ROCKING HORSES

FEATURE

Go Rocking Rocky

There’s an art to making a great rocking horse, and a story behind each one, JANE CAMENS discovers.

You can understand why a farrier might fall in love with a rocking horse. At last, they might think, a horse guaranteed not to give them any trouble.

That’s what happened when Deb and David Sainsbury’s farrier came to their property in Benaraby, near Gladstone in Queensland. The Sainsburys had recently finished making a rocking horse for their grandson, an undertaking that involved spending time outside Sydney doing a course with master craftsman and renowned rocking horse carver, Chris Woolcock. Their farrier, who had come to trim their mini pony, spotted the rocking horse and immediately asked if he could order one – and that was the start of Round Yard Rocking Horses.

Rocking horses bring adults back to memories of childhood and build memories in children that can last a lifetime. Deb and David reckon that they are among perhaps 50 rocking horse makers in Australia. Like all good makers, their beautiful horses stand out because of the unique touches they give them. They’ve had customers come with photographs of a real horse and ask for a rocking horse that looks ‘like that’. The Sainsburys can fit either an English style or Western style saddle and they even have one special appaloosa palomino fitted out with a bling western saddle,

‘ ‘ Like all good rocking horse makers, their beautiful horses stand out because of the unique touches they give them.

with silver engraved accents.

I like the sound of their one-off Standard rocking horse, which holds up to 95 kilos. Says Deb: “Even adults like to ride him!” Each horse takes between four and six weeks to make, Deb says, explaining that David still works in construction in the mining industry and she has her hands full much of the time looking after their grandson, Kash.

“Kash is going to be our apprentice,” she says. “He loves being in the shed when we’re making the horses.”

Every year the Sainsburys take their horses to the Paradise Lagoons Campdraft near Rockhampton. They donate one of the horses to the raffle at the Ladies Lunch, which has helped spread the word about Round Yard Rocking Horses.

“We sell them right throughout Queensland and New South Wales and have even had enquiries from New Zealand,” Deb says. The rocking horses themselves cost between $1,300 to $1,990 - depending on the size, whether the wood is stained or fully painted, and how much bling is included on the saddle.

According to Deb, every rocking horse has a story. Take Stormy for instance, a Round Yard Rocking Horse you can meet at the South Rockhampton Library. He was made out of a 130-year-old Bunya Pine, brought down in the city’s botanic gardens in 2015 by Cyclone Marcia. Rocky is on permanent display and is a tribute to the heritage tree.

“It was a pleasure making this rocking horse and to gift it back to the Council and, as a friend has put it, ‘we put history back into the lives of the public again,’” Deb told the local newspaper. “He was made with love in the hope that children who ride him will create their own wonderful childhood memories to pass on.”

‘ ‘ He was made with love in the hope that children who ride him will create their own wonderful childhood memories to pass on.

The Italian Rocking Horse Museum

The rocking horse museum, Museo del Cavallo Giocattolo, near Lake Como, opened in 2000, a gorgeous, eccentric folly, not only the first rocking horse museum in the world but possibly the only one. With over 500 toy horses on display – some dating back to the early 18th century - what a fantasy adventure it is for children. There are no signs that requested us not to touch the horses. So my husband and I patted hundreds of them. We marvelled at the displays, which included music box horses, walkers, and stunning carousel horses. Ian posed with Roberto - ‘the world’s largest rocking horse’ - who greets visitors outside.

The museum was originally a stable that once housed a famed champion trotter called Tornese. The founder of the museum developed the area as part of a commercial zone for his children’s store, Chicco, but wanted to keep the stables to house a collection of remarkable steeds that would delight children and adults alike.

The museum declares proudly that adults walk in and, transformed by memories, walk out as children. Certainly for us, it was a joyous trip down Memory Lane.

- Jane Camens Examples of just a few of the 500 rocking horses of all sizes, shapes and ages at the Museo de Cavallo Giocattolo, near Lake Como, Italy.