HubVibes June 2018

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NEWS & VIEWS FROM EQUESTRIAN HUB

JUNE 2018

Hub Hero

VICKI ROYCROFT Shae Herwig's Amazing Journey

The Valenรงa Equestrian Academy

Penny's Place

How to Use a Drop Noseband Horoscopes

+ plenty more!

photos courtesy of:

Paula Markey Photography

WWW.EQUITANA.COM.AU

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

CANDIDLY SPEAKING

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HUB HERO VICKY ROYCROFT

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2018 ANDALUSIAN HORSE AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

ENDURANCE RIDING

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PENNY'S PLACE

SLOW FEED HAY NETS

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ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

CORRECTLY USING A DROP NOSEBAND

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RISING TO THEIR OWN BEAT

YOUR CLUB IN PROFILE

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PRODUCT REVIEW

ROUGHAGE IS KEY

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BREED SPOTLIGHT BASHKIR CURLY

SADDLE REVIEW

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YOUNG RIDER OF THE MONTH

STARS BY EPONA

Cover image: Shae Herwig on Barbie.

NEWS & VIEWS FROM EQUESTRIAN HUB HubVibes Editorial: candida@equestrianhub.com.au Advertising Enquiries: promote@equestrianhub.com.au The Saddle Hub Sales Enquiries: Fiona Todd: 0414 760 067 Graphic Design: info@reidcocreative.com.au Published by Equestrian Hub PO Box 13 • Tintenbar NSW 2478 Phone: 0414 760 067 • Email: info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au

Proud supporters of

Saddleworld Saddleworld

2018 BRISBANE CDI AND CARL HESTER MASTERCLASS

See Carl Saturday & Sunday

CDI

Photo Credit: The Horse Magazine

DRESSAGE QUEENSLAND

E QU E S TRI AN AUSTRALIA

E QU E S TRI AN

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QUEENSLAND

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18-22 July

Come along and be a part of this celebration of Dressage in Qld! Tickets: www.qsec.com.au/buy-tickets Event Enquiries: Leesa Murray - Event Director 0402 033 716 - leesa_murray@optusnet.com.au www.qld.equestrian.org.au/dressage/brisbane-cdi

Welcome to our June issue, in which we truly celebrate our female equestrians – in all forms.

Vicky Roycroft is our Hub Hero this month and she is nothing if not inspirational.

She talks to our editor Candida Baker about the tragic loss of her son Mark, the loss of an eye, her recent hip replacement – and how she still dreams of the next great horse.

Every month when I read the stories of our nation’s equestrian champions, I am reminded of what it takes to achieve anything great. You need a clear vision and belief in yourself and then perseverance, determination, focus and a commitment to do the work.

We all have goals and they all require the same effort and can seem equally insurmountable.

The personal icing on the cake, for me, is Shae Herwig’s journey with her beautiful Andy mare Diva. Those of you who have bought or sold saddles with us will know Shae as the queen of The Saddle Hub and we are all very proud of her achievements. the belief and dogged determination to strengthen the muscles that will improve her vision enough so that she can drive again and regain some independence. Dannii had a lovely interview with our Young Rider this month.

We had planned on bringing you the story of a male young rider this month but in every discipline we asked to supply us with a story, the women were at the top of the leaderboard, so we decided to go with the flow!

Jane recently had a wonderful sojourn in Portugal and has sent us a wonderful account of her time spent learning the basics of dressage at the Valença Equestrian

Calling all equestrian creatives writers!

HV is looking for editorial contributors.

Email me if you're interested: fiona@equestrianhub.com.au

Of course, there’s also much more - we have stories on feeding your horse in drought, nosebands, our sport (endurance) and our breed – the unique Bashkir Curly.

Pour yourself your favourite tipple and enjoy!

Fiona

P.S This month’s prize draw is a pair of Gel breeches from LP Equestrian wear.

See page 48.

Subscribe now to win!

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One of my friends was very ill recently and her vision was badly impacted resulting in her licence being cancelled.

I see the effort she is going through, the daily exercise,

Academy. Put this spot on your bucket list.

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Vicki Roycroft

STILL RIDING HIGH Vicki Roycroft is one of the most successful riders ever at World Cup Finals and is the only woman in the world to have competed in two equestrian disciplines at the Olympics - eventing and showjumping.

She talks to Candida Baker about a life lived in the spotlight, the highs – winning the Rome Grand Prix on Apache, for example, and the lows, the worst of which was the tragic death of her son at the age of 18.

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can remember the last time I spoke to Vicki Roycroft in person as if it was yesterday. She was competing at what was then the Elysian Fields Showjumping competition on the Gold Coast, and my son’s horse was stabled near hers.

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She told us that she was a bit concerned because she’d been having blurry vision for sometime, and that it wasn’t easy jumping the classes she was in with a “bung eye.”

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As it transpired the bung eye was both more and less serious than she’d imagined. “I’d been having flashes of light in my eye, as if a car was coming at me,” she recalls, “and when I was up at the Elysian competition I went to the Gold Coast hospital where they did a whole heap of tests and told me that I had fluid on my retina. I remember saying to them, ‘well, that’s good I thought I had a brain tumour’. But it kept on getting worse, so when I was back home I saw my doctor who referred me to a specialist, and within 15 minutes I had the diagnosis that I had a large melanoma at the back of my eye, and that I needed to have my eye taken out. It was a bit of a shock.”

That was in August 2007, and as luck would

have it – for Vicki at least – EI hit. “None of us could really do anything for 12 months,” she says, “so I was able to recuperate, and by the time I was out competing again I’d adjusted.”

In fact, she says, the experience of riding with one eye gave her a new appreciation for a horse’s ability to ‘read’ a jump. “Horses eyes are not really designed to look straight ahead,” she says, “they’re designed to look back and yet they can determine what’s a vertical or an oxer, what’s a triple combination, what’s a double. I also found, to my surprise, that when you lose an eye you don’t lose half your peripheral vision, which is what you’d think – you only lose around 30% because the other eye adjusts.”

By the time the restrictions of EI were over Vicki was well and truly back on top form, and for this rider, who has seen more than her fair share of tragedies and triumphs, life continued as normal.

Strangely though, for someone whose entire life has been based on horses and riding, she wasn’t that keen on it as a child. “I was born in Melbourne, and my mum was horsey,” she says, “and we moved to Sydney when I was seven. My brother and sister rode, but to be

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honest I used to kick and scream my way around the horse shows. It wasn’t until I was 13 or so that I go interested and then my siblings gave up as they got older whereas I just kept on going.”

A chance conversation between her mother and Tommy Smith resulted in the arrival of a thoroughbred, Harvest Time, who went on to become not only a champion hack but also an eventer and showjumper. “He was too slow to race,” she says, "but he was the most wonderful horse. He retired with us when he was 20.”

Surprisingly, given her stellar career which includes representing Australia in three Olympic Games and three World Championship Teams, as well as herself being Australian Champion in Three Day Eventing and in Showjmping, Vicki remarks wryly that despite competing at Sydney Royal, “I wasn’t a great junior rider. In fact most of my generation were pretty hopeless to be honest. I got lucky in my last junior year when I was riding Kevin Bacon’s Bindi – but that was the only time I won and I can tell you it was the pony, it wasn’t me.”

It concerns her that these days there is so much pressure put on younger riders. “The fact is in equestrian sports, in most disciplines, your best years are from your early 30’s through to your 50’s,” she says. “We should be building careers to last, not putting so much pressure on them at the start.”

And then of course, there was that horse – the 15.2hh Chestnut with heart and courage to burn. A racehorse so slow that after seven dismal starts the syndicate who owned him had no choice but to sell him for $250 to one of the owners, Tim Egan, who had seen Bold General jump thistle patches in his paddock, and thought he might have a bit of talent.

“It was 1982, if I remember correctly,” says Vicki, “and when Tim rang me about this little horse that he thought had talent but he was having a bit of trouble with, I remember I thought he’d done more with him than he had, so I put him straight at the jumps the more experienced horses had been jumping. He was a bit rough – he’d never jumped anything like those jumps before, but he was willing, and he had something.”

So Bold General was sold to Vicki for $500 and trucked off to Mt White to begin his new career with a new name – Apache. It wasn’t an auspicious start – the horse was small and skinny – and Wayne was not impressed. “I hid him in a paddock to fatten up,” she says, “but when I started to ride him he showed me straight away that he had something.”

At around the same time the stellar coach and show jumper George Morris, entered Vicki’s life.

“I think the most important thing George taught me straight away was that you can’t have ego,” she says. “I thought I was pretty good the first clinic I did with him – I didn’t ride Apache at that clinic, he was still very hot to handle but I reckoned I was doing ok, and George knocked that out of me straight away. I was shattered, to be honest, I thought

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It wasn’t until the young Vicki met the then-doyen of Australian eventing and showjumping, Bill Roycroft (who died in 2011), that her riding began to show its true potential.

