Horse Vibes Special - Our Jumping Heroes

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Inside: VICKI

ROYCROFT CHRIS

CHUGG EDWINA

TOPS-ALEXANDER DAVID

FINCH

MICHELLE

LANG-MCMAHON VICKI

WILSON

JUMPI OUR

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JUMPING Heroes OUR

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INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL & ASPIRATIONAL

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Cover photo: Jenny Sheppard - The horse is called Vivarchi and Vicki is winning a young horse class at the Sydney Jumps Into Spring Championships in September 2018 Published by Equestrian Hub PO Box 13, Tintenbar NSW 2478 info@equestrianhub.com.au www.equestrianhub.com.au

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VICKI ROYCROFT

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CHRIS CHUGG

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EDWINA TOPS-ALEXANDER

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MICHELLE LANG-MCMAHON

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DAVID FINCH

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VICKI WILSON

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of course ‘Finchy’. Respected in every

WELCOME

Dreaming Big – Jumping Bigger

field he works in, his main ‘man’ at the moment is the beautiful 17hh grey sporthorse stallion, Charlemagne Ego Z. With every new stallion coming up through the ranks at Finch Farm, Finchy’s impact on the world of Australian jumping is assured.

Last but by no means least, we have Vicki Wilson, from across the Tasman – not an Australian, we know, but close enough,

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we reckon, to include this extraordinary

elcome to ‘Our Jumping Heroes’ – the very first print edition of HorseVibes!

young woman who has done more in her 26 years on the planet than most people twice her age. This World Cup showjumper is also a stunt rider,

I’ve been editor of HorseVibes for two

trainer; the inventor of the Equisystem

years now, and it’s been my privilege

bandages; the US Road to the Horse

to gather most of the interviews for the

winner - for two consecutive years - and

main feature on ‘Our Heroes’.

a champion of the Kaimanawa – New

Speaking with this amazing collection

Zealand’s wild horse.

of human beings, all of whom are stars

All of us who have ever jumped a fence,

in the equestrian world in their chosen

and felt the thrill of that moment of

discipline, has been inspirational for me.

suspension in mid-air, and the sensation

I think what has stood out for me is the

of a horse under us that we trust

special quality they have that enables them to continue chasing their dreams - through thick and thin, and I take my riding helmet off to them.

of the partnership, with her husband Peter, behind this month’s Aquis, and is also now a successful racehorse breeder.

Vicki Roycroft, loved by all of us, has

Says Michelle: “I don’t really recognise

won more World Cup Qualifiers than any

the concept of not being able to do

other Australian rider, on more than 12

something.”

different horses and has been to four

Then, of course, there’s Chris Chugg

World Cup Finals representing Australia.

Vicki, now in her 60’s, jumps with a replacement hip and one eye, and is still right at the top of her game.

– affectionately known as ‘Chuggy’, this hugely popular showjumper is a five times Australian Showjumping Champion, for three consecutive years

implicitly, know the hard work, the bravery and the exceptional dedication that goes into the making of a champion rider – and a champion horse. Our ambitions may have changed as we’ve progressed through life, but talking to these champions, pursuing and achieving their dreams, I’ve come to realise that anything is possible.

For those who simply love to watch horses and riders taking off over fences – there’s plenty in here for you to enjoy,

You might notice that four of our

on Vivant; he’s been an Australian

‘Jumping Heroes’ are women, and so

representative at the World Cup Finals in

they should be. Edwina Tops-Alexander

Paris and at the World Equestrian Games

this adrenalin-filled spectator sport.

is currently rated 11th in the world,

in Kentucky, and he is well known as a

We hope you enjoy this special printed

and is the highest-ranking female rider,

trainer, buyer and breeder.

edition. Don’t forget to visit our website,

Following in the tradition of Australia

or find us on Pocketmags and subscribe

shortening names for their favourite

to read our exciting equestrian stories.

stunning the world with her brilliant mare California.

Michelle Lang-McMahon, as well as

people, Queensland-based showjumper,

representing Australia at the World

breeder, trainer and the Chair of

Equestrian Games several times, is part

Equestrian Queensland David Finch is,

and perhaps to learn a bit more about

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“None of us could really do anything for

VICKI ROYCROFT

Vicki Roycroft ... a Legend in her own Lifetime

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 horizontal oxer, what’s a triple combination, what’s a double. I also found, to my surprise, that when

Vicki Roycroft is one of the most successful Australian riders ever at World Cup Finals. She talks 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 17.

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

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more than her fair share of tragedies

She told us that she was a bit concerned

brother and sister rode, but to be honest

because she’d been having blurry vision

I used to kick and scream my way

for sometime, and that it wasn’t easy

around the horse shows. It wasn’t until

jumping the classes she was in with a

I was 13 or so that I go interested and

“bung eye.”

then my siblings gave up as they got

and triumphs, life continued as normal.

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

Strangely though, for someone whose entire life has been based on horses and riding, she wasn’t that keen on it as

Elysian Fields Showjumping competition

a child. “I was born in Melbourne, and

on the Gold Coast, and my son’s horse

my mum was horsey,” she says, “and we

was stabled near hers.

moved to Sydney when I was seven. My

older whereas I just kept on going.”

As it transpired the bung eye was

A chance conversation between her

both more and less serious than she’d

mother and Tommy Smith resulted in

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

was back home I saw my doctor who referred me to a specialist, and within 15

Time, who went on to become not only a champion hack but also an eventer

minutes I had the diagnosis that I had a

and showjumper. “He was too slow

large melanoma at the back of my eye,

to race,” she says, “much to Tommy’s

and that I needed to have my eye taken

disgust because he’d been expensive,

out. It was a bit of a shock.”

but he was the most wonderful horse.

thought I had a brain tumour’. But

That was in August 2007, and as luck

it kept on getting worse, so when I

would have it – for Vicki at least – EI hit.

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the arrival of a thoroughbred, Harvest

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He retired with us when he was 20.”

Surprisingly, given her stellar career -

A: Congo Z competing at the Boneo Park World Cup Show January 2015.

Photo: © Snaffle-it Snap Shots.

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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

B: Condo Z at Sydney Jump Club in 2016.

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C: Vicki on her famous Thoroughbred, Apache.

D: After winning New Zealand Horse of the Year.

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.”

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

Bold General jump thistle patches in his

“I think the most important thing

paddock, and thought he might have a

George taught me straight away was

bit of talent.

that you can’t have ego,” she says. “I

“It was 1982, if I remember correctly,” says Vicki, “when Tim rang me about this little horse that he thought had

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

was always in a perfect position over

talent but he was having a bit of trouble

a jump. Although he was a great rider,

with. I remember I thought he’d done

he wasn’t so good at teaching – it was

more with him than he had, so I put

Wayne, his son who has always been

him straight at the jumps the more

a brilliant coach.” When Vicki married

experienced horses had been jumping.

Wayne in 1976 at the age of 24, she

He was a bit rough – he’d never jumped

became part of an Australian equestrian

anything like those jumps before, but he

dynasty and although she and Wayne

was willing, and he had something.” So

divorced in 2000, their marriage was

Bold General was sold to Vicki for $500

a partnership that produced more

and trucked off to Mt White to begin his

winning combinations for Australia

new career with a new name – Apache.

Vicki had a chance to turn a very

in showjumping and eventing than

It wasn’t an auspicious start – the horse

quick profit when an Irish dealer was

anything before or since.

was small and skinny – and Wayne was

out looking for horses not long after

not impressed. “I hid him in a paddock to

Apache’s first few shows. “I was thinking

fatten up,” she says, “but when I started

I’d ask ten thousand – which isn’t a bad

to ride him he showed me straight away

profit from $500, but Wayne, to my

that he had something.”

surprise put $20,000 on him, and the

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

At around the same time the stellar

choice but to sell him for $250 to one

coach and showjumper George Morris,

of the owners, Tim Egan, who had seen

entered Vicki’s life.

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George knocked that out of me straight away. I was shattered, to be honest, I thought 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.

dealer pulled out. Wayne knew that he was going to be amazing.”

