Equestrian Life’s June magazine is out now!
Have horse, will travel? Years ago, William Matthew took an equine gap year as a teenager and left Perth for the dressage scene in Europe. He is now training with none other than Isabell Werth in Germany – and possibly brushing up on his French in anticipation of a visit to Paris next year. At age 20, Queenslander Hope Beerling wanted a taste of dressage in the United States and took a job with Catherine Haddad Staller in New Jersey; she is now making a great impression with a young grey mare by Vitalis. At 29, Hayley Frielick booked a one-way ticket to the US, and is now kicking goals in eventing on an ex-Queensland racehorse in horse heartland, Kentucky!
In our June issue, we talk to these three enterprising expats to find out what motivated them to step out of their comfort zones, and their aims and ambitions.
And as Heath Ryan observes, overseas is also where the action is just now. It’s do-or-die for our eventers in Ireland, Maree Tomkinson pulls off a coup in Germany, and our Virtus Global Games team is in France, thanks to the support of our equestrian community. Bravo! Heath also runs his discerning eye over our new national selectors.
Of course, you don’t have to leave the country to prove your mettle. We check in on Rohan Luxmoore and his latest project, six-year-old LH Valentino, with whom he hopes to bring up through the eventing grades as he did with his five-star horse Bells N Whistles. And we meet Molly Lines who has won her first start at four-star eventing with an OTT she has partnered with since she was 13.
In Training, Dr Kerry Mack examines common issues we all experience and reminds us to “think about simple things first” instead of blaming the horse, while in Health veterinarian Maxine Brain enlightens us on the various causes and treatments of choke in horses.
One sport that you can’t learn overseas is campdrafting. Roger Fitzhardinge was at Willinga Park for the sport’s richest campdraft and talks to the legendary Pete Comiskey after his extraordinary performance. Speaking of Roger, the former Grand Prix rider who had retired from riding is now picking up the reins again due to a special horse that has recently walked into his life.
Suzy Jarratt amuses us as usual in her Horses in the Movies series, this time on the film Ladyhawke, while our Property feature showcases the dreamy five-star equine resort of Al Shaqab in Doha, Qatar. Happy riding and enjoy this winter reading!