“Bill was a bush rider in many ways,” she says, “but he was always in a perfect position over a jump, but although he was a great rider, he wasn’t so good at teaching – it was Wayne, his son who has always been a brilliant coach.” When Vicki married Wayne in 1976 at the age of 24, she became part of an

Australian equestrian dynasty and although she and Wayne divorced in 2000, their marriage was a partnership that produced more winning combinations for Australia in showjumping and eventing than anything before or since.

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I was hopeless. And then I just thought, ‘I’ll show him I can ride’.” Not only has Vicki been showing George she can ride ever since, the pair became firm friends and when he comes to Australia he gives clinics from Vicki’s property at Mt. White.

Vicki had a chance to turn a very quick profit when an Irish dealer was out looking for horses not long after Apache’s first few shows.

“I was thinking I’d ask ten thousand – which

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isn’t a bad profit from $500, but Wayne, to my surprise put $20,000 on him, and the dealer pulled out. Wayne knew that he was going to be amazing.”

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And amazing he certainly was. Nine months with no rail down. Winner of more big competitions than most have had hot dinners, winner of the Grand Prix at Wentworth Park, which shot them both into the European spotlight, where he was immediately runner-up in the Geneva World Cup round, and after a sensational European season Apache was ranked one of the top ten horses in the world.

As a chosen rider in the Nations Cup in Rome, it was a bit “wild”, Vicki says. “He was so strong, but by the time we got to the Grand Prix, he was in great shape – there were only two double-clears going into the jump off.

One was me on my tiny hot horse, the other

was this massive 17hh German horse, Argonaut, who’d won it the year before. Well, he went in first and had a rail down, and I went in and the crowd went wild. I was pretty sure I could go faster than Argonaut, so instead of going for slow and clear I decided to beat his time – and that’s what happened, I had a rail but we were faster.” She was the first Australian, and the first woman to win the Rome Grand Prix.

These days if an Australian rider takes a horse to Europe and wants to bring it back there is Sports Commission funding, in those days there was none. And after a year away from home, and with the dollars they could get for Apache, in the end Vicki had to make the decision to sell him, but in a rare happy ever after ending, she bought him back when he was 19, and actually did one more season with him at home. Apache lived to a ripe old age, and is buried on the Mt White property.

The property has been an anchor for Vicki for decades now, and never more so than when, in 2003, only three years after her separation from Wayne, their only son, 17-year-old Mark, died in a tragic accident on January 14 after he was caught in a notorious rip at Birdie Beach in Lake Munmorah National Park.

“I was never going to have children,” says Vicki. “I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant, and Wayne and I had no idea how to be parents. Mark simply evolved with a lot of love along the way and turned into a beautiful, loving, kind young man. I couldn’t discuss it for a long time, but finally although you never get over it, you get through it. We had him in our lives for 18-years, and for that I’m thankful. Every day I use a tea-cup he gave me for my birthday and not a day goes by without me thinking of him.”

Mark was a good swimmer and surfer, and the sad irony that it was the surf that claimed him, rather than an equestrian accident to ei-

ther of his parents is not lost on Vicki. “Every time you ride, it’s a risk,” she says. “After I lost Mark for a long time I thought I would just give up riding, but then I thought I would have lost everything I love, so I just kept going, day after day, and in the end what they say is true – time is a great healer.”

the alpha males, and there’s a lot of testosterone floating around, and a tendency to have a high opinion of themselves. Geldings are easier-going without a doubt, and mares are temperamental, but,” she says, “get the mare that will give you her heart, and she will give and give and give.” She’s always fascinated by the progression of her young horses, and the potential they show.

Fortunately for Vicki a new partner came into her life after Mark’s death, and that plus her continuing commitment to her horses, A recent hip replacement – “they said I riding and coaching meant that in the end couldn’t ride for 12 weeks but I was riding in she realised that Mark would not want her four,” has actually been a godsend she says. to be unhappy, and that the genuine pleasure “I can hop up on a horse from the ground she gets from coaching again,” she says. “I havand teaching was a way in en’t been able to do that which she could give back "The most important for years.” to the equestrian Time has mellowed her thing that George community. somewhat, but scratch the taught me was that She is vocal about certain surface and the fire still aspects of horses and you can't have ego." burns bright. “I don’t have riding. “I’m absolutely the same huge ambitions I with George Morris on the once had,” she says, “but importance of flatwork,” still of course, I would love to have a horse I she says. “Particularly these days when the could win an Olympic medal on since despite courses have got more and more technical. If everything that remained out of my grasp. But you don’t nail your flatwork you won’t nail your that would be the only way I would be aiming jumping, it’s as simple as that. I’m also a great that high again. There’s no point in simply believer in sitting lightly on your horse, and not making up the numbers.” over-riding it, you want a willing partner – one that asks, ‘what would you like me to do?’, I’m also really strong on groundwork. I go crazy when people let their horses rub up and down on them. It all starts on the ground.”

Does, she I wonder, have a theory around the difference between mares, geldings and stallions? “Well, certainly with stallions you have to be more assertive. After all, they’re

Vicki Roycroft has won more World Cup Qualifiers than any other Australian rider, on more than 12 different horses. She has been to four World Cup Finals representing Australia. She is an NCAS Level Three Showjumping and Eventing Coach and a Member of the NSW Elite Showjumping Squad. She was Chairman of the Equestrian Australia National Showjumping Committee from 2005 to 2013 and Chairman of the Australian Showjumping Riders Association from 2003 to 2011.

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At Mt. White she currently has 21 horses, with ten or so of them in work, including the talented young stallion Dynamite Bay, whom she rode recently at Aquis. “He’s a bit quirky, as stallions can be,” she says, “but he’s got talent for sure.”

I don’t think that anyone could ever say that Vicki Roycroft has ever or will ever, ‘simply make up the numbers’.

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photos courtesy of:

Sylan Photography

Kathy Holtrust from Southern Cross Hoese Treks riding her Arabian, Romac Kuta.

Endurance Riding H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

A test of strength for horse and rider

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Do you and your equine partner have the stamina to cover a five, 20 or 40 kilometre training ride? For many endurance riders, the ultimate goal is the 160-kilometre Tom Quilty Gold Cup – the biggest professional endurance ride in the Southern Hemisphere.

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t any level endurance is probably one of the most social of the horse sports, other than competitive trail-riding. The rides usually take up a weekend - travelling on the Saturday, setting up camp and having your horse vetted through as fit to compete and then an early start on the Sunday for a day’s riding.

Vetting In To successfully complete a ride, the rider must finish within an allocated time and the horse must ‘vet in’ successfully. To vet in, the horse is checked for hydration levels, heart rate, gut sounds, muscle tone, gait and overall alertness. This is done at the beginning of the ride (called the pre-ride vet check), checks within each leg of a ride as well as a final check at the end of the ride. If your horse does not meet all the healthy parameters then it is ‘vetted out’ and no completion is achieved.

open endurance rider. Time restrictions apply to these rides so it’s important that you don’t ride too fast or too slow to avoid disqualification. It’s not about coming first or last, it’s about managing your horse’s health across all sorts of different terrain.

Becoming an Open Endurance Rider Once three 80-kilometre Novice rides have been completed the option is there to ride as an open endurance rider. Once you’re at your comfort level, you can ride at whatever distance you prefer.

The rules of vetting in still apply, so this is all about managing your horse’s health while completing long distance rides.

Training Rides

Novice Rides

Divisions

Managing the horse’s health over long distances takes education and skill, so the rider will need to complete three 80-kilometre rides successfully to move up to the next grade of

The ‘Open’ division can only be made up of Middleweight and Heavyweight riders, whose weights are 73kg and over all up weight and 91kg and over all up weight respectively. The

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To give endurance a go and to see if it’s for you and your horse, there are smaller training rides that Training at Home can be entered into at Winner of the first Tom Quilty 100-mile endurance ride in 1966 A lot of miles go into most endurance meets.

Gabriel Strecher on his Arabian training the Endurance These rides are five, 20 stallion Shalawi. horse. It’s all about fitness kilometres and 40 kiloover long distances so metres and for the first many long bush rides a week make up few outings it’s recommended to start with training for a horse and rider, with much of it the lower kilometre rides to get used to the done at a trot. If riders don’t have time to ride distance and ‘learn the ropes’ of the sport. their horses enough, some owners use An ‘acknowledged’ training ride is the 40-kilowalking machines to ensure their horses metre option where the rider will learn to pace receive adequate fitness time. Soundness themselves and their horse. Two successful issues, excessive temperatures and high heart rides on the same horse must be undertaken rates will vet out unfit horses, so the rider before the rider will be able to move up to the must dedicate time to make sure their horses 80-kilometre novice option. are fit for endurance rides.

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Lightweight – less than 73kg all up weight is not eligible to ‘win’ the ride, but will be recognised as the 1st Lightweight. Some rides have a ‘first across the line policy’, which can therefore be won by a junior rider but in most cases you have to be MW or HW to win.

There are no maximum weight restrictions so long as your horse can physically handle the work. But you are not allowed to weigh less than the weight division at the end of the ride. Even if the weight loss is due to sweat or physical exertion you must ensure you are carrying enough weight to compensate for any weight loss on track.