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. 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 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.” To add icing to the cake, the Australians won the Nations Cup and the party, she adds, as if it’s an everyday occurrence that an opera singer should host a party for showjumpers, was at Pavarotti’s. 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

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at first. “He was so strong, but by the

C

Apache lived to a ripe old age, and is buried on the Mt. White property.

with the dollars they could get for Apache, Vicki had to make the heartbreaking 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.

“He got to mini-Prix,” she says, “and won the warm up class for the World Cup at Horseworld, and that’s when I decided

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Photo: Lena Saugen

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to retire him. I thought it was so great he could go out on a good note.”

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 “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, 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.”

‘

We had Mark in our lives for 18-years ... and not a day goes by without me thinking of him.

She is vocal about certain aspects of

the talented young stallion Dynamite

horses and riding. “I’m absolutely with

Bay, whom she rode recently at Aquis.

George Morris on the importance of

“He’s a bit quirky, as stallions can be,” she

flatwork,” she says. “Particularly these

says, “but he’s got talent for sure.”

days when the courses have got more and more technical. If you don’t nail your flatwork you won’t nail your jumping,

Fortunately for Vicki a new partner came

it’s as simple as that. I’m also a great

into her life after Mark’s death, and that

believer in sitting lightly on your horse,

plus her continuing commitment to

and not over-riding it, you want a willing

her horses, riding and coaching meant

partner – one that asks, ‘what would you

that in the end she realised that Mark

like me to do?’ I’m also really strong on

would not want her to be unhappy,

groundwork. I go crazy when people let

and that the genuine pleasure she gets

their horses rub up and down on them.

from coaching and teaching was a way

It all starts on the ground.”

in which she could give back to the equestrian community.

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Beach in Lake Munmorah National Park.

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 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

At Mt. White she currently has 21 horses,

her heart, and she will give and give

with ten or so of them in work, including

and give.” She’s always fascinated by the

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progression of her young horses, and the potential they show.

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Photo: © Snaffle-it Snap Shots.

A recent hip replacement – “they said I couldn’t ride for 12 weeks but I was riding in four,” has actually been a godsend she says. “I can hop up on a horse from the ground again,” she says. “I haven’t been able to do that for years.”

Time has mellowed her somewhat, but scratch the surface and the fire still burns bright. “I don’t have the same huge ambitions I once had,” she says, “but still of course, I would love to have a horse I could win an Olympic medal on since despite everything that remained out of my grasp. But that would be the only way I would be aiming that high again. There’s no point in simply making up the numbers.”

I don’t think that anyone could ever say that Vicki Roycroft has ever or will ever,

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.

‘simply make up the numbers’.

F: Vicki at the Jump Off final at Boneo Park

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A: Chris Chugg and KG Queenie3 Š Australian jumping.

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CHRIS CHUGG

‘Chuggy’ – keeping it real Showjumper Chris Chugg talks about the serious side of building a horse business.

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f I’ve heard one constant refrain over the years from my vet and my chiropractor it’s been about the dangers of over-lunging, and

all their efforts are going into the team they’ll take up to the Aquis Champions Tour at the Elysian Fields near Canungra,

yet for many trainers and riders it’s still

Queensland, which runs between April

normally a go-to method of training.

26 – May 5.

Not Chris Chugg, though, whose ability

“Aquis is a great event,” says Chris. “It’s

to raise and train top showjumpers is

equivalent to a 5* show in Europe. The

legendary. He’s as clear as day on the

prize money may not be as high as

topic of circles.

Europe, but the footing, the jumps, the

“The fact is that horses aren’t built to go

great stables – the manicured grounds

in circles,” he says bluntly. “Everything

all create a fantastic environment for a

about their bodies, including all their

good event. Gabi and I will be taking

joints, are designed to go in a straight

eight horses, including Cassiago and

line. If you ask a horse to do circle

Flare. It comes straight after Sydney

work before it’s mature enough, strong

Royal so it’s a busy time for us.”

enough and supple enough to do it, you’re just asking for problems.”

Talking of how he and Gabi work their horses, he says that they’re lucky they

These days, Chris says, particularly in

both admire each other’s riding. “We

Europe, people are now paying attention

train each other,” he says, “and we ride

to the surfaces, and the size of arenas

each other’s horses. Gabi has a great eye

their horses are being worked on.

for a horse, and we both enjoy bringing

“We use a lot of different training

on young horses.”

surfaces and different areas,” he says.

But although Chris may not be a fan of

“We swim our horses, we use a treadmill, we work them on a very large arena.”

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showjumping world, and at the moment

circle work too young, the final goal of having a horse work ‘round’, is the same

The ‘we’ that he’s referring to of course,

he says, he just likes to find the way

is his partner in life and in jumping, the

each horse likes to engage with what

incredibly talented showjumper Gabi

they’re doing. “There’s a lot of pressure

Kuna, also Chris’s fiancée. Together the

for horses to look like everybody else’s

couple are a formidable force in the

horses; even for riders to look like other

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B Representative at the World Cup Finals in Paris in 1987, in Gotenburg in 1991 and in Geneva in 2010, and an Australian Representative at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, finishing 21st individually on Vivant. He’s an NCAS Level 3 Showjumping instructor, and, with his former wife, Helen Chugg put together a formidable Warmblood breeding program, for jumpers and dressage horses.

Chris has always had horses in his life.

“My mother, Bev, was heavily involved in the trotting scene,” he says. “From the time I can remember I was around horses, and for many years our extra money came in from horses we used to buy at McGrath’s Hill, the old Homebush saleyards – where the Olympics were held.”

It was a quick turn-over. The family would buy on Friday, and sell on Saturday and Sunday through a regular ad in the paper. “Where we lived wasn’t very horsey,” he says, “so we used to go to the local park and ride.”

When his mother decided to take out a trainer’s license, the family moved out to Riverstone, continuing to deal in horses, an endeavour which brought along Chris’s first competition horse, Del Bart, a grey 15.3hh purebred Arabian. “Not the

A:

obvious choice for a competition horse,” riders,” he says. “But they don’t all work

leg which is so important for jumping,

the same. It’s vital for all horses to have

and the horses are kept in a hilly area

self-carriage, to be able to balance

around Tennyson near Sydney.” The

themselves up, to work round – but

early tragedy of losing Del Bart means

often you’ll need to chop and change

there are no steel fence posts. “You learn

how you work a horse, because every

to keep your horses safe,” he says.

horse is a little different.”

Over the decades Chris, always known

he says, “but we did very well jumping at pony club together.” Chris loved his horse, the pair of them growing into showjumping together, until sadly they came home after the Championships and Del Bart injured himself beyond repair on a fence post.

His knowledge of the breed stood him in

For Chris and Gabi keeping their horses

as ‘Chuggy’, has built himself up a

sound and happy is paramount. “They

fearsome reputation as a competitor. He

to finish school early, to make a living

get regular chiropractic treatment and

is a five times Australian Showjumping

showing Arabians for Paul James from

acupuncture; we use the treadmill for

Champion (three consecutive years on

Arabian Park. “That was a great job

building muscle and weight on the back

the extraordinary Vivant); an Australian

for me,” he says. “I learnt a lot about

good stead however when he decided

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conformation and handling stallions.

The main stallion I used to ride was

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a beautiful purebred black Egyptian stallion called Hakim. He was wild and fierce, and I enjoyed that about him. I had to be tough with him because he had a lot of bad habits. He’d actually been banned as a ridden horse from The Royal because he’d thrown his rider.”

Already not one to pass on a challenge, Chris schooled Hakim as regularly as he could. “I once rode him in a Karl Mikolka clinic,” he says, “and Karl said to me that he looked like a Warmblood not an Arabian. He was very big on long reins, and so we put Hakim in the long reins.

We taught him two-time changes and one-time changes, and he drove me like I was at the Vienna Riding School for weeks on end. Hakim came out of it at Prix St George level which was pretty incredible.”

Almost without realising it, Chris was learning a valuable lesson about horses – and himself as well. “I’m not sure that as a teenager I even thought about whether I was particularly good with horses,” he says. “I made pocket money training horses, leading stallions, riding and showing, and I just gradually realised that I seemed to have a talent for it. I think Hakim showed me that when you get horses that are good at what they do, you stick with it. It’s nice to work with smart animals, to teach them trust and that they can believe in themselves – then it either becomes a great partnership, or they become a very saleable item, and you can make sure they go on to a great home.”

