Lisa Martin and Juicy Wiggle.
© Libby Law Photography / 4CYTE
A Whirlwind Ride to the World Championships
By Sophie Barrington for 4CYTETM
A lifelong equestrian competitor, who had her feet in the stirrups before she could walk, Lisa Martin is an advocate for horse joint health and a long-time 4CYTETM ambassador.
Lisa says, “When you’re competing at this level, or at any level, you want the best product for your horses.”
This year, Lisa competed in the Para division at the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark, representing Australia alongside the world’s elite. Yet, despite the decades of competition and preparation that preceded it, her journey to this year’s event was an unexpected one.
Lisa recalls, “At the time, I didn’t have the World Championships on my radar. It was only three weeks before the event that it was announced I had made the team and there was uncertainty about whether the Australian team was even going to go.”
Remarkably, Lisa qualified for the World Championships on her home-bred eight-year-old mare, Juicy Wiggle by Jive Magic, who was previously untested at this level of competition.
“I decided to do Para on her because I was heading to the Medium Dressage level, and she was feeling insecure in her work. I thought the qualifiers would be a good opportunity to build her confidence and establish her basics, and it turned out she was pretty handy.”
Lisa’s reputation for producing high calibre competition horses is built upon her unique approach to foundation training, in addition to her experience in selection and breeding.
“All of my horses are broken in by cutting horse trainers on cattle properties, so they’re exposed to things in the paddock from an early age, and Juicy Wiggle was no exception. She was broken in by Brett Peel and his training put her in good stead to cope with the atmosphere at the World Championships.
“Before the World Championships, Juicy Wiggle had limited competition experience and only in Australia. The furthest we had travelled to compete was interstate.”
In contrast, the Australian horses headed to the World Championships faced an arduous journey to Denmark. They spent 36 hours in flight before two days in transit to a separate venue for quarantine and recovery. The horses were held there for five days.
“We were the only country that couldn’t get our horses onto the grounds until 5:30am the morning of the fitness assessment ‘trot up’ because the vaccinations were given late. That morning we were up at 2:00am to prepare our horses, 9:30am was the trot up and then we competed the next day.
“What a whirlwind! I don’t think I’ve ever done it this way before, but I absolutely loved it. My mare made it very pleasant, and I also want to thank my groom, Maddie McAndrews, who knows me so well and contributed to making the event a true highlight.
“Being a competitor at the World Championships and catching myself in that moment warming up my horse surrounded by some of the finest riders in the world was impressive.
“It’s really important for Australia to be part of Para. I want to thank Equestrian Australia for funding my trip and of course, 4CYTETM. Words cannot express how good 4CYTETM has been.”
This article was written in conjunction with 4CYTETM.
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