There is no maximum age for a horse to compete in endurance. There are 20-something-year-old horses who are still doing 160km Quilty's so age is no barrier. As long as the horse is physically coping with the workload and gets through the vetting procedures there's no problem.

Minimum ages for horses are four-and-a-halfyears-old for a training ride, five-years-old for an 80km ride, and six-years-old for a 160km ride.

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What Horses Can Be Used For Endurance

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Even though many breeds are used for endurance, there is no doubt that the breed that dominates the sport world-wide is the Arabian. The Arabian was of course, developed in a desert climate, and was prized by its nomadic Bedouin owners for its stamina, intelligence and desire to learn – as well as its kind nature. Over the centuries in the middle-East the Arabian horse has been used for raiding, in battle, as a race-horse and for endurance, and has earned its place as one of the top ten most popular (and these days versatile) horse breeds in the world.

However, despite the popularity of the Arabian endurance is all about being able to ensure the horse’s heart rate stays at a low level as to not cause distress as well as keeping the horse sound. While Arabs are favoured for their ability to cover great distances, thoroughbreds, quarter horses, Standardbreds and many other breeds have successfully completed at Quilty level, the most famous and hardest Australia endurance ride, started by champion horse and cattleman Tom Quilty, who was awarded an OBE in 1976 for his services to primary industry. The 160-kilometre ride has to be completed within 24 hours, with a full night’s riding included.

The first winner of the Tom Quilty Gold Cup (for the open division) in 1966, was the Victorian engineer, Gabriel Strecher, on his Arabian stallion Shalawi, who to the amusement of the crowd – rode his horse bareback for the entire 100 miles. They underestimated the Hungarian-born Stecher - Shalawi was the first horse to appear after 11 hours and 24 minutes.

Level Playing Field Endurance is a sport in Australia and internationally in which women have always done exceptionally well. Germany’s Sabrina Arnold and her horse Tarzibus are the current 2017 FEI European Endurance Champions 2017, and in Australia there have been numerous female champions – including Erica Williams, wife of R.M Williams, and a huge force in the setting up of not just the Quilty but the sport of endurance in Australia. She came third in the first Quilty, and won in 1975 on her gelding, Noddy - a horse she’d bred herself.

If you want to know more about Endurance?

Visit the Australian Endurance Riders Association to learn more about this fantastic sport.

Slow Feed Haynets

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utzBusta have been making and using hay nets for their own horses for the past seven years. Until recently they’ve been marketing – and using – nets with 4cm and 3cm holes, but the very wet winter in 2016 meant that the hay was not as palatable as usual, and it was also a bit stalky.

Enter the 6cm hole – which GutzBusta Hay Nets have

now added to their range! The other advantage of the large hole is that not all horses need to be slowed down – for many horses it’s a question of giving them access to hay through dry or cold conditions. The smaller holes work perfectly for ensuring that your horses don’t ‘guts’ their hay and end up with digestive problems, but the larger hole still keeps the hay together and prevents wastage, whilst

allowing horses quicker access to roughage. (Of course if your horses or ponies or livestock have hooves smaller than 6cm, the net needs to be kept high enough to be out of hoof range – and make sure you check your net daily.) utzBusta Hay Nets are a wonderful addition to your barn’s essential requirements and we can highly recommend them.

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All You Need Is Love

Jane Camens put her best riding foot forward and recently spent a week in Portugal at the Valença Equestrian Academy learning the first steps of classical dressage.

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o ride at the Valença Equestrian Academy in Portugal is a privilege that this novice rider walked into more by chance than design. I’d always been a ‘get on and go’ rider, with little formal riding education. Yet I was welcomed at this world-class riding school and not made to feel out of place. For a week, masters in the art of classical, or ‘Baroque’, dressage gently guided me.

The more I learnt about the school and the remarkable Valença family who run it, as well as about the magnificent Lusitano stallions who are the schoolmasters, the more presumptuous I felt for daring to enrol. But if you love horses and have a desire to improve your knowledge of how a rider can work in partnership with a horse, I discovered this is a place where dreams can come true.

Master Luís is now in his 70s and has been advised by doctors to take it easy. Yet every day you can find him seated on a plastic chair in the small indoor arena at his centre advising the more advanced riders. Sometimes he makes time to talk in English to the international students. ‘Now we do a session on hypnosis,’ he says and laughs. ‘It’s like the song from the Beatles: All you need is love.’

He takes up a stick and draws a map of the Iberian Peninsula in the dirt of the arena. His beloved Lusitanos were depicted in cave paintings on the peninsula, isolated for centuries by geography from the rest of Europe.

They are one of the oldest pure breeds in existence in the world. Lusitanos became partners with men in battle, trained to respond to the legs through fighting practice with a lance and a bull. Master Luís attributes the preservation of the Lusitano breed to the tradition of bullfighting, which he still considers the ultimate showcase of a horseman’s skills and the horse’s heart. (Although in Portugal the bull is not killed by the matador as it is in Spain.)

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The Valença’s academy, based at the Centro Equestre de Lezíria Grande, is ranked alongside the more famous Cadre Noir in France, the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Spain for its dedication to preserving the art of classical dressage. Luís Valença Rodrigues, considered by many to be the greatest living master of classical dressage, established it.

He was a protégé of Nuno de Oliveira who is credited with taking Lusitanos beyond Portugal in the 1960s and introducing them to the modern world. Before then, according to Master Luís (as he is known), few people outside Portugal were aware of this magnificent, smart, flexible breed. Today, you’ll find Lusitanos starring in the ultimate horse showcase in Europe, Apassionata. The stallions who feature in the show are trained at the Valença academy.

Jane with her first dressage horse, Hamal.

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The great master is passing the torch— his passion to keep alive the school and the art — to his accomplished horsewomen daughters who now divide the responsibilities of teaching and training. His daughter Sofia runs the school’s international riding program, which involves travelling much of the year. I came to the school after attending one of her

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Training session at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art.

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Australian clinics. Her sister Filipa is chiefly responsible for training the horses for Apassionata, though she also instructs riders at the school. Luís’s third daughter, Luisa, currently works with Lusitanos in Indonesia.

When you enrol at the Valença academy, you become part of the family. Sofia’s husband Rui met me at the plane. Although the school and its founder have grand reputations, there are no pretensions here. You are included in family dinners and celebrations. This is why

so many people return. Yes, unfortunately, being with the Valenças and their horses is addictive.

During my week at the school, I was one of five international students, all of us skilled to different levels. Rose, another Australian, was 64 years old, a year older than me, and an experienced horsewoman in other disciplines.

Robyn, a South African, is at 66 a competition-ready dressage rider and on her sixth visit to the school, this time looking seriously to take home a Lusitano stallion. The other students, Fiona and Nadine, were also South African and had also been to the school previously. And everyone stayed longer than I did, which was painful for me.

Nadine, in her early forties, was the youngest among our group. She assured me that she’d been no more skilled than I was on her first visit. So, next time I’d be better, she assured me. (Next time! Yes!) Nadine was the only other rider in my ‘group’ lessons. We rode twice a day for an hour each time, mostly under the tutelage of our exceedingly patient instructor, Isabel Sa Ramos, a former Portuguese Grand Prix dressage champion and a current national judge at the highest level. Isabel’s challenge was to find a language each rider understands to break down comprehension barriers. I had the unfortunate problem in the arena of forgetting left and right. ‘The other right … the one holding the whip’, became a regular refrain. ‘Bring him into balance’ was retranslated for me as ‘Remember see-saw’, which for me had meaning.

While physically we might have been able to ride for longer at each session, I concluded we were trained much like the horses: letting us get something right, giving us time to process the information, then later trying again. Little by little, we came to feel what’s right within our body, not simply understand it intellectually.

The instruction included exercises in ‘shoulder in’, ‘leg-yield’, ‘travers’, ‘half-pass’ and, later, because the horses knew how to do the moves and the school wants students to learn the feel of doing a move correctly, we went on to flying changes, piaffe, passage, half pirouette, and Spanish Walk. Not, I might add, that I’m aspiring to do the more advanced moves

there. So we saw Portuguese Olympic dressage champion Daniel Pinto awarded the first place. On another occasion we visited the magical town of Sintra en route to the stables of world Working Equitation champion, Pedro Torres, whom we watched ride his spectacular 23-year-old champion horse, Oxidado.

Oasis... a former Apassionata performer.

One of the many magnificent stallions at the school.

on my little quarter horse at home, but he’ll have the benefit of early dressage moves to supple him and find his balance in our work to create a great partnership.

Academy is complete without mentioning the palomino Sultão, whose brilliance inspired Master Luís to start the centre. As soon as I arrived I was shown into a building that is devoted to photographs and posters commemorating this great stallion. And I cannot conclude without acknowledging my beautiful schoolmaster horses, all of them stallions: Ramal, Oasis, Madona, Tenhor, and my favourite, the black stallion, Sirius.

Perhaps I’ll return in November one year, not only to ride ‘my’ boys, but also to attend Portugal’s great national horse fair at Golegã, a 10-day Lusitano spectacular. It’s a massive party, when horsemen and women ride all night, taking their horses into the bars.