It seemed as if Chris was headed in the direction of eventing when his eventing horse, Kustah, died of an aneurysm at the Melbourne 3DE.

horse that was to become famous.

The Palomino first-cross Quarter Horse stallion, Chico D’Oro, had done a bit of everything when he was purchased as a dressage horse for Bev – but he had other ideas. All these years later Chris still laughs at the memory. “He was no dressage horse,” he says. “He was a

But Chris had a surprise around the

playful, bucking handful. As soon as I

corner. His mother had bought a

was old enough I got to ride him, and he

B: Gabi and Cristalline, and Chris and Cera Cassiago: “They are both riders’ horses”.

Photo: The Horse Magazine.

C: Top: A win at Sydney Royal for Sky High. Seond Greg McDermott and Mr Shrimpton, third, Vicki Roycroft and Mickey Mouse. Bottom: Sky High on the tarmac at Sydney Airport heading off to Paris and a big learning curve.

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Something that Chris enjoys is buying horses at a young age, and working them up through the grades, perhaps because of the wonderful journey he enjoyed with Sky High.

“My mother was on the hunt for a breeding stallion when she found Sky High, a two-year-old Hanoverian Warmblood,” says Chris. “Sky High was completely different to Chico –

‘

‘

D

I didn’t even recognise Sky High. He’d lost about 200kgs.

took me to Grand Prix showjumping.”

longevity. “Jumpers last much longer

Google Chico D’Oro and you can see

than high-level dressage horses or

how he won the hearts of so many

eventers,” he says. “Horses that are

an European-bred horse, slower and heavier. He weighed 750kgs so you wouldn’t think he was built for speed but he was fast, very fast. We took him slowly up through the grades, and I won my first World Cup on him at Armidale when I was 21. I’d won the Mini Prix, and I thought, well I may as well try the World Cup. I won that, and my Mum had bought me in the Calcutta the night before, so she won more than I won in prize money!”

Chris still remembers the thrill of being chosen to represent Australia at the World Cup final in Paris in 1987, but also the massive learning curve of discovering what can happen if you don’t travel with your horse. “I’d never done it before, and of course they sent a groom to travel with him – the horse got sick, and they worked him after he’d arrived,” he says. “I arrived four weeks later, and walked straight past him in the stable-block. I didn’t even recognise him. He’d lost about 200kgs. I was

– with hundreds of posts about his

well looked after will jump well into

bloodlines. He went on to sire a number

their teens, they can still compete at

of good jumpers, including Ashico,

Olympic level up until they’re 16 – even

and, says Chris, they were lucky to be

older sometimes, so they’re well looked

coached by Di Lawson (Gala Nigh, Tick-

after. I believe you can create a really fit

Tac). Chris soaked up everything she

jumping horse in 12 weeks or so, then

had to teach him. “She was a great rider,”

really you’re just asking them to work

he says. “She could take a horse that had

for sixty seconds every now and then

learned the basic ropes and turn them

to keep them ticking over, you don’t

goes nowhere without us. I travel with

have to ride them for two hours like a

any horse we take to Europe 24 hours

One of the reasons that Chris enjoys

dressage horse. Showjumping is really a

a day. Owners know their horses like

working with showjumpers is their

light, easy way to ride.”

no-one else does, and you have to

into a really great horse.”

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devastated.”

Sky High was sick for weeks, but recovered to give the pair a few starts prior to the final in Paris. “In the very first class he trod on a shoe in the first double, and that was it, we were out. I figured it could only ever get better. It taught me a valuable lesson. The horse

E

have your finger on the pulse. They’re big animals, but they can get sick very easily.”

Staying on in Europe to work at Paul Schockemöle’s place for a few months, cleaning stables and riding young horses, gave Chris some more major life lessons - namely that the horse industry in Europe was massive in comparison to Australia, but that he didn’t want to live in Europe. “I knew that I wanted to come and produce my own horses, and have Europe as a place to go to for purchasing horses,” he says. “I’ve never regretted that decision. For me living in Australia and doing what I do with horses is the best possible life.”

Fast forward a few decades to THAT mare, and by now Chris’s eye for a young horse, and the combined training and riding of Cristalline by both Gabi and Chris of the horse they’d purchased as a five-year-old, created what he refers

D: Clockwise from top left: Kustah cross country, late 70’s; Chris and Chico D’Oro, 1977; Chris and a four-year-old Sky High in 1979; Chris and Chico D’Oro at Peat’s Ridge Showjumping, 1978.

E: Mr Currency and Chris at the World Cup final, Sweden, 1991.

to as: “A freak of nature. Cristalline has an incredible level of self-confidence,

He’s as straight-shooting as it’s possible

black horse, that could piaffe in-hand.”

but again, it reinforces how important

to be on the way to build a business.

Chris wasn’t entirely convinced but took

the early years are in a horse’s life. You

“A lot of people think they can create a

can have Incredible talent in a horse, but unless you nurture it correctly, and create a relationship of trust with the horse, the results won’t happen.”

business out of one great horse – you can’t,” he says. “You might for a little while if you’re winning, and the horse is doing really well, but I’m sorry, one horse

Mr Currency home on trial for a week.

He was going to sell him on quickly, but fortunately changed his mind. A good decision as it turned out since only three years later they were at the World Cup final in Sweden.

But when results do happen, a

is a hobby not a business. If you want to

professional stable has to face the

be in the showjumping game, the only

One pointer Chris gives to people

difficult choice, particularly with a

way to do it is to buy the breeding lines,

wanting to buy a showjumper is that

younger horse, of whether to keep it,

buy the ones that are naturally athletic,

even though, in the past, thoroughbreds

or sell it. In 2016, Cristalline was sold

smart, willing and keen to do it. Take

were the mainstay of the industry,

to US rider Adrienne Strenlicht, for an

them through the grades, and make the

the difference these days between

undisclosed amount.

choice – at the right point – to sell them.”

thoroughbreds and warmbloods

“I’m not going to say that it’s not tough

Chris’s liking for young horses almost

selling horses, it is,” he says. “But if you

meant he missed out on Mr Currency

want to be in the business of horses,

one of the great horses of his career. “He

and not just have them as a hobby, you

was six, so he was really at the upper

have to sell them. Bringing them on

level of the age limit for me,” says Chris.

from youngsters and selling them before

“Helen and I were actually looking for a

they reach their teens is what brings in

Palomino for a friend, but when we went

It brings him back to his central point - if

the money to sustain the business and

to see this horse it had been sold. Then

you want to do horses professionally

provide our lifestyle so it just has to be.”

there was another one – this 16.3hh

it has to be a business. “If you do it on

has become greater. “These days thoroughbreds are bred leaner, and flatter, and less uphill. For a great jumper you need a horse that is uphill, and in the main you won’t find that in a thoroughbred.”

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F: A young Vivant.

the fringes it will just keep you poor,” he says, “if you try and do it in a big way and you don’t have the support you’ll go broke. Remember that to feed a top-performing showjumper costs $40-$50 a day. What you want to look for are your foundation mares, and a gold medal stallion. It’s a great game this one, but some months our vet bills would bankrupt some people. I learned, from buying and selling my own horses, that I could make a living. When I was young we had incredible diversification.

My Mum had her trotters, we had

F

manage the business of horses.”

And then of course, there was Vivant.

The very first horse that Chris and Helen Chugg looked at on one of their trips to Europe, the horse that finally retired two years ago at the age of 18, having

– 50% are mares, and 50% stallions or geldings. We are now producing five to eight embryos, and before you know it we’ll have 20 or 30 young horses to train and sell. For me personally the icing on the cake is to go overseas, find a going

dominated the World Cup scene for

four-year-old, bring it back and take it to

many years. “He was an unbelievable

the next level.”

horse,” says Chris, “scopey, careful and

In the meantime, after Aquis there’s

brave. A warmblood with thoroughbred

a December wedding to plan for, the

characteristics – a perfect jumping

next World Equestrian Games, and of

horse. He was the best athlete I’ve ever

course the 2020 Olympics. What about

had the privilege of working with.”

their own personal breeding program,

Quarter Horses and Appaloosas, and my

These days Gabi and Chris’s breeding

I wonder. Chris laughs. “’Well I’ve had

performance horses. Put it all together

program is carefully worked out. “We

a vasectomy so it would have to be

and it made something. You have to

try to stagger our horses and have them

reversed, but Gabi is only 30 so you

have big dreams, but at the same time

at every age,” he says. “Our first crop

never know – and in the meantime

you can’t afford to not learn how to

of two year olds have been broken in

horses are our family.”

