Susan Elekessy and the late Don Rubin. Image by Equestrian Life.
Vale Don Rubin, the remarkable Grand Prix partner and heart horse of Susan Elekessy, whose intelligence, generosity and quiet determination carried their partnership to the highest level of dressage.
Toby was Susan’s heart horse. Image by Roger Fitzhardinge.
“Toby was the first
foal bred by Susan at
Callum Park in 2005…”
There are horses who take us up the levels, and then there are horses who take a piece of our heart with them. For Susan Elekessy, Don Rubin – better known as ‘Toby’ — was not simply a Grand Prix horse. He was a partner in the truest sense of the word — a presence in the stable, a personality in the yard, and a quiet competitor who carried his rider with generosity and honesty into the rarefied air of Grand Prix.
By Don Frederik (Don Frederico/Remi Wedgewood) out of Callum Park Regardless (Regardez Moi), Toby was the first foal bred by Susan at Callum Park in 2005. Toby’s dam also produced Grand Prix horses Callum Park Freya, CP Dresden, and Callum Park Geneva, as well as Medium Tour horse Callum Park Damascus.
The journey to the top level of dressage is never accidental. It is built in early mornings, careful conditioning, thoughtful training sessions and moments of doubt quietly overcome. Toby’s rise through the levels reflected patience and belief — belief in his ability, and belief in the partnership that was forming stride by stride.
Those who watched them progress understood that this was more than competition. It was a relationship forged over years — through the incremental shaping of half halts, the strengthening of piaffe, the careful development of passage that was both expressive and correct. Grand Prix is never given. It is earned in fragments. And Toby gave everything he had.
Susan and Toby following the win at Willinga Park.
At that level, the technical elements matter — pirouettes that stay balanced and elastic, flying changes that remain straight and true, one‑tempi sequences that feel as though time briefly pauses. But beyond the marks on a sheet, what defines a true Grand Prix horse is heart. Toby had that in abundance. He showed up. He tried. He met the questions asked of him without theatrics, without resistance — simply with willingness.
Susan often spoke of his intelligence — the way he seemed to understand when it mattered most. In the collecting work he would sit and lift. In the extended work he would open and offer. And in those quiet seconds before entering the arena, there was a stillness that only comes when trust has replaced tension.
Grand Prix horses shape their riders as much as riders shape them. They demand clarity. They expose inconsistency. They reward feel. Toby was a teacher in that way — refining the subtleties of timing, balance and patience that only the upper levels truly require.
In the competition arena at Willinga Park. Image by Stephen Mowbray.
For the broader dressage community, combinations like Susan and Toby represent something important. They remind us that development takes time. That strength must be built correctly. That brilliance is most powerful when it is underpinned by rideability and mutual respect.
To reach Grand Prix is an achievement. To do so with a horse who becomes part of your daily rhythm, your long‑term planning, your emotional landscape — that is something deeper. These horses are never just athletes. They are teachers. They are mirrors. They are, at times, our greatest humbling and our greatest triumphs.
Toby was also successful. A competition highlight was winning the Australian CDN Grand Prix title in 2018. In addition, Toby won the CDN Inter, Grand Prix, and Grand Prix Freestyle over two weekends at Willinga Park’s Dressage by the Sea that same year.
Fittingly, it was after the 2023 Dressage by the Sea that Toby was retired from sport. He then taught a few lucky riders the ropes and was then a lovely uncle to the young weanlings.
Susan and Toby shared a special partnership. Images by Stephen Mowbray.
Toby passed away amongst his special mates at home on 22 December 2025. His passing leaves a space that cannot be filled by another horse, because partnerships are not interchangeable. Each one writes its own story. This one was written in years of careful development, quiet resilience, and the unspoken understanding between horse and rider.
In every yard there are horses who matter. And then there are heart horses — the ones who change us.
Vale Toby.
A Grand Prix horse.
A partner. EQ
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