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When we weren’t riding we could watch the more advanced training overseen by Master Luís. We also had ‘in-hand’ workshops, which were practical sessions with the horses on the ground. And most days we were taken on excursions, once to visit a Lusitano breeding stable, another morning to Belem, in nearby Lisbon, to see the morning’s training at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art. We were also lucky that the finals of a world championship dressage competition were held in the coastal town of Cascais while we were

No story about the Valença Equestrian

17

There’s a terrible danger I’d never leave Portugal, if it weren’t for my horse back home.

END NOTE: The Valença Equestrian Academy can be found in the village Vila Franca de Xira, a 20-minute drive from Lisbon’s airport. The cost of my week’s program, after airfares, was 1,800 euros (around AU$2,777), which covered everything — airport transfers, accommodation at the Leziria Parque Hotel, all meals (except lunch), tuition, and the various excursions. To enquire, email Sofia at valencaequestriantours@gmail.com.

Sofia Valença will be back in Australia with her daughter Inês, Young Rider Dressage Champion of Portugal, to teach another clinic in September/October 2018.

Enquiries through Facebook’s Messenger to Kristen Fleet of Epona Park.

Jane at Valença Riding Academy.

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

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Riding to Their Own Beat When Shae Herwig recently won Champion ridden Spanish Andalusian mare, and National Champion ridden Spanish Andalusian on her beautiful mare Andaluka Diva at Australia’s National Championships, nobody knew the story of heartbreak that lay behind the triumph.

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rowing up in the Northern Rivers region of Australia as the third-eldest in a family of four girls, horses were always a way of life for the Herwig girls. Some of Shae’s earliest memories are of riding with her sisters down to the creek for a swim. “We’d often double on our old horse Crystal,” she says, “and for all of us riding with our mum was just a natural thing.”

The ‘natural’ order of events led to Shae starting Bangalow Pony Club at the age of four in sub-juniors on her first pony, Charlie – “a crazy little thing,” she says. She stayed in the Club up until 2016 when she turned 25, and says that it gave her a great grounding for her

competition life. A few “hand-me down ponies from my sisters,” saw her become highly-competitive at the age of 12 on a Palomino called Levi, and as she got older it became obvious that for Shae, horse-riding was not a passion she was going to ‘grow out of’ anytime soon. And it wasn’t just riding – it was also the community spirit that attracted her to the horse world. In 2010 she was crowned Bangalow Show Girl, and passed her title to her elder sister Maddy, the following year.

But it wasn’t until she was offered a freelease of a young mare, Barbie, that her love of Andalusians was ignited. “Barbie’s owners told me that she had some Andalusian in her,” Shae recalls, “but when I saw her papers I was stunned to see that she was a pure-bred Australian Andalusian. I’d never really seen the breed, or taken any notice of them, but once I bought her, I thought that given she was a pure-bred I should at least try her in some classes.”

It was a match made in heaven. “Barbie and I

Top left: 8-year-old Shae on Billy at her first Jamboree.

Top: Jumping on Levi.

Left: Doubling on Crystal with Mady (front), Shae at 3 and Mady at 7.

perfect balance - horses, horses and horses!

won every class we went into, in led, hacking and dressage,” Shae says. “She took me to multiple Champion Riders at Pony Club, and when I took her to our first ever Andalusian Championship we entered into two led classes so I could see how it all ran, and came away with two seconds at the State Championships.”

“What we didn’t know was that the paddock had Crofton’s Weed on it,” says Shae, “because none of our horses had ever eaten it or got sick from it. The first we knew was when I noticed that Barbie seemed to losing a bit of stamina, and that her breathing was odd, when we called the vet we were shocked to hear that she pneumonia, and that he put it down to the fact that she’d been eating Crofton’s Weed. We had no idea it was there, or that some horses can develop a taste for it.”

(Crofton weed is an erect, perennial plant or a small, soft-stemmed shrub. When the plant

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In the meantime, as well as her success with Barbie, in 2015 Shae had taken on a young slightly nervous three-year old part Friesian part Welsh-Cob gelding, Jasper, a highly nervous horse who, in Shae’s words, “was pretty close to being a rescue, because when I saw where he was kept I just wanted to get him out of there.” Working with her two horses, and with the Saddle Hub, her life was the

But unbeknownst to Shae 2015 was about to be her annus horribilis. The family had kept all their horses for many years on a 40-acre paddock just up the road from their family home, and the horses were a healthy, hardy mob with nothing wrong with them other than the normal litany of complaints with which horses delight their owners.

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It was around this time that Shae also invested in a beautiful and somewhat cheeky young buckskin, Murphy, with the ambition of bringing him along as an all-rounder. “I bought him when I realised that Barbie could never be ridden again,” she says. “He was a cheeky young horse but with a lot of potential, and so I set to work with him.”

Riding Barbie at AHAA State Championships Qld in 2016.

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matures, the stems become woody and turn brown or a brownish-green. Some horses enjoy Crofton weed because of the carrot-like smell produced from the roots and the slightly sweet taste of the young stems. Continued access to Crofton weed will cause a horse to become ill in as little as eight weeks. The first symptom of Crofton weed poisoning will be a persistent cough that is made worse by exercise. Lung and heart damage can occur if a horse is allowed to continue eating Crofton weed.)

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Barbie – and all the horses - were taken off the paddocks as soon as the diagnosis came in, but it was to late, the damage to Barbie’s lungs was done. “I was devastated,” Shae says, “I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t curable, or that it had just happened in such a short space of time. I decided to take her in her last couple of led classes, and she won Champion led at Bangalow Show in 2015, and Supreme Led at Ballina Equestrian Club all breeds show, but after that it was a question of retiring her and hoping against hope that at least she would survive.”

Little did Shae know however, that this was just the beginning of her horse trials. Not long after Barbie’s diagnosis, when she was agisting Murphy and Jasper at a nearby property, Murphy developed a cold. “It was nothing unusual in the beginning,” Shae says, “it was treated, and it seemed to get better, but the mucus from his nose kept coming back, and finally it was diagnosed as a fungal infection, which of course we kept treating.”

It was during this time that Shae also suffered a fall from an overly-exuberant Jasper who mistook his first-ever trot pole for a massive jump. “I landed awkwardly and broke my ankle,” she says, “and I was quite honestly in agony.”

An extensive operation followed, which meant pins in the ankle, plus, of course an extended period of healing and rehabilitation away from riding. “I made the decision around that time to send Jasper for training with two local trainers Leah and Lindsay Felton,” she says.

“I didn’t want him to simply sit in the paddock until I was ready again, and because of his particular set of nerves, I thought it would be good to get professional help with him.”

But in the meantime, there was still Murphy.

“I’d spent literally thousands on vet bills,” Shae says, “and he still wasn’t getting better, in fact he was getting worse. Then the vet gave me the devastating diagnosis that if he was to have any hope he needed to go to the University of Queensland at Gatton, and have an operation to scrape out all the fun-

The rather quirky Jasper at AHAA 2017 State show. gus, which would cost me $5000. I just had no idea what to do. I couldn’t afford it, and I couldn’t bear to put him down.”

(At this time I have to confess to a personal interest here, because Shae rang me to see if Save a Horse Australia would take him, and because of his young age and long-term future potential, the Charity agreed. The funds were raised for his operation, and after some months off for rest and recuperation, Murphy – renamed Muz – was back under saddle again, with his own fascinating story about to unfold as an up and coming star – now named Aztec - in Mikayla Jade’s stable of trick-riding horses. )

There was a small detour back to jumping and dressage with a local Warmblood mare, Summertime, but Shae realised that the passion she’d had for Barbie, was also a passion for the breed in general. “When Barbie had first got sick, I’d actually thought about whether she would recover enough to carry a foal,” she says. “Obviously it was a pipe-dream but it was with me long enough for me to make contact with Victoria Davies, the Para-Equestrian, who breeds and competes on the Spanish breeds.”

In May this year, a Facebook ad popped up that attracted Shae’s interest. Victoria was selling her PRE Spanish mare, Andaluka Diva,

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Murphy was surrendered to SAHA at the end of 2016, and in February 2017, Shae’s heart was well and truly broken when Barbie lost her fight for life, suffering what they believe was a massive heart-attack in the early hours of the morning. For the then-twenty-five-yearold, it was truly a long, dark night of the soul.

“I felt total despair when Barbie died,” she says. “My ankle was still bothering me, I’d lost the best friend of a horse you could ever

have, I’d had to give up on Murphy, and I had no idea whether Jasper was going to come good, I really did question whether I was going to keep going with horses, but then what I kept coming back to was that when I couldn’t ride with my broken ankle, that was what made me fall into depression. I just wasn’t ‘me’ without riding, and even though I’d lost so much, and it had all also cost me so much, I knew that somehow I had to keep going.”

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and Shae couldn’t help but be interested.

“Firstly, of course, she looked very much like my Barbie, secondly I was already a huge admirer of Victoria and her riding – against all odds – and it seemed almost too good to be true that a horse trained and ridden by her would be on the market,” she says.