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Edwina Tops-Alexander with Cevo Itot du Chateau.

Photo: Lena Saugen

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EDWINA TOPS-ALEXANDER

achieve, but the goal was a portent of things to come.

Riding high

Even her first horse wasn’t exactly star material. “He was an un-broken fouryear-old pinto,” she recalls, “not exactly first horse material when you’re eight, but somehow we survived.”

Edwina attended Pymble Ladies College, and after school gained her degree as a Bachelor of Physical Education, all the while training and riding. Her competitive streak didn’t take too long

Edwina Tops-Alexander is the highest ranked female showjumper in the world. We profile the life and times of an inspirational rider.

to assert itself, and by 1995 Edwina had won the Australian Young Rider Championship.

Even determined champions have

In December she became the second woman to win the Paris Longines Grand Prix on her amazing mare, 11-yearold California, and became the first Australian to take pride of place on the winner’s podium. Only a week later, at the Coruna World Cup in Spain, TopsAlexander and her nine-year-old stallion, Vinchester won their first 1.60m class together, with the horse having only just jumped 1.50m a few days before that stellar performance. Her winning streak continued when Edwina, once more riding California, became the first ever winner of the inaugural $1.4m Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix in Prague on December 16, 2018 – beating German veteran Ludger Beerbaum by a mere half-a-second.

But half-a-second is all the tripleOlympian needed to cement her place in equestrian history. All of this topping her success in Aachen, Germany 2006, when she became the first Australian to make the final of the individual jumping

Games, finishing fourth.

Originally from Turramurra, in Sydney’s northern suburbs, Edwina started

their rough patches, something all of us would do well to remember, and the sport almost lost her when she was 18. “I had a horse that just refused all the time,” she recalls, “and I almost

riding when she was eight-years-old.

stopped riding.” But she persevered,

“We weren’t a horse family,” her mother

training, and riding different horses and

has said, “but we had neighbours with

in 1998, only three years after her AYR

horses, and Edwina used to watch

Championship, she made her debut

them ride. She decided she wanted

riding for Equestrian Australia in Hong

to learn, and she loved it so much

Kong, moving to Europe later that same

she joined the Avondale Pony Club in

year taking her horse Mr. Dundee to

North Turramurra.” The young Edwina’s

Belgium with her. Edwina was based

ambitions were mostly relatively

with Belgian showjumping star Ludo

modest. She wanted her ears pierced,

Philippaerts for three years before she

a navy blue jacket and a chestnut

made the decision to branch out on her

pony. The other ambition, to ride at the

own, creating her own company buying

Olympics, seemed not quite as easy to

and selling horses for Australian clients.

‘

‘

T

he list of Edwina TopsAlexander’s firsts just keeps tumbling – unlike the fences she’s jumping.

competition at the World Equestrian

He was an un-broken four-year-old pinto,” she recalls, “not exactly first horse material when you’re eight, but somehow we survived.”

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A. Charlotte Casiraghi, Princess Caroline and Princess Alexandra all attended the red-carpet wedding of Edwina Alexander and Jan Tops.

B Edwina Tops-Alexander with Inca Boy Van T Vianahof.

Photo: Malene Nilssen C. The couple welcomed baby Chloe into the world in July 2017.

‘

‘

D. Edwina Alexander-Tops and her husband Jan Tops at the 2012 London Olympics.

A

It was literally a match made in horse-heaven...The partnership has allowed that talent to blossom.

B

“The fact is,” Edwina has said, “that

As she became better-known in Europe,

diminutive blonde, who says, as the

unfortunately Australia is not the core

and the winner’s podium became a

highest ranking female rider in the

place for my sport. If it was, I’m sure

regular event for her, another side to

world: “I don’t feel any different as a

many more of us would want to live

Edwina started to show itself to those

woman rider to any male - but it does

there, but Europe is where we have to

around her. Always interested in

feel good to beat the boys.”

be based. It was a great place to grow

fashion, her perfect turnouts, and her

up, and gave me the chance to compete

style gained her admirers in the fashion

in many different sports, but Europe is

industry and some A-list sponsors,

where the best showjumping is.”

including Gucci, and the Swiss watch

It wasn’t the easiest time though, starting over. “She had to prove herself

company Jaeger-LeCoultre, for whom she’s an ambassador.

Edwina’s achievements have been consolidated with her extraordinary partnership – and marriage – to previous Olympian and renowned horse breeder and trainer Jan Tops. “She was raw talent when I first met her,” he says.

right from the start over again,” her

‘Strong’, ‘powerful’, ‘motivated’, ‘talented’,

“But she didn’t have a huge amount

mother says, “but after six months she

‘petite’, ‘determined’ – these are all

of knowledge about how to do the

came home and told us that she wanted

adjectives that people who know

technical flatwork and exercises that

to be based in Europe.”

Edwina have used to describe the

would take a horse to the top.”

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It was literally a match made in horseheaven. The couple met when Edwina first moved to Europe, but didn’t actually begin a relationship until 2002. Edwina was keen to learn, and Jan to teach her.

“She tries 100 percent every single day,” he says, “and that’s what sustains her.”

In 2006 while they were at a show in Malaysia, Jan hatched a plan – the Global Champions Tour. Edwina could immediately see that the plan had merits. “All he had to do was pull it off,” she said at the time. In only five years the GCT has lifted the level of prize money by hundreds of thousands of dollars – in Aachen, for example, it went

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from $150,000 to $1million.

The philosophy behind the GCT is that less should be more in showjumping.

“Showjumping horses are valuable, unique and hard to come by,” Edwina says. “We believed that if we could create something that meant competitors could earn more, and jump their horses a bit less, then the horses welfare would be better looked after.”

Jan was already famous in the equestrian world for his ability to create partnerships between horses and riders, but his partnership with Edwina (they married in 2011) has allowed that talent to blossom. “He’s found me amazing horses,” Edwina says. “But also what you need to remember is that every horse is different. You can’t ride every horse the same way, and so the right way to ride the horse is as important as the horse itself.”

Photo: Lena Saugen

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Informative, Informational & Aspirational

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E And there is no doubt that some of the horses she’s ridden will be remembered forever. Horses like Pialotta, Socrates and Cevo Itot du Chateau, for example, with California and Vinchester hot on their heels as champions in their own right.

But of all of those horses, it’s Cevo Itot du Chateau, affectionately known as ‘Toti’, that remains her horse of a lifetime.

No fan of showjumping could surely ever forget the little 15.2hh chestnut gelding out of Le Tot de Semilly, given to Edwina by her husband as a New Year’s Eve surprise in 2007, that took her to victory not once, but twice in 2011 and 2012 on the Global Champions Tour.

E. Edwina and Erenice Horta showing a clean pair of heels.

F

F. Edwina Tops-Alexander on Cevo Itot du Château.

“He’s not anywhere as large as many of the other horses,” she says, “but he’s got heart and he and I just connected straight away. Toti has earned more than $3.5m (Euro) in prize money – an amount even a top racehorse could be proud of. He retired in 2014 at the age of 18 but according to Edwina still rules the roost. “He’s got a bit more weight than he used to have, but he’s still very active.”

‘

Perhaps the best bit of her recent inaugural LGCT Super Grand Prix win,

cheering because I’d finished,” she says.

of Chloe, seems, in hindsight, as if

was that she didn’t realise she had

“I really didn’t think I’d won. After I had

it was never going to work for this

won! All three leading jumpers, Dutch

the fence down, I thought, ‘right, I just

power house of a competitor. In

rider Frank Schuttert, Ludger Beerbaum

have to go for it.’” And so she did!

