight, it looked as though the horse would have to be sold overseas - until well-known showjumper owners Faye and Mick Craig intervened and bought a part share. Once again, Gillian kept the ride. In 1992 she beat every male rider in the selection trials, made the Olympic team and set off for Barcelona to become the first female Australian to win a medal in an equestrian event.

Gillian fell in love with Peppermint Grove, whom she nicknamed Freddie. She once affectionately referred to him as “a big, boof-headed grey horse with an ugly scar”, yet the talented gelding carried her through two Olympics and helped set her name in stone as one of the greatest and most respected equestrians in Australia’s history. Australian Olympic team vet, Dennis Goulding, described Freddie as one of the most wonderful horses to represent Australia, making special mention of his immense ability, and brave temperament. He also commended Gillian for keeping the horse sound through two gruelling Olympic Games.

Besides the pair’s unforgettable Olympic gold wins, they enjoyed many other show jumping victories, as well as dressage wins both here in Australia, in the UK and the US.

Peppermint Grove passed away in August 2006 at the age of 27. His legacy lives on in the equestrian world in the form of an annual trophy called the Peppermint Grove award, given to the best eventing horse of the year as chosen by the Australian eventing selectors. Gillian Rolton outlived Freddy by eleven years, sadly passing away from cancer in 2017. In that same year, Peppermint Grove was recognised in the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame.

Although retired from competition for some years, Gillian was well respected as a judge of equestrian events, having served on the Grand Jury at the London Olympics in 2012 and also as President of the Grand Jury at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. In January 2018, just two months after her death, Gillian Rolton was made a Member of the Order of Australia for “significant service to horse sports”.

The affection that Gillian and Freddie shared was easy to see.

FACING PAGE: Gillian and her beloved Freddie relax at home. (Images courtesy Equestrian Australia.)

20 QUESTIONS

20 Questions with Dan James

One half of the Double Dan Horsemanship team, Dan James consistently wows judges, fans, and audiences alike with his incredible training techniques, elite showmanship, and unique understanding of the way horses learn.

Q: How old were you when

you started riding?

A: Six years of age, but it took another year or two before I conned the parents into getting a pony.

Q: Has fatherhood affected

your morning routine?

A: I had no idea how much time I had prior to having a family! You can make a plan to be up and doing things in the morning, then the kids keep you up all night and the morning can look very, very different!

Q: Who were your mentors in

the early days?

A: Heath Harris for liberty and stunt work, and Krissy Harris for showjumping and stunt work were my mentors and still are, plus Jan and Les Young, and Corey Keable, now Vice Chair of Equestrian Queensland and a Level 2 eventing coach.

Q: Who do you go to now for advice? A: Lots of people. Dan Steers (the other half of the Double Dans) would be high on the list, Chris Cox, Josh Lyons, Brandon Brandt and Elizabeth my wife, just to name a few.

Q: What’s something you

believe all riders need to think working with their horses?

A: Really KNOWING your horse.

Q: When you’re not riding,

how do you relax?

A: There’s not much down time. Between juggling the family, the farm and the business, if I can catch a movie once the kids are in bed it’s great!

Q: What were some of the highlights

of working up in the Kimberley on Liveringa, a 265,000 hectare station?

A: The lifestyle was great. The friendships you form with people while catching bulls, flying helicopters and going to the Kimberley rodeos are second to none. The Kimberley itself is an experience I’d highly recommend to anyone.

Q: Where did you meet Elizabeth? A: My wife worked for the University of Kentucky and was finishing her PhD in the equine division. She came out to check on her interns, who were working for me, and things went from there. I don’t think my family expected me to move to the US. Neither did I until one day I realised I have an American wife, two kids, and a farm in Kentucky, so it’s pretty safe to say I have settled in.

Q: What was more nerve wracking,

competing at WEG, getting married or performing in front of massive crowds, at the Sydney Royal for example?

A: Definitely getting married.

Q: What past horse of yours would you

most like to ride again?

A: My dad had an old Stock Horse mare that was just amazing to have around and would be so useful for the kids now.

Q: Name a horse or horses you’ve

always wanted to ride?

A: Matt Ryan’s Kibah Tic Toc, who delivered two Olympic gold medals in eventing, and Merlin, the bull fighting horse.

Q: You’ve ridden at WEG, what’s next

for your long-term riding goals?

A: Just getting to WEG was such a big bucket list item it would be hard to top. Certainly if the opportunity presents itself to go to another WEG I would love to go back and put a better score on the board.

Q: If you had to switch disciplines,

what would you choose?

A: Definitely back to eventing or polo.

Q: Is there anything different

you’ve been working on during the COVID-19 drama?

A: I would say the International Liberty Horse Association has gained a lot of traction. Elizabeth had always planned to run virtual shows. With COVID-19 it’s taken off faster than we can keep up with – we’re

MAIN: Dan and Don Magnum demonstrate a perfect sliding stop (Image by Josie Perrett).

FACING PAGE: Dan with his Liberty Team - from left to right: Spider Pig, Amelia, Apollo and Swampy (Image by Josie Perrett).

BELOW: Dan and Elizabeth with daughter Isabella and son Jesse (Image courtesy Dan James).

up to five virtual shows so far.

Q: What was the catalyst for you and

Dan Steers to start working together?

A: I’m a big believer in that success is helped by having good people around you. When I met Steers, his character and his horsemanship stood out. There were more advantages to doing something together than not, because we had a common goal.

Q: Are there any projects in the works

for your Kentucky farm?

A: They never end. When COVID hit there were more projects than money. One of the main ones we’re looking at is starting our own Australiana show. There’s an old train line that runs to the farm from town, and the plan is to have people arrive on the train in a dinner theatre cart. From there they can watch a trick and liberty show in an outdoor amphitheatre setting. Steers and I have always wanted to have our own venue.

Q: What’s next for Double Dan

Horsemanship?

A: I’ve got a new stunt horse we bought right before COVID. He is a Lusitano sport horse who’s a pretty exciting project. My daughter named him after Applejack in the My Little Pony show. (Editor’s Note: Now we know who’s really in charge!)

Q: Do you have a go-to motto? A: Instead of when shit hits the fan start praying, start praying before the shit hits the fan!

Q: What’s the most number of horses

you’ve ridden in a day?

A: When I worked for Washpool Lodge, I would ride between 15 and 17 at the

track in the morning. Then we were breaking in Thoroughbreds all afternoon. Now with the Intro to Liberty clinics I work everyone’s horse for them. Last weekend there were 15 horses in the

clinic and I worked each one twice

daily while also coaching the owners.

Q: If you could change one thing

in your life what would it be?

A: To have more time.