“She took to competitions and the led classes so easily, but she is sensitive and she can be nervous under saddle, so we’ve been working a lot on that.”

In fact the team have been unbeatable ever since their first shows – walking away with led Champions in their first local shows, and then 1st and reserve champion in the led Baroque, and 1st and reserve champion in the ridden at Toowoomba Royal, followed by their amazing results at the Nationals.

Something Shae, who continues to work for the Saddle Hub, has found is that the Andalusian world has been very welcoming to her.

“It’s exotic,” she says, “and it’s competitive, but it’s not at all unpleasant or unfriendly. All the women who have competed for so many years have been so friendly to me – and you don’t often see that in the show world. I’ve felt very supported and they’ve been very helpful.

At the start of this journey I went not knowing a lot about the competitions, and I’ve been really privileged to find such lovely people.”

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

Cross Country with Murphy in 2015 at Tyagarah.

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There was an instant connection, not just with Diva but also with Victoria. “I spent some time at her place, and went down there a couple of times to ride and train with Victoria, before Diva came up north in July,” she says.

Impressed with the amazing work Lindsay and Leah Felton had achieved with Jasper (now also a superstar in his own right), Shae also turned to the Feltons to help her understand Diva’s psychology.

“She’s really a dream to work with,” she says.

An unlooked for result from the friendship that’s grown between Shae and Victoria, is that Shae is now Victoria’s High Performance groom. “Whenever she is competing somewhere big I fly and join her,” she says, “which will include WEG in American and the Olympics in Tokyo if Victoria qualifies, so I am extremely lucky that everywhere I go I’m learning more and more about the breed, and how to handle and ride them.”

In the meantime the family connection to horses continues to run strong. Shae’s mum, Kim, has bought herself a Friesian so she too can continue to compete with her daughter; Bonnie’s children ride; Maddy still owns a few horses, and Jade, although she is an accomplished gymnast, still has horses and rides.

“I can’t imagine a life without horses,” says Shae, “it’s as simple as that.”

PRODUCT REVIEW

LP EQUESTRIAN DELUXE GEL Alana Lane gives a big thumbs-up to her deluxe gel breeches.

“I recently purchased two pairs of LP Equestrian Deluxe Gel breeches. I love the fit and the material is stretchy and comfortable. When I ride there’s no gap at the back and I can decide, rather than the fit dictating, if I want to wear a belt with them or not.

I tend to spend my whole day in my jods/breeches and these ones are certainly comfy enough to ride in, teach and do everything I need to do in the course of the day.

I find the length is great for tall boots, and they are dressy enough for comps, I have a white pair on my shopping list - and I love that there is enough bling for the competition ring.

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BREED SPOTLIGHT

BASHKIR CURLY THE HYPO-ALLERGENIC ALL-ROUNDER The Bashkir Curly horse is a unique breed, with a distinctive curly mane, tail and coat.

While no one can really pinpoint where these horses originated from, it’s thought that they were originally from Russia and have been documented as far back as 161 AD.

C

harles Darwin wrote about seeing curly horses in South America in the early 19th century and the early Sioiux Indians regarded curly horses as sacred mounts for chiefs and medicine men. Native American artwork show curlies carrying warriors in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

year-old chestnut in one of the mustang herds - calling him Copper D. However, the Dameles weren’t set on keeping the breed 'pure', and, wanting to improve their horses, added some other blood to their herd. Among the stallions introduced were a Morgan, Ruby Red King, and an Arabian, Nevada Red. These two stal-

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Another theory is that the origin of the breed is Iberian. It’s been noted that foals of crossbred horses have the curly hair which suggests that the curly gene is dominant.

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There are multiple theories for how the American Curly developed. The Curly horse was first documented in Eureka, Nevada in the early 20th century by rancher John Damele and his sons. While mustangs were a common sight, curly coated horses were unusual.

Years later, the Dameles managed to catch one, started it under saddle and sold it - starting their relationship with the breed. In 1932, an unusually harsh winter hit the area, and come spring the only wild horses that could be found were the Curlies. This evidence of hardiness was noted by the Damele family, and they decided they should include more of these horses in their personal herd. After another harsh winter, the Dameles got serious about breeding Curlies.

They found their foundation stallion, a two-

lions created many offspring for the Dameles, and are in hundreds of Curly horses' pedigrees today.

The Bashkir Curly is just like any other horse - except for its natural perm - so it can be ridden under saddle, broken to drive or compete in any other equestrian sport. It is said that the horse’s hair lacks a certain protein which is why it is hypo-allergenic. Studies are still ongoing to prove this theory but certain-

ly many people who are normally allergic to horses are able to be around Curly horses without their allergy being activated. The horses coats feel like crushed velvet.

Popular in America, these horses are used for Western pleasure and as trail horses. Their unique coats allow them to keep warm in winter and their thick, curly winter coat repels rain and snow. Underneath, air is trapped near their short hair coat next to the body, keeping them warm. In spring, they shed their outer coat, so they're cool in summer.

They are described as having tough, black

In the world there are now only about 3000 purebred horses and only five in Australia, including one purebred stallion.

Want to know more about the breed? Why not contact Yarraleigh Stud, the only curly horse stud in Australia. Helen Barrenger, the stud owner, started her breeding program when her allergy to horses became so bad that it was a question of giving up or finding an alternative.

The alternative was the Curly. Originally using frozen semen imported from Canada, the stud has since imported its own stallions and you can go here for more information: http://www.yarraleigh.com.au/.

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Their temperament is calm and sensible, making them the ideal American trail horse, and the Bashkir Curly comes in all colours, including appaloosa and pinto. They resemble the Morgan horse with their strong and athletic bodies but are of a smaller stature ranging from 14hh to 15hh high.

hoofs that are almost perfectly round in shape; an exceptionally high concentration of red blood cells; stout round cannon bones; straight legs that also move straight; flat knees; strong hocks; a short back - indicating five lumbar vertebrae; round rump without crease or dimple; powerful rounded shoulders; large chests and round barrels.

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ubVibes Young Rider for June is 15-year-old Grace Christoffel who is on the Queensland Young Rider squad for reining.

Grace has been riding since she was seven and was introduced to the sport of reining by her mother. Her enthusiasm for the sport has since developed into a passion which is definitely here to stay.

“Initially I had a Quarter Horse called Katie, and I won numerous classes on her, but she’s since been retired,” explains Grace. “I love learning the patterns and the excitement of the competing, but the main attraction is actually the community.

We’re all very close-knit and it’s nice to catch up at the competitions.”

Photo Credit: Tania Hobbs

Grace’s greatest achievement so far is winning the non-professional reining class in 2017 against adults, as well as being the 2017 hi-point age champion. Grace is also passionate about Western Dressage and enjoys the change.

“Some horses get stuck doing the reining patterns and I thought that trying Western Dressage would help me and my horses stay fresh,” Grace says. “It’s great for a change and I’m really enjoying it.”

With Grace’s days made up of school,

work, extra-curricular sport and horses, there is never a dull moment.

“I’m now training my two young horses,” she says. “I have a two-year old called Ralph and a four-year-old called Sparkie so I spend a lot of time training them. “Of course I can’t do it all by myself and my mum is a big support for me. She takes me wherever I need to go and helps me improve my riding.”

The team at HubVibes wishes Grace every success with her upcoming competitions.

If you are a young competition rider and would like to be considered for HubVibes Young Rider of the Month, email us for a questionnaire to complete: promote@equestrianhub.com.au.

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Grace Christoffel

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C A N D I D LY S P E A K I N G Of Herds, Horses and Friendships

Candida Baker examines the sometimes complicated business of how horses interact with each other, and why they do or don’t want to be ‘friends’.

There are a lot of similarities between human and horse herd behaviour, and there are a lot of differences as well.

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Perhaps the main difference is what you might call the erratic acts of random bossiness horses indulge in.

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For example, if you just walked up to a friend, and pushed them out of the way, they might very well be a bit surprised, but if a dominant horse does it to a more submissive horse, it’s just par for the course, just a way to keep the pecking order intact so everybody knows their place.

But it’s the natural hierarchy or a herd – stallion, dominant mares, less dominant mares, young horses, foals – that is hard for us replicate in our domesticated environments, and

sometimes figuring out horse friendships is simply mystifying.

A lot of inexperienced horse people imagine – not unnaturally – that the bigger the horse, the more likely it is to be the boss, but that is simply not the case. We owned one horse for instance, who was a menace to all comers, except to our Shetland pony, with whom he was great mates, but that same pony, who was definitely submissive in that relationship, was the boss of my big old 16.1hh Anglo-Arab, who was always the bottom of the pack.

Introducing a new horse to a new horse, or horses, can require a lot of diplomacy. Putting a new horse in a paddock next to the horses you want them to be paddock mates with is a good idea – they can get to know each other over the fence, and hopefully get the kicking and squealing out of the way.

I’ve discovered that one way to help a newbie to settle in is to take the dominant horse out of the paddock and put it in with the newbie

on its own for a while (closely supervised of course). The chances are the dominant horse will quickly a) put the newbie in its place, at least for the time being b) then actually protect it from the other horses when you introduce it to the group. Depending on the new horse’s personality it will either stay bottom of the pack or gradually find its place in the herd.