September 2017 she was already back

and Edwina all had four penalties over two rounds. Pulling all stops out, the

Looking back at her decision in March

Australian couldn’t actually see her

2017 to “retire indefinitely” from the

results. “I thought the crowd was just

sport she so loves before the birth

‘

He (Toti) is not anywhere as large as many of the other horses,” she says, “but he’s got heart and he and I just connected straight away.

to five-star competition in Switzerland surely making it one of the shortest retirements in the world.

Although she is a strong advocate for women in sport – across the board – she does not like to see showjumping as ‘Men against Women’. “For me it’s horses against horses,” she says.

May the best horse win.

For more information go to: www. edwinatops-alexander.com

A: Michelle riding KS Capulet Ego Z. Photo: OzShotz

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MICHELLE LANG-MCMAHON

Aquis – Aiming High One thing showjumper Michelle Lang-McMahon knows only too well is that if a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

For the organiser of the upcoming Aquis Champions Tour showjumping competition, it was the logistics that were most nerve-wracking about taking on the massive project, which is now entering its fourth year.

B

oth myself and Peter have done a lot of global shows,” says Michelle Lang-McMahon, the

the effort that goes into putting on any show, let alone a major event. We had to plan classes, and create ideas for classes,

showjumping mother of three, “and

get course designers, jumps, stables,

right from the start we wanted it to be

sawdust – article numbers - I knew

top class. Not,” she adds, “that it was

nothing about article numbers! You

something we were originally looking to

could give me the numbers of jumps in

do – not by a long shot.”

a jump-off and I knew about those, but

In fact, it was five years ago when the

article numbers – what were they?”

McMahons were holding a George

Michelle is a good example of Heath

Morris clinic at their place, and Michael

Ryan’s theory that in Australia it’s mainly

Keane was there watching his wife Kelly participate.

the parents that make our equestrian champions, because although her

“Michael asked Peter if he’d like to

parents were not horsey themselves,

resurrect the Elysian Fields event, and

they did have a passion for the sport of

the pair of them organized to have

eventing. “As soon as it became obvious

dinner, so next thing you know we’re

that they had a rider for a daughter,

all having a meeting, and Michael told

I was encouraged to event,” she says,

us that he’d give us $125,000 to put on

“I was also lucky enough to have a

an event,” she says, “so that was that!

cross-country course at our property,

The very next day my daughter Meleah

Equestrian Australia held events there,

and I sat down for three days straight

so I evented.”

planning a program.”

A

the first time in my life I appreciated

But perhaps like all true showjumpers

To say it was a learning curve is an

Michelle was not fond of the dressage.

understatement Michelle says, looking

“I told my parents that I just wanted to

back at the first couple of years. “It was

jump, and that was that, we ditched the

a massive learning curve,” she says. “For

eventing and off we went.”

Not, she hastens to add, that she doesn’t

as if this was an easy task, but make not

nice TB with Sir Tristram bloodlines,

believe in the importance of dressage

mistake about it, representing Australia

KS Double Up – he was really skinny

training for all competition horses. “We

at the highest level of jumping, is

and under-nourished so I got my Mum

actually have a dressage trainer, Ron

anything but easy – in all ways. “What

to look after him while I was away

Patterson, for our horses,” she says, “and

a lot of people don’t realise is how

and when I was back he really proved

he’s brilliant with our horses, it’s just it’s

lonely it is,” she says. “I made the team

himself quickly – in his first World Cup

not really for me.”

with Odds On, but really it’s very boring

he came third, and I really wanted him

By the time she was 19, Michelle had

riding one horse a day, the weather

for the Olympics in Sydney, but then we

a horse with huge potential – an ex-

is vile, and the Europeans aren’t that

discovered he had a degeneration of the

racehorse, Odds On. “My dad sent me

friendly. Obviously once the team

pastern joint.”

to George Sanna’s to train for three

turned up it was a lot of fun, but up until

months,” she says, “and by the next year

then it was a bit ordinary.”

we were on the World Cup circuit. We

Odds On went on to qualify again two

the horse further, but Michelle’s belief

years later, with an outstanding season

in him was so strong that she decided

leading to the World Cup in Geneva, and

to have surgery performed on him by

in the wings was another ex-racehorse

Jim Vasey, a vet who had done it twice

superstar in the making. “Before I went

before. So down he went all the way to

back to Europe I’d bought another

Goulburn, and although he missed the

won a big one in Shepparton, and when I was 22 I went to Europe to try and make the team for the World Equestrian Games.”

Michelle says this almost off-handedly

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Most people, with that kind of information might well not have taken

B: Michelle competing at Aquis Champions Tour.

C: Michelle with Real Surreal.

B Olympics, by 2001 he was back in work.

“I took him to Sydney Royal in 2002 and he won Champion Part 1, then he won Champion Horse. I took him to Europe and made the team for WEG with him,” she says. “He was the highest scoring horse, and the best-performed horse at Rotterdam. At the time I didn’t know that would be the last time I sat on him, but Jan Tops wanted to buy him, and he kept him to the end. He was 27 when he died and very much loved. I came back from WEG and was very sad to say the least. It was the best trip I’d ever done.

Edwina (Alexander) and I were up to no good most of the time, and it was just one of those periods of life where we couldn’t do a thing wrong. We had the

C

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Michelle was pregnant, marrying in

D

October that year, and by 2004 she was back competing at Brisbane Royal.

“Pete was asked if he would ride a mare, Genoa, who wasn’t behaving the best,” she says. “So he did and won the Grand Prix on her. He was really impressed with her – he told me he thought she was the horse he could really compete on. To be honest I was dead-set against him getting her. Meleah was only four months old, we were so busy building up our business, but then I caved in and decided to buy her for him for his first ever Father’s Day present. I hid her at my neighbour’s place, and in the morning we snuck her over – and that was it, she was his.”

E

That one gift set off a raft of wins, with Genoa winning her first World Cup, in 2006 Peter took her to Europe where she was the best-performed non-Europeanbased horse, qualifying for WEG in Aachen in 2006.

But behind the scenes it wasn’t all just been trying for another baby, and in 2007 she started on a course of IVF,

‘

‘

about horses - Peter and Michelle had

I suggested he bring horses up to me. And, as they say, the rest is history.

D: Emily and Elkee LangMcMahon with their rosettes at the Aquis Champions Tour.

which resulted in her, as she says in a

E: The Lang-McMahon tribe in a rare moment together!

The twins were born in February 2008,

best time.”

But it wasn’t long before resuming her life in Australia produced something very special – a meeting at the Sale Show in 2002 with another jumper, Peter McMahon.

“Pete was in drought at the time,” she says, “and having to cart water so I suggested he bring horses up to me.

And, as they say, the rest is history.”

good horsewoman way, “foaling down in 2008”. and Peter left to chase his Olympic dream with Genoa when they were four weeks old, with Michelle following when they were eight weeks. “I left them with my Mum and Dad,” she says. “I just knew I had to go, and so I went. I was there a month, with Meleah and was with Pete at the selection events and once he qualified I came home.”

It wasn’t the easiest of homecomings; one of the babies was sick and in hospital, so Michelle landed and went

It’s been a hell of a ride, to use a horse

straight into hospital for a week, only to

metaphor, since then. By June 2003

discover that the selectors were, in her

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F: Michelle Lang-McMahon (middle) with Zara Phillips.

F

words, “being difficult”. So the day she

I just made sure she stayed in work,

“To be honest, I was a bit miffed,” says

was discharged, she flew back to Europe.

and I persuaded him to take her to the

Michelle. “I was like, so, I have to go

Horse of the Year Show in New Zealand

around all these shows by myself now

in 2009. I knew that there was $150,000

– well, that sucks.” But never one to be

for the top jumper, and I knew he could

thwarted for long, a slight change of

A legal battle went Peter’s way, but unfortunately in Hong Kong disaster struck when Genoa flipped herself over a practice jump, and Pete broke his

win it.”

direction towards breeding racehorses,

collar-bone. “I thought he’d just corked

As it turned out, Michelle was right.

it,” says Michelle, with what I’ve come to

Peter McMahon rode the only double-

already produce a couple of truly special

realise is her usual direct fashion. “He

clear in the Bell Tea Olympic Cup,

was screaming at me, it’s my shoulder,

actually failed to sell at auction as a one-

winning the largest ever prize in the

and I’m like, can’t you just be like Gillian

year-old. Putting her money where her

Southern Hemisphere. For him, it was

Rolton and get back on? But the bone

mouth is, Michelle had decided to keep

enough. Despite the lure of Kentucky,

was actually piercing his skin, and so

her. The filly went on to win close to $2

he decided to retire, and despite the lure

million, including her first big race at the

that was that, it was the end of the

of the amazing Animate, who has since

Magic Millions.

gone of course to be highly successful

“I learned everything I could about

dream which was really sad.”

has seen the Lang-McMahon camp horses, including Real Surreal, who had

But Michelle wasn’t going to let her

with Paul Brent, Peter McMahon was

husband walk away from his hugely

happy to hang up his spurs and to

her for a second. “We knew she had it

successful partnership with Genoa just

concentrate on running the family

in her to win at the Magic Millions, and

yet. “He was really down and out from

business Kolora Stud in the hinterland of

she’d raced well the weekend before.

the result of the Games,” she says, “but

the Gold Coast.

But there I was at the MM, and this is

racing,” she says, and you don’t doubt

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no word of a lie, I’m standing there

she was out the back, and I’m like, this

This year the program has changed a

and a bird pooped on my head and it

is not good, and then when the horses

bit, with more prize-money on offer.

splattered all over me. My Mum said it

were swooping on the home-turn to look at her come home - it was a wall of

“If you double up your entry fee and

was good luck, and not to wipe it off – so I didn’t, and she won by three lengths!”

horses, and suddenly they’re past you

Despite the excitement of the jumping circuit, Michelle says that the thrill of

on the finish line, it’s an indescribable feeling!”

you qualify for the final we have prizemoney first to 12, and we will triple your money. We’re basically asking riders to back themselves! The Grand Prix is

seeing your own horse race is something

Between the breeding, the coaching,

else. “I knew all the sectionals, and I

the competitions, and now the fact

would have been disappointed if she’d

that all three children, Meleah, and

been fourth or less, but our trainer had

ten-year-old twins Emily and Elkee, are

said that we needed to be six or less for

all following in their parent’s footsteps,

teams. I’m determined that this will

her to be pretty certain to win. So when

it’s hard to imagine a busier life, or a life

become an international event not just a

where running a major event is even the

Queensland or an Australian event.”

I went to get our number the people

$45,000 to win, this year, and we’ve also created an all-girl Aquis team. We’ve got great sponsors, and corporate

in front of me were all getting high

slightest possibility.

numbers – 22, 11, 17. I went up to pull

“I don’t really recognise the concept

out my brick, and at the very last second

of not being able to do something,”

it was as if my head was literally pulled

Michelle says off-handedly. “But I do

to the right, and there it was – number 3!

think it gets a little easier to run – even

Aquis Tour of Champtions go here:

When our race came, it was something

though of course the expectation from

http://elysianfields.com.hk/

else. They jumped from the barriers, and

everybody coming gets higher.”

showjumping/

I’d say the odds on her achieving her ambition would be high indeed.

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39

DAVID FINCH

The Quiet Achiever The much-loved David Finch is a formidable showjumper, breeder of sport horses at his property Finch Farm, five times Equestrian Queensland Coach of the Year, and of course, Chair of Equestrian Queensland.

I

t’s not easy getting hold of David Finch, or Finchy, as he’s inevitably and affectionately known in the industry.

used to hang around after mustering to go for another ride. I grew up in a stock saddle behind a mob of cattle, and I think in the long run it’s been a great

“Darl,” he says, when I call him for our

thing for me to have those country skills.

first appointment, “I’m just loading a

You learn to keep it real.”

horse, can I call you back?”

‘Keeping it real’, meant, as it almost

The next morning on the rescheduled

inevitably does for anyone wanting

appointment we get a few sentences in

competition horses, supplementing his

and then he tells me, “I’ve got a load of

income. “I got into teaching just to help

people here for breakfast.”

support my own riding and competing,”

Then there were lessons, a visit to his

he says. “It just grew like topsy and

grandfather and some work he had to

almost overnight I had a business.”

do.

But not all riders make good teachers,

I was just beginning to take it personally

and having watched him teach at

when we made a firm booking – for

numerous clinics over the years, there’s

7.00am – it seemed about the only time

something about his natural, down-

David could take a moment out of his

to-earth approach which is not only

busy life as, not just as the proprietor

sensible, but also very reassuring to

of his stud, Finch Farm, but as a coach

all levels of riders. As a teacher he

and teacher, current chair of Equestrian

becomes deeply engaged with helping

Queensland – and let’s not forget – a

the rider get the best from their horse –

gun showjumper on his brilliant horse

and he doesn’t discriminate, travelling

Charlemagne in his own right.

Queensland teaching showjumping,

David can’t remember a time without

cross-country and dressage. It’s not

horses. Growing up on the family farm

difficult to see why he’s won the

outside Roma, he learned on ponies

Australian Equestrian Coach of the Year

and bush-horses. “I always wanted

gong and the Equestrian Queensland

more riding,” he says. “I was the kid that

Coach of the Year five times.

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A

A: David Finch riding Charlemagne Ego Z.

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C: David Finch with Charlemagne Ego Z (left) and Calgary GNZ.

‘

D: David Finch on his Sporthorse stallion, Charlemagne Ego Z.

‘

B: The winning Queensland team with David Finch at the 2016 Tamworth World Cup State of Origin.

I’ve never been one for early peaking. In fact I’ve never peaked early in anything. I just poke along, and that’s what I get my horses to do.

an European pedigree in a modern sport horse body. David comes as close to waxing lyrical as I’ve ever heard when he’s talking about the big grey. “He’s the best horse in the world,” he says. “He’s just come up through the ranks to Grand Prix, and he’s taken it all in his stride. I always mean to do more with him, he’s

“One of the things I love about teaching

really helped me in the industry. I’ve

such a pleasure to ride. And he is siring

is that I could be helping a young kid,

learned to survive – and if you want

some amazingly talented progeny.”

mentoring a seasoned competitor, or

to be involved in the equestrian world

teaching a 60-year-old who just wants to

long-term that’s what you have to do.”

One of the main differences between

pop over low jumps because that’s their

David and many other trainer/breakers,

Perhaps, more than anything, David’s

is, it seems to me, the more European

long-term survival could be put down

route he takes with his horses – who are

Did he ever envisage such complete

to the planning he’s executed for his

not started under saddle until they’re

immersion in the industry, I wonder? “I

breeding program, which has earned

three or even four. “We really don’t do

always knew the horse industry would

his horses an amazing reputation

much with our horses here until they’re

be my life, but things didn’t come easily,

as competition horses in Australia.

five or six,” he says. “I’ve never been one

and financially it was often tough, so

His main ‘man’ at the moment is the

for forcing young horses to compete too

I had to really think about what I was

wonderful 2005, 17hh Sporthorse,

early – it’s not good for their long-term

doing,” he says. “I traded my way up,

Charlemagne Ego Z, by Calvaro Z – a

physical health, and I don’t think it’s

at first through the classic avenue of

horse that won Grand Prix and World

good for them mentally either – these

re-training off the track thoroughbreds,

Cup events, and sired a prolific stream

larger horses need time to mature,

later through my breeding program.

of Sporthorses, including Charlemagne,

physically, mentally and emotionally,

I’ve had to learn to improvise which has

who is truly the classic embodiment of

and we give them that time. We’ve

passion,” he says.

B

D

C

got young horses going into dressage, showjumping and eventing, but we never push them too young.” He pauses for a beat. “I’ve never been one for early peaking. In fact I’ve never peaked early in anything. I just poke along, and that’s what I get my horses to do.”

Those of us who have watched him jump a Grand Prix jump course might agree to differ, but unlike some other showjumpers who concentrate on only the competition side of the sport, it is the holistic balance of his life that makes David such a respected figure in the industry he loves so much.