Of course, it’s incredibly useful if the horse that eats (or needs to eat) the most is the dominant horse – it makes feed-time so much easier, but unfortunately that can’t always be guaranteed.

It is a curious thing to watch how some horses get on with each other, and some horses simply don’t – this is probably where horse friendships most closely resemble our own, because sometimes no company is apparently better than someone you just simply don’t like! It’s a source of frustration for quite a few horse owners that their horses decide they

simply don’t want to get on, but there’s very little that can be done about it.

But one of the most interesting things about herd behaviour, however large or small the herd, is that in a closely-knit group each horse watches out for the other. Sometimes with the finely-tuned nuances of their physical language, we can miss this – easy to spot the snaking neck or the laid-back ears, less easy to spot the underlying watchfulness – are we all together? This one, who’s being looked at, is she ok?

Horses who live together most often love together, and in the right herd, they look after, protect and nurture their own. Perhaps again a similarity with humans and their tribes. Find the right tribe and you’ll fit right in, find the wrong one, and watch out for the kicking and biting.

Candid Baker runs a Facebook page, The Horse Listeners.

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2018 Andalusian Horse Australian National Championships

Kassie Southwell Riding Rocinante winning the Exhibition Class.

Belinda McDonnell on Yasper Van Gelder winning the Ridden Pure Bred Friesian class.

Opposite Page - clockwise from top left: Majestic Brea, owned by Michelle Livsey Harmony Hills.

Juno, owned and bred by Susanne Brundell. Andaluka Diva, ridden and owned by Shae Herwig.

Majestic Lobo, owned by Kristen Fleet. Palcio Del Corcel Emilio, ridden and owned by Fiona Strachan. Omaru Dominato, owned by Dianne Baxter.

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Down on Penny Newbold’s farm you’ll find her family and animals, and of course, horses…

Eating Humble Pie Penny Newbold looks back at her early riding career, and the importance of keeping your feet on the ground (or even in the stirrups).

Humility. It can be one of the toughest childhood lessons to learn.

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As riders, our success is very closely dependent on our equine partners and, as such, we are never far from falling from grace, potentially in a very spectacular and public manner.

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I was very fortunate in my early teenage years to have the great honour of being offered the chance to ride and compete a very experienced and highly educated thoroughbred gelding (well, in those days, elementary level

dressage and 1.1m jumping were considered the highest of equine education).

Of course, the only downside to this was that riding him required the ability to actually ride effectively. The kind of riding ability that went far beyond my previous ‘kick and pull’ mentality!

Although he was very patient with me, every now and then (and rightly so) he would decide he needed to bring my ego down a peg or two and remind me who was in charge. Like at my royal

show jumping debut when he refused to jump even the first fence. At 13, this was a devastation to end all devastations!

Unfortunately, this experience was a little too reminiscent of my very first gymkhana when my pony decided she’d had

enough, after jumping the practice fence for the umpteenth time, and lodged her protest by refusing to even go through the start pegs.

In fact, she proceeded to back herself away from the

jumps, out of the arena entirely and managed to firmly wedge herself, with me still on top, between a parked car and a fence. A very effective way of removing herself from a situation she’d decided she didn’t want to participate in!

Although it was a very difficult lesson for me at the

& e b i r c Subs

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time, she’d tolerated a great deal of primping and poking, kicking and pulling during the course of that day, and like Merrylegs in Black Beauty, she decided she’d had enough!

But above all the most important lesson I learned from the experience was to never ask

your horse to perform if you aren’t 150% certain that they are willing and capable to do what you’re asking.

Well, at least not in public, anyway.

Win a brand spanking new saddle.

The HubVibes subscription form can be found in the footer of our website.

Winner will be announced at EQUITANA this November.

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Figure Eight or Grackle noseband.

Cavesson noseband.

Classic Large Crank noseband.

Correctly Using a Drop N A drop noseband is often commonly misused. Danii Cunnane looks at the purpose behind a drop noseband, the differentkinds, and how to ensure they are helpful, not harmful.

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H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

ecently there have been a huge amount of photos on social media of incorrectly fitting drop nosebands and flashes done up too tight. The images are haunting, with the bulge of the horses flesh being cut into by the narrow strip of leather across the sensitive nose of the horse. The flash is also misused, and often done up so tight that it cuts into the horse’s fleshy mouth area.

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Before using any kind of noseband on a horse, however, make sure that your horse’s teeth are up to date with dental work. A horse that is evading the bit, or tossing its head, or opening its mouth may well require a dentist.

Also check the bit for size and comfort for the horse.

Mary Ann C. Simmonds, a Canadian horse behaviouralist, has evaluated thousands of

horses over the years, and has come to the conclusion that bad fitting and/or the misuse of tack is probably the number one reason horses develop problems.

Simmonds has written: ‘What may start as resistance and seems easily treated with a tighter noseband designed to limit the horse’s

What should a noseband be used for?

• The main purpose is to help keep your horse's mouth softly closed and quiet.

This encourages contact with the bit which is essential for communication and control.

• Discourage manoeuvres that enable your horse to evade the bit, like crossing his jaw or holding his tongue over the bit.

• Anchor a standing martingale.

• Help hold the bridle in place.

• Balance the look of your horse's head.

Rolled Flash noseband.

Noseband

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resistance often turns into physical unsoundness into ‘compensation syndrome.’

Instead of trying to find out why the horse is being disobedient or resistive, tighter Drop noseband. nosebands – along with other devices such as draw reins and more severe bits – are often used in hopes of correcting the Evolution of nosebands behaviour. A horse who already pulls or opens Nosebands evolved for many reasons, but its mouth is telling you it has a problem and one of the first uses was very practical: to it is the rider’s job to fix the problem, not to keep the jaws of horses from clattering as clamp the horse’s mouth closed tighter. A they galloped into war laden with heavy arhorse who grinds its teeth usually has some mour, while at the same time keeping unruly form of pain in its body, while the horse who stallions from taking bites out of each other. leans on the bit is often trying to compensate Modern noseband uses are designed to limit for bad riding or poor balance. Too many the horse from opening its mouth and giving times I have been called out to help a rider the rider more sensitive control over the bit. get her horse in the ring, only to make the Fitted correctly, nosebands do just that; but simplest of adjustments by loosening the fitted improperly, they can cause pain, limit noseband to allow the horse comfort and breathing, and affect structure and movement have then watched a relieved horse walk through the horse’s body. eagerly forward into the arena.’

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The most commonly used nosebands are plain, crank, drop and a figure of eight but in many disciplines, including Western riding and pleasure riding, nosebands are not used.

Plain Noseband, or Cavesson Noseband A plain noseband (Cavesson) encircles your horse's nose at a point approximately two fingers width below his cheekbone. Set in that position and adjusted so it's reasonably snug, this noseband is usually suitable for a well-trained horse that accepts the bit without

regular noseband on its own has some ability to prevent your horse from crossing his jaw.

Opinions vary on how much a properly positioned regular noseband can help keep a horse's mouth shut. A noseband positioned just below his cheekbone hits his jaw at about the midway point and can provide some closure. But flash attachments and drop nosebands are considered stronger aids for keeping his mouth closed.

Crank Noseband This is a regular noseband with a leveraged closure mechanism under the horse's chin. Leverage is typically achieved by using rings or roller bars on either side, through which a leather strap is threaded before being secured. The leverage allows for a tighter, more precise fit that should distribute the pressure evenly. Because it can be adjusted tighter, a crank noseband is padded in the jaw area.

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

Crank nosebands have long been common in dressage, especially at the higher levels in which horses work in double bridles that don't accommodate a flash attachment to the noseband.

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fuss. He doesn't shake or flip his head when you attempt to make and maintain contact, and he doesn't pull into your hand or hang his tongue out the side of his mouth. Such actions require an open mouth and are often, though not always, indicators that your horse is trying to avoid bit pressure.

Depending on your horse's facial anatomy and how tightly the noseband is secured, a

The crank is a constructive piece of tack when used properly. Its capacity to fit more tightly than a regular noseband makes it an aid in keeping your horse's mouth closed and preventing jaw crossing and other evasive manoeuvres. Like the plain noseband, it should be positioned at a point approximately two fingers' width below the cheekbone.

Unfortunately, the crank can be easily abused

and buckled too tightly which can close your horse's jaw too much, preventing the muscle relaxation necessary to maintain soft contact with the bit. It can also press his cheek against his teeth in a painful way.

Flash Noseband This is a thin strap attached at the centre point of a plain or crank noseband. The strap drops down at an angle below the bit and is secured under the chin. It is very effective in keeping the horse's mouth closed.

Thanks to its position low on the head, it is also used to prevent horses from crossing their jaw, putting their tongue over the bit and attempting other evasive manoeuvres, all of which require them to be able to open their mouth more widely than needed to engage correctly with the bit.

Correct positioning is critical for the flash to do its job properly. The first step is securing the regular noseband correctly, approximately two fingers width below the cheekbone and running straight around the horse's nose.