With his official Chair of EQ hat on, he

D

talks about his ambitions for Equestrian

would love the sport to be accessible to

his Olympic debut in showjumping at

Queensland and the kind of work that it

everyone, and I like to think Australia is

the Beijing Olympics.”

can do supporting young riders. “I think

a place where kid can have a go. I also

One of the advantages, as he sees it,

because of my country background one

love the fact that equestrian sport is

to the type of horse that we breed in

of the things that is really important to

one of the few sports where men and

Australia is the presence of the purebred

me is helping genius country kids that

women compete equally and age makes

thoroughbred line in our sport horses.

may not have access to the money or

very little difference,” he says. “Look at

“These days with technology, you

support other kids may have,” he says. “I

Laurie Lever. He was 60 when he made

can collect genetics from around the

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E: Young ones on the farm, ‘poking along’ until they’re ready.

F: David Finch riding Charlemagne Ego Z.

world,” he says, “but the fact is that our

to compare ourselves to the rest of the

people who are good at it. I’ve never

thoroughbreds became a particularly

world, according to David. “Australians

been the smartest person in the world, I

tough strain of the breed, and it’s that

do incredibly well on the world scene for

surround myself with smart people – at

toughness, speed and desire to win that

a country with a small population,” he

EQ for instance, on the board we have

you can use in Australian horses.”

says, “but I’m not a fan of comparisons.”

some amazing people. You can’t let your

A downside though, to the world of

If you really want to get good at

own ego and self-gratification get in the

technology is that it’s too easy for us

something, he says: “Hang around with

way of success.”

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E Back on his 400-acre farm, south west of Toowoomba, the breeding provides the backbone of all the operations. “At the end of the day you can’t help but get emotionally connected,” he says, “although I’m definitely not a rainbow and unicorn person! But delivering a foal, standing it up, seeing it take its

F first steps, growing them up, getting on

could be riding, coaching, there in an

them for the first time, and then seeing

official capacity, watching horses he’s

them at competitions, it can’t help but

bred compete – or he might even have

be rewarding.”

designed the jump course.

In fact, chances are that if you’re at a

“The horse industry is my world,” he says.

showjumping competition, ‘Finchy’ will

To our minds the industry is all the

have had something to do with it. He

better for his presence in it.

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VICKI WILSON

Vicki Victorious The Wilson sisters are famous around the world for their equestrian achievements. From World Cup Showjumping, to winning the Road of the Horse, to working with New Zealand’s wild horses, Vicki has proved being the youngest is no disadvantage.

R

iding on the sheep’s back.

It’s an expression usually associated with Australia’s wool industry but for one

from her home in Hawke’s Bay as if

the fence into the paddock beyond and

waiting that long was a tough slog for a

trying to clamber up on sheep that were,

toddler. But for this toddler, it obviously

in her words, “a bit wild”. No wonder her

was, so Vicki did the next best thing.

parents bought her a pony.

of New Zealand’s top equestrians, Vicki

“Until I was two I just used to climb on

Wilson, it was literally the start of her

the pet sheep that were in the paddock

unusual and stellar career.

next to our house, and cling on until I fell

“I didn’t get my first pony until I was twoand-a-bit,” she tells me on the phone

46

off,” she says.

She still remembers climbing through

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Vicki, 26, and her two sisters, Kelly, 31, and Amanda, 28, are famous, not only in New Zealand but world-wide, not just for their derring-do in the showjumping ring, and for Vicki’s extraordinary

The three Wilson sisters: Amanda on the left, Kelly in the middle and Vicki on the right.

performances in the US Road to the

produced a book (written by Kelly),

But if Vicki’s life, in which she’s blended

Horse Colt Starting Championship, in

and a documentary series, Keeping up

all her passions into her breeding,

which she’s been the only woman to

with the Kaimanawas, (produced by

starting and rehabilitation establishment

win it twice in a row, but also for their

Amanda).

at Hawke’s Bay, seems luxurious now, it

work with New Zealand’s wild horses,

In 2015, the Wilson sisters spent

the Kaimanawa, to avoid them having

100 days taming 11 wild American

to be culled when the herd exceeds

mustangs in the West, which has

sustainable management numbers.

been documented in a book and

“My parents weren’t wealthy,” she says,

Their journey with the Kaimanawa

documentary called Mustang Ride.

“and although they encouraged us to

wasn’t always like that growing up on their parent’s farm in the Waikato region of the North Island.

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Year show than any other rider in history.

Winning the World Cup in 2014 took her showjumping career to another level, and she has also competed under the New Zealand flag in Europe with many wins and placings. She’s performed all over New Zealand and Australia in bridle-free, bareback stunts, jumping to

‘

‘

A

... realising they had three horse-obsessed daughters, they supported them as best they could.

1.82m bareback and 1.95 in a saddle in Puissance events.

In 2018 Vicki defended her title in the US competing against two former Road to the Horse champions, this time starting two colts instead of one – at the same time. It’s almost too much to contemplate that in this one discipline alone Vicki nailed the following firsts, by being the first rider from the English discipline to compete in Road to the Horse; the first rider from the English discipline to win Road to the Horse; the first New Zealander to compete in and win the Road to the Horse; the first rider to jump bareback in the Freestyle event; the first rider to wear a helmet; the first rider to use an English saddle – and, in a testament to her own work, the first rider to do body work on their colt.

ride, we could never afford a good or

have come to her for help – one could

I was already in awe of this woman I’d

educated horse, only the dangerous and

say almost miraculously well.

seen last year at Equitana changing

problem horses that were other people’s rejects. But we were all desperate to ride so we took them on.”

“All my first showjumping horses were other people’s rejects,” she says. “What it fired in me was a curiosity as to why

Although her parents were supportive,

this horse wasn’t performing. I learned

her father had broken his back in his

to go through an entire process with

twenties, and no longer rode, and her

a horse and to gradually eliminate all

mother, who had learned to ride as a

the possible physical problems – foot

teenager, was an “occasional” rider, says

balance, saddle fit, dental problems,

Vicki. But realising they had three horse-

incorrect feed for that horse. Looking

obsessed daughters, they supported

back with the knowledge I have now

them as best they could. Growing up in

there were even more horses I could

several young women’s relationship with their horses – and the way the horses used their bodies – right in front of my eyes, but by the time I digest all this, I feel in need of a nice cup of tea and a lie down. How one earth, I wonder, does she do it?

She laughs. “I don’t know, it just grew and unfolded as it went, and I’m on a journey which is leading me to inspire and educate people around the world so they have a better relationship with

a Christian household encouraged them

have fixed, but I was learning as I went.”

to dig deep whenever a problem came

Vicki’s learning took her to extraordinary

Also, I think if you don’t love what you’re

up, and it’s a solution-based approach

places. After working her way up from

doing, and you don’t wake up every

to horses which has served Vicki – and

local gymkhanas, she’s now won more

morning ready to jump out of bed and

the thousands of horses and riders who

awards at the New Zealand Horse of the

do that ‘thing’, then why do it?”

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their horse. That’s what keeps me going.

B

A: Vicki on her first pony.

B: Vicki jumping another horse in 2013.

That ‘thing’ has also led her to take over

Her equine body therapy work has

horse has been the teacher. Sometimes

all the shoeing and trimming of the 100

become core to her life with horses

of course, horses with behavioural issues

or so horses she has on her property. “I

came about when she was mentored by

will turn out to have kissing spine, or

took over the shoeing about ten years

a well-known New Zealand equine body

arthritis, or a bone spur - something that

ago,” she says. “To me foot balance

therapist Dan Erikson for six years.

has to be managed rather than cured,

is perhaps the most fundamentally

“How I’ve learned is that I ask questions.

but it’s still about giving them quality

important element of all, and I wanted

I’ve watched every horse trainer I’ve

of life. I don’t feel I need to study under

to be sure that it was correct for all my

ever met, every equine therapist, every

any one particular person, or that there

horses, and for my clients, so I decided

vet, dentist and farrier, and I’ve asked

is any one method that works – we

to do it myself…it keeps me busy,”

questions – why are you doing this?

have to be open-minded and not afraid

she concludes, in what is possibly the

What’s this for? What will the result of

to continue exploring. To me, every

understatement of the year so far.

this be?” she says. “Most importantly the

single horse is different and every horse

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requires a different program to help it fulfil its potential.”

One of Vicki’s many tools is the use of the Equisystem, a bandage that is wrapped around the horse to help horses engage their hindquarters. It’s a technique she’s refined from her time showjumping in Europe 12 years ago.