Then the flash can be secured under the chin groove, followed by checking that the noseband has been cinched tight enough so the flash doesn't pull it down on your horse's face.

at a point parallel to the horse's chin groove, yet still resting on the nasal bone.

Worn properly, this noseband is a clear reminder for your horse to keep his mouth closed and prevents him from crossing his jaw. It's a popular aid in training young horses who are just learning to accept the bit. The drop used to be quite popular in dressage, but that has given way to crank-with-flash combinations.

The drop's low position on the nose makes it less flattering to the look of their horses' head so it is not overly popular. The drop's placement also makes it unsuitable for attaching a martingale.

Figure Eight Noseband or Grackle The straps of the Figure Eight or Grackle noseband are fastened with a buckle behind the upper jaw above the cheekbone. Then they cross the nose on a diagonal, extend down underneath the bit and are fastened with a second buckle at the chin groove. It keeps the horse's mouth closed and prevents jaw crossing.

Its position relatively high on the nose ensures the nostrils are open for maximum air intake. A leather disk, often lined with fleece or neoprene, protects the nose where the straps cross.

Grackles are popular for show jumping and cross-country, and many consider them more comfortable for the horse than a regular noseband because the placement of the straps does not pull the horse's cheeks into his teeth and allows for more expansion of his nostrils.

Drop Noseband

Remember finding the right noseband for your horse is often trial and error, but ensuring it has a correct fit is something that your horse will thank you for.

Invented by a German trainer who worked at the Spanish Riding School, this noseband encircles the horse's nose at a lower point than its regular counterpart: below the bit and

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

The centre point of any noseband should always rest against the nasal bone as opposed to the soft cartilage near the nostrils.

Securing it too low, over the cartilage, can restrict your horse's air intake, which is critical in any work and especially for cross-country, jumping and galloping.

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Big Money on Offer for Showjumpers at EQUITANA Melbourne jumping and other activities, it hasn’t really worked,” says Hansen. “Jumpers need firmness, softness and springiness, and it is a real challenge to get that just right. The outdoor surface at the Showgrounds is regarded as one of the best in the country and isused each year for the Melbourne Royal.”

EQUITANA Melbourne is taking showjumping to new heights with the introduction of the $120,00 Australian Open.

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H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

he biggest prize pool in Australia combined with shifting the competition to the highly-rated outdoor “Rowville Competition Arena” will bring the top showjumpers from around Australia believes Showjumping Director Kevin Hansen.

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“For years jumping riders have asked for better surfaces and EQUITANA has tried very hard to provide that on the indoor but when you consider the crossover between reining, dressage,

The 1.45m-1.5m EQUITANA Australian Open Grand Prix Jumping will be held on Friday at 5pm in the Rowville Competition Arena, and Hansen is expecting the 3500 seats in the surrounding stands to fill fast.

EQUITANA Melbourne follows the Australian Showjumping Championships, which are being held just down the road at Boneo Park. “We will provide the most exciting showjumping competition there is to ensure our top riders stay in Melbourne for EQUITANA,” says Hansen.

As well as the Open there will be a 1.4m opening class on the Thursday morning in the Rowville Outdoor Arena, a 16-strong pairs slalom and an $80,000 puissance in the

evening as part of the Full Flight entertainment in the Aqualuma Grand Pavilion, and a 1.3m class on Friday afternoon outside.

The puissance – a single high jump for horses – is an essential part of Australia’s showjumping history. EQUITANA is offering $80,000 to whoever can beat Gavin Chester’s Australian record of 2m 32.41 cm by two or more centimetres. It will be limited to just eight of the very best combinations.

“There is a lot going on between that and the pairs slalom on Thursday,” says Hansen. “The slalom is like a tennis tournament, it will be just one metre high and is a thrilling head-to-head race for both competitors and spectators.”

This year is EQUITANA’s 20th birthday and plans are afoot to make it truly special. Event Director Rod Lockwood is promising much for the 2018 edition, including news it will be the biggest EQUITANA ever. The event runs from November 15-18 at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

Tickets go on sale in July.

Your Club IN PROFILE

COFFS COAST JUMP CLUB

Club Co-founder and Chairperson of CCJC Sally Hutchison.

Adult member Debbie Perrott.

Coffs Coast Jump Club is a recent arrival on the Club scene – and the only specific show jumping club in the Coffs Harbour region of northern New South Wales.

ride and they are currently in the process of raising money in order that they can order new equipment to improve their courses, with the help and support of their major sponsors Horseland Coffs Harbour, Mitavite and Coffs Harbour Produce, as well as other local business and supporters. The Club has also just been awarded a local grant, and has plenty of new projects in the pipeline.

C

offs Coast Jump Club (CCJC) is an EA & JNSW affiliated club – they run club days every 4-6 weeks and two big competitions a year. Their aim is to give riders of all levels and abilities a course to compete on built by an accredited course designer in order that they can increase their skills and confidence, no matter what their level.

The board is made up of volunteers who also

For Club enquiries please contact: admin@coffscoastjumpclub.com

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

The Club is lucky to have Athol Clarke, an EA Level 3 accredited Course Designer and retired FEI judge as well as Geoff Goldrick, an EA Level 2 accredited Course Designer working with them. Both of them are highly experienced course builders, and supportive of the Club’s aims.

Their next club day is scheduled for the 8th July at Coffs Harbour Showgrounds and they are also working towards their Spring Showjumping Festival in November. CCJC have build up a great membership base and a great reputation in a short time.

HubVibes looks forward to hearing a lot more about them in the years to come!

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Roughage is Key When it Comes to Managing Horses in a Drought

‘Horse sick’ pasture When a horse selects a certain pasture, he determines the quality by smell, touch and taste, and of those the aroma is the most important. In paddocks where there is limited pasture overgrazing occurs, and this is very common in drought-stricken areas, leading to what is known as ‘horse sick’ pasture. Horses have quite perceptive tastes and can

Equine nutritional therapist and medical herbalist Antoinette Foster looks at how, as horse owners, we can help keep our horses healthy and well during dry conditions.

H

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

orses are perpetual grazing animals, moving from one area to another to select certain grasses - clover and herbs for example.

In a natural environment horses will travel many kilometres in a day and never return to the same area. They do not generally like to graze in areas that have been affected by manure and that allows them to reduce the risk of contaminated pasture and lowers the risk of parasites.

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Unfortunately over-population over many years has reduced the ability for the horse to graze in a natural environment, and there has also been a significant impact on horse health from horse owners who stable their horses at night. (Or even during the day as well.) In many cases the horses are not provided sufficient hay during these stabled periods when they do not have access to grazing, which can cause digestive health issues.

distinguish the difference between a sweet pasture versus a bitter pasture and it is this ability to determine the type of pasture also allows horses to avoid poisonous plants.

Touch is also very important when it comes to selecting certain pastures - hairs on the lips of the horse which are like ‘touch receptors’ allow the horse to gauge which pasture to graze on and notify the horse how far the nose is from the ground. This ability also reduces the risk of the horse consuming harmful pasture or plants.

These types of problems have increased with the demand for a higher usage of land but it is the intake of forage - including selection and the amount of time spent on pasture, and their patterns of defecation which makes their grazing behaviour unique.

Less natural environments have increased management issues.

Horses will spend approximately 18 hours a day grazing if they have access to pasture.

The exact amount of time will also depend on the quality of the pasture and if there are supplementary feeds such as a hard feed being fed morning and night or extra hays. Horses have evolved to be highly discerning in what they consume.

Faeces are the main cause of horse sick

pastures and we know that the sex of horse

will determine the different pattern in the way

that they defecate. Stallions, for example, will tend to manure in the same location. Mares however, tend to smell the manure without turning around and therefore the manure

patches become increasingly large. Geldings on the other hand don’t care where they

The most important aspect of managing horses in drought-stricken areas to provide them with plenty of roughage, due to the fact that

they do not have normal access to pasture.

This can be provided in the form of hays, including legumes such as lucerne and a natural pelletised high roughage feed, which only contains natural forage is also ideal. Sometimes it may be necessary to supplement than oral grade daily formula and perhaps added protein may be of benefit also.

Maximise Pasture by rotating and strip grazing.

Look at dividing your paddocks, particularly if you have large paddocks. If you have a small amount of land, as I do, you can still divide your paddocks by creating different sections and closing them off when they are over eaten. With small properties make sure you pick up your manure and don’t harrow. Removing the manure regularly will allow the ground to recover more quickly.

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

manure. On average an adult horse will generate approximately 7kg in dry weight of manure daily, but the level of manure produced is also governed by the amount of feed and in particular roughage that the horse consumes.

Overgrazing and exercise such as galloping around the paddock can damage the soil, this is caused by the horse’s hooves which causes compaction and makes it quite favourable for weeds to grow, this is very frustrating for horse owners trying to manage paddocks on a consistent basis. Managing pastures in drought is essential to maintain the quality of the pasture that is available. Collecting manure every 24 hours or harrowing pasture and spreading evenly across the land is a fantastic way to manage horse sick pastures that have been subjected to drought. This can be quite challenging if the area that you are trying to harrow or collect is not flat. Rotating from one paddock to another is also a way to manage

these types of pastures, but horse owners need to have the land area to do so. It can be quite beneficial to cross graze with sheep or cattle when you have horses. Another way to maintain pasture is to ensure that there is a weed control program.

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Do horses naturally seek out nutrients that they require for their health and well-being?

Slow down! Try a slow feed net/ bin to reduce wastage and increase hay life.

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

If you are lucky enough to have access to round bales invest in a slow hay feeding net which you can secure safely over the round bale, this not only slows your horse’s chewing down but also lowers wastage. If you don’t have access to a round bale then invest in large hay nets with small holes, or a slow feed bin. This is particularly useful for those managing easy keepers as you can use Lucerne and not have them eat it all before it touches the ground!

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Some horses eat dirt or chew bark, this is quite common in domesticated horses and the lick -ing of dirt for example is often a way to increase salt intake. In some studies, types of dirt contain higher levels of iron and copper it is thought that horses seek out this type of dirt and will lick the dirt to uptake these nutrients. We don’t really know why horses tend to lick dirt or chew bark but it does appear that horses behave this way if perhaps their diet is nutrient deficient.

I believe the best way to eliminate this type of practice in horses is to ensure that horses have an appropriate level of roughage always.

We don’t have a good understanding of the horse’s ability to self-medicate however this Department of Agriculture chart is an excellent guideline in managing pasture.

Free equine profiling available to suit each individual horse.

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Warmblood Yearling Gelding Price: $15,000 $10,000 Don Gold foal born 25/10/16, expected to grow to 16hh+ Lovely quiet nature, fun and easy to do things with.

By Don Gold (Donnerhall) out of an Aachimedes / Monopol mare.

He is a lovely modern type with expressive movement and a rather inquisitive nature.

Good walk, lovely balanced canter and floating trot For more info click here.

Warmblood Mare (in foal) imported bloodlines impressive imported Zapateado (Zeus)/Quattro B mare.

Post foal, Rhiannon could be brought back to work, but she needs an experienced rider. No nasties, she is just a little special.

For more info click here.

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Price: $12,000 well-bred chestnut 8yo WB mare, 15.2hh (unofficial).

Sire: Renegade Z (Imp) (Ramiro Z/ Quidam de Reval), Dam: Zarah Leander. An

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HUB SA D D L E R EV I EW

Sharn Ogden recently bought a

Bates Innova monoflap from Equestrian Hub and is ecstatic with her purchase.

“I bought a new horse and my current Bates Innova didn’t fit him, so I purchased the same saddle for him as I really like it,” Sharn said.

“I’ve found the Innova to be of excellent quality and it looks beautiful. It offers a secure seat without being too restrictive and is extremely comfortable to ride in. I do a mixture of riding but I find I can do it all in this saddle, which is rare.”

For Sharn another selling point to the Bates Innova monoflap is the options it provides. “The interchange-

Saddle r e v i e w : Bates Innova able gullet and the ability to change the padding to fit the horse gives superb flexibility which is perfect for developing and growing horses,” she says. “I’ve found my horse travels really well in the saddle and he finds it comfortable to work in. I can’t say I’ll be tempted to purchase any other brand in the future.”

Did you know that every Equestrian Hub saddle comes with finance options, a two-week trial and delivery to your door? Check out our large selection.

Buying or selling a horse?

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Equestrian Marketplace is now providing professionally customised Buy/Sell Contracts.

Go to the Hub Horses menu at H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

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Aries

y b s r a St pona E

Welcome, June, the month of the mid-winter (or mid-summer in the

The changes and challenges predicted last month are still in the picture, gaining momentum.

You’ll know soon enough if you made the right choices. The key is to adapt. There could be money issues, as in a surprise vet bill or equipment expense. Just remember, where husbandry is concerned, an ounce of prevention….

Gemini

feathered, furred and bipedal beings alike. Think of it as a

Cancer

comes with a feeling of hope, community and well-being for

turning point, symbolic of endings H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

Taurus

Your world gets bigger this month, especially if you’re a later Gem celebrating a birthday mid-month. Think of what it is you desire, in home, career, romance, or even waistline. Oh, the abundance! For us equines too, the vital force is up, ho-hum down. You can succeed at anything if you put your mind to. Go!

northern hemisphere) solstice. It

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With your ruler poised to turn retrograde at the end of the month, this might be a restless, windy energy that urges you forward though obstacles appear. The emphasis is on communication and learning, so consider a fresh training style for the four-legged warriors, and for two-legged, think of starting a new course of study. When you connect via ideas, you’ll hear fabulous news!

and new beginnings. What a beautiful time to set intentions for yourself, your charges, loved ones and the world community. Enjoy!

The sun in your soul sector, house of secrets and dreams, means the universe is watching out for you. Think of it as a flock of guardian angels, unseen help headed your way that will get you through any and all challenges. The key is to take plenty of ‘me’ time and aim high with your dreams. Us equine crustaceans will want more attention too, in the form of curry combs and bran mashes. Love us up!

Leo

With a gorgeous trine from your ruling planet to energetic Mars, this is the perfect time to amp up your goals and wishes for the future.

If it at all involves groups, and/or group leadership, excellent! Four-legged Lions will want to run with the heard. Two-leggers may lead the way in a creative community venture.

When you mix with like-minded others, great things happen. Step up. Everyone’s waiting!

Virgo

This month brings a power-house activation of your career, mission or profession. It pulls you out from behind the throne and crowns you sovereign of the land. Think success, prosperity and recognition when it comes to your essential life purpose. Do what you love, and it will love you back. Ten-fold! Four-legged friends will show their oats, shine for the public and make you proud.

Libra

Sagittarius

The love sector is lit up like a glorious night sky, putting focus on personal relationships.

It’s going to catapult you out of isolation, or any connections that no longer feel authentic, and straight into ones that do. Think of it as a renaissance of spirit. Us equines are full of heart too, willing to put everything into wherever you point. Enjoy!

Capricorn

This month is full of magic, maybe enough to change the way you see the world. With a new perspective, you find new direction, ambition and success. What was once routine may take on a sparkling shine. The landscape expands, and work, gym, show rings, even the kitchen sink, become talismans for good fortune. For us equines, we’ll be frisky as spring colts, so mind the lead rope.

Aquarius

After last month’s focus on partnership, it’s time for a holiday. Opportunities to ‘cross boarders’ are on offer, be they countries, realms of the mind or cherished beliefs. Whatever you think you ‘know’ is up for a new perspective. Us equines, on the other hand, simply need a short spell in a large, grassy paddock.

Invigorating Mars in your home sign, trine the sun in the house of play, livens you up every which way. For one, creative self-expression and romance are vying neck and neck for your attention. If you are facing a ‘blank page’ or empty date book, relax and get ready to go!

As your equine friends strut their stuff right along beside you, trust you’re coming off as genius hot, creative and in high demand.

Scorpio

Pisces

This month is all about the home and family-tribe. Spending time with two and four-legged clan strengthens the soul and expands feelings of connection. Great for home improvements, looking at property or travelling from one home to another. Don’t be surprised if unexpected guests arrive bearing amazing and thoughtful gifts. You may also have a chance to heal an old wound with gratitude.

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

The Sun/Mars dynamic highlights your intimate connections and suggests you don’t go it alone. Even if you are utterly self-sufficient, this is the time to partner up with someone you trust, or at least a casual friend. When you pool resources for a common goal, be it financial, tactile, mental or artistic, the outcome is dazzling. Pampering your four-legged charges will also soothe the mind and nerves.

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H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

16.3hh WB Gelding Price: $4,200 “Ferrero no share” 5 year old, approx 15.2hh Bay OTTB Ferrero is kind, smart and willing. A super prospect for the show or dressage ring.

For more info click here.

Warmblood Mare Price: $45,0000 Sire: QEB Superstar Dam: QEB Swing on By FEI Mare Eve is an 11 year old, 16.2hh, Bay Warmblood.

Would be an awesome interschool mount for a dedicated young rider.

For more info click here.

16.3hh WB Gelding

Thoroughbred Gelding

$6,000

*EXPRESSION OF INTEREST* FLASH Off The Track Height: 15.1 hh Age:8 year old Colour: Brown Gelding Sire: Aussie Rules

15 yo (October 2002), 16.3hh, brown.

By Jive Magic out of Shannon R. Jamie didn’t start his competition career until this year but he has already achieved impressive results.

This boy is an absolute pocket rocket, well put together and 3 incredible paces

For more info click here.

For more info click here.

Flashy Thoroughbred Price: $7,500

For more info click here.

equestrianmarketplace.com.au

H U BV I B ES M AG A Z I N E

Coaldale Road (by Exceed & Excel) AKA Oggie Reg: ANSA & TB Height: 15.3 hh Age: rising 11 Would excel in show ring or ODE. Just returned from training in Novice level dressage.

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NEWS & VIEWS FROM EQUESTRIAN HUB Published by Equestrian Hub • PO Box 13 • Tintenbar NSW 2478 Phone: 0414 760067 • Email: info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au