“I saw that almost all the trainers used a leather strap going over the horse’s rump and loins,” she says, “and what it creates is these very uphill, powerful horses, so I decided that when I got home I would try it with my horses.

Well, it was a bit of a disaster – they were bucking, and kicking, and clearly not happy, so I thought – how do I

C: Vicki is also well known for her stunt riding.

D: One of Vicki’s students using her Equisystem bandage.

C

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change that?” Vicki’s solution was to use the elastic bandage. “I’ve refined the bandage quite a few times over the years,” she says. “We’re not wanting to hurt or restrict the horse in any way

D whatsoever, all I want to do is to remind their brains that they have a powerful engine behind.”

At Equitana, three of Vicki’s hand-picked young women and their horses were helped with the bandages, and to be honest, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would never have thought that it could make so much difference (in conjunction, of course, with the instantaneous body work Vicki does during a lesson).

“The thing with horses is that they are actually naturally heavy on the forehand,” Vicki explains. “They have a they tend to work forward – in their natural state they carry 60% of their weight on the forehand and 40% on the back. Add a 70-95kg rider to that, and suddenly 80% of their weight is on the forehand. It’s our job to make sure that they can correctly use their body to support a rider. The bandage is a reminder that they have an engine to help them push from the end, so they can lift through their core, and take contact forward. This pays dividends in all work, not just jumping, because it’s vital that horse should be ‘on’ the bit through its body, not through its neck, which is what we tend to see far too much of.”

Horse welfare is paramount to all three sisters, and is one reason why they became involved with the Kaimanawa program which has seen the numbers of wild horses gradually culled over the years to bring the herd down from over a 1000 to 350, which the Kaimanawa Heritage Society believes is a sustainable

‘

‘

heavy head, neck and shoulders, and

The Equisystem is a bandage that is wrapped around the horse to help horses engage their hindquarters.

D

the Year award,” she says. “When we

“Within 45 days we had an 18-year-old

first got involved with the re-training

stallion cantering down the beach safely

program, any horse over four was going

with a rider on,” she says. She feels

to slaughter, and after I’d seen these

deeply for the horses, who, contrary

beautiful, strong horses in their home

to the US where mustangs are ‘held’

ranges, my sisters and I agreed that there was no reason for any of them to

in custody for six months to two years before being rehomed, or Australia where brumbies are given some time

amount on the million wild acres they

be slaughtered.”

have to live in.

The first time they took Kaimanawas

helicopter into stockyards, and the very

“One of the Kaimanawa ponies that

home, 11 horses, of all ages and genders

next day are delivered to their new

came from a muster went on to win

were lucky enough to find themselves

homes. “I do believe the musters are

New Zealand’s prestigious Pony of

with Vicki.

done as quietly and gently as possible,”

in holding yards, are mustered by

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E: Vicki and Kentucky strutting their stuff.

she says, “but the fact is that we are taking these wild horses out of the ranges and putting them into prison cells. So it’s essential that you get the rope on them and start walking them off your property as soon as possible, because freedom is so important to them.”

The rehoming program has been working so well that in that last four musters no horses have gone to slaughter. “It’s pretty incredible for such a small country that we’re managing our wild horses so well,” she says.

“But it’s also a case of trying to create easy transitions – a two-year-old will transition into a human way of life much easier than an older horse.”

For Vicki these problems are simply another way to learn solutions. “What I’ve learned is to feel, to observe, to listen and to have empathy,” she says.

“Wild horses senses are much more acute than a domesticated horse, but, on the other hand they are also much more family oriented than the average domesticated horse, because their

E

family is all important. I think that’s why they become such loyal, brave friends.

The idea of ‘naughty’ horses is

multiple colt starter Nick Dowers. Nick,

something that distresses her. “No

the 2016 World Champion and National

horse, in my opinion, wakes up saying

Reined Cow Horse Futurity Champion,

For Vicki working with wild horses is all

‘Oh today I want to be naughty, and be

will be meeting the New Zealand

about the feel, timing and pressure. “I’m

smacked and punished,’ she says firmly.

showjumper and two-time Road to the

not saying that people should get cross

“What I’ve discovered is that the horse

Horse Champion head on with three

at their horses – but unfortunately it

that doesn’t, or can’t do something

horses to start simultaneously in the

happens,” she says, “however, you can be

we’ve asked for has a problem, and it’s

round pen. Vicki doesn’t intend to try

cross at a domestic horse and the next

our job as its rider, or trainer, or owner

out the technique beforehand. “We’ll

day they’ll forgive the person, but if you

to find out the problem and offer a

just turn up on the day and see what

put a fraction too much pressure on at

solution.”

happens,” she says mildly, as if starting

the wrong time, the wild horse won’t

If winning the Road to the Horse was

forget in a hurry. There are no shortcuts

tough in 2017 against all women

training wild horses. But if you do it

competitors, tougher again in 2018

“2017 was pretty tough for me because

right, and learn what you become is a

against two previous winners, and

I dislocated my shoulder on the first day,

horseman or horsewoman, rather than

with two colts to start, it’s going to be

and I was in agony,” she says. “I had to

just a rider, and to me that is much more

tougher again in 2019 – with Vicki going

change my approach. One of the things

important.”

head to head with previous winner and

I did that I was really happy with was

You become their family. They become yours.”

three startled colts in one round-pen will be a walk in the park.

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F

F: Kaimanawas, New Zealand’s wild horse at home on the range.

G: Vicki doing bodywork on a sore horse.

to teach my horse to lead really well, because I couldn’t risk my shoulder

G

being pulled. It stood us both in good stead by the end of the competition, because he was so bonded with me.”

That horse, Kentucky, came home to New Zealand with her and has since gone onto to become a wonderfully successful all-round horse.

Vicki’s goal is to educate people around the world to be the world’s best teacher they can be for their horse. “Personally for me, it’s vital to have healthy, happy horses,” she says. “Even my top showjumpers round up stock, swim in the river, get ridden on the beach, have time off, do groundwork. Every horse needs variety, just as we do in our lives, and every horse deserves to be working

have long, healthy, happy competition

and he works with me with the horses. I

at its physical peak. Whatever that is for

careers. I’d love to compete in the

that particular horse.”

compete once a month rather than once

Longines World Champions Tour, but

a week, and what I want now is for every

She’s off again in just a few days to

even more importantly I want do as

compete in the US Road to the Horse once more and see if she can make it

many clinics and workshops around the world so I can continue to teach people

horse that comes through my place to be set up to have a long career.”

a hat trick of wins. Beyond that she

about their horses’ bodies.”

I can’t help thinking that it’s not just the

has plenty of other goals. “I love my

Her life, she admits, used to be about

horses that are going to have a long

breeding programme,” she says, “and I

winning. “It’s not anymore,” she says. “I

career, and that Nick Dowers may have

want to bring on my young horses to

have a partner, Michael (Whittacker),

his work cut out.

54

H O R S E V I B E S M A G A Z I N E - O U R J U M P I N G H E R O E S - M AY 2 0 1 9

Between Horse and Rider Introducing the

EK-26 Special Jump Saddle The innovative shock-absorbtion technology increases comfort and performance, benefiting the tuning between horse and rider.

The EK-26 Special jump saddle features a deeper seat and is now available in printed leather.

trailrace.com.au FOR SALES ENQUIRIES CONTACT: info@trailrace.com.au OR CALL: 02 4353 1922

Proud supporters of Billy Raymont, seen riding Oaks Redwood at the WEG.

1/11 MILDON ROAD, TUGGERAH NSW 2259

TRAILRACE SADDLERY Tuggerah NSW Ph: 02 4353 1922

THE SADDLE FITTER Gold Coast QLD Ph: 0413 371 802

SADDLE SOLUTIONS Perth WA Ph: 0402 116 541

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SADDLE FIT SOLUTIONS Canberra ACT Ph: 0414 991 961

JO COTTER-HUISMAN Adelaide SA Ph: 0438 684 443

M AY 2 0 1 9 - H O R S E V I B E S M A G A Z I N E - O U R J U M P I N G H E R O E S

55

Herbal Blends

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Itch-Free

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Mobility

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AVAILABLE AT SELECTED QLD STOCKISTS Phone (08) 9296 4767 or buy online at www.thompsonandredwood.com.au