What a fairy tale… the young Australian rider takes her horse to Germany to train, and three years later, unheralded, slips back into Australia, and at her first major competition since returning home, takes out the Australian Grand Prix title!
Chris Hector asked the questions & Roz Neave took the photos
How long have you been away?
“I was in Germany for three and a half, four years.”
That’s serious?
“It was pretty serious. I was in a stable in Frankfurt for a year – I worked and I groomed, rode. Then I decided to get really serious and went up to train with Kristy Oatley-Nist and Frau Rehbein as well. I learnt so much!”
Did you always intend spending that much time in Europe?
“No – a year was the plan. But you can’t do it in a year. You get there and after six months you are still finding your way. After six months then it starts to sink in. It takes a while.”
Did you have to change much?
“I’d trained my horse pretty much by myself with the help of some other instructors. He was always a bit special. But I had picked up a lot of bad habits, now the horses are going very well I feel. They are loose, easy to bring them up, bring them down, do whatever you want…”
Were they very picky on position?
“Kristy yes. Keep your legs still in particular. I wasn’t flopping them, but she wants you to sit very still and sit up straight. My position was never terribly bad in the first place.”
‘In front of the aids’ seems always an issue in Australia?
“It is so important because as soon as they are behind, they just feel dead. They have to be forward, thinking forward all the time. Even if you are just thinking it, it helps with all the movements.”
You said it took six months to start to fit in – what did you have to learn in those six months?
“To have them more relaxed…”
Relaxed! That’s what people don’t understand about training in Germany, they think it is all crash, crash, boom!
“Just to get them relaxed and loose. Lots of half halts, on the aids, forward, back, in, out, just lots of different things. Not canter, canter, canter circles, lots of different things, transitions all the time. Especially with younger horses – even with older horses. Just get them thinking and loosen them up, it’s very important.”
How old were you when you left Australia?
“Twenty one.”
Was that scary – off all by yourself?
“No, I was never really homesick. Only when my cat ran away and she didn’t return. Then I was a bit sad.”
Did you learn to speak German?
“I did, because while Frau Rehbein can speak a little bit of English, she teaches me in Deutsch – and by the end, Kristy was teaching me in German too.”
You learnt that in Germany – or did you speak German when you went there?
“No I didn’t speak any when I got there. You just pick it up – you have to go into shops and buy things, you have to make it work. But in the stables, lots of people want to speak English with you, so you lose out there, but I made myself do it… some of the time.”
Northern Champion takes the Australian Grand Prix title…
A lot of people have the impression, you go to Germany and they are going to really burn you – they are hard, they scream, and you’ll hate it…
“I suppose it depends on where you go, but that wasn’t how it happened for me. They can be loud when they are trying to get a point through, but normally, no.”
Did you have to work very hard?
“On the horse, yes. You had to be right – otherwise what’s the point. You can’t half do it and say ‘good boy’.”
What were the most important things you learnt in those three years?
“Care of the horse really. You’ve got to look after their legs, lots of stable management. Always be around when they are being shod, when the vet is there. Your horse is your priority. With the riding, you’ve got to ride – you can’t just sit there and breeze along.”
Which riders did you get the most from in Germany?
“Definitely Kristy. I started with her and she is just amazing. She has just got it all down pat, routine, routine, routine. And she is so committed. She has a groom but she gets her horses ready. She’s so committed and that is why she has done so well. If you want to be good, I think you have to go overseas to experience that. Not so much to ride a lot of horses but to see them riding – every day, sit there and watch what they do. There are so many of them, and there are so many horses.”
It seems to me that a lot of the time it is just that there are a number of people riding together in a hall and you have to ride well because of the others – it’s different if you are all by yourself in the middle of the arena…
“For a start you have to stay out of the way. At Gronwöldhof, it’s a big arena, 30 by 65, and in the morning there can be eight to ten horses. You’ve just got to be switched on and watching where everybody is. Watching everyone else ride – you learn a lot from that. Frau Rehbein or Kristy’s in the corner and they may say a couple of things. Okay – I’ve got to work on that.”
It’s a very different teaching style from the one on one lesson we are used to in Australia?
“It is very different because you haven’t got the whole arena. You are riding with say two other people, and they are also getting advice. It’s not the private lesson, on you all the time. I find I can’t really cope with that, always someone in my ear saying do this, do that, now, now, now. I find that a little bit irritating because it doesn’t give you time to think about it. I find it a lot easier to work the way they do, they give you time to play around with it, and then they come back and say that’s working, that’s not – and let’s try it like this.”
Did you get the chance to compete?
“I competed quite a lot on Northern Campion – he went over at about M level, medium, then after a year with Kristy I did my first Grand Prix. It was quite amazing, he’s really really good. I’ve been competing on him, Inter 2 and Grand Prix, over there. I also have a young horse, he’s very very good.”
You competed with him at the World Young Horse Championships, last year?
“That was a real learning curve because he moves naturally with very big movement, and I just sat there in the first round. After it, Kristy really got stuck into me, and said, right, you’ve got to ride this time. He improved the second day, which was good.”
“This year I was hoping to ride at the World Championships again, but something happened in the selection process. He competed very well this year. At one competition, he got an 8.0 and the first placed horse got an 8.2 – and that was the first reserve horse for the German team. I thought I can’t do much better than that, and I sent in my entries… and still didn’t get picked, but what can you do?”
So what now, now that you are home? Is that a come down?
“No, it’s different here. The shows are run a bit differently… it’s not a let down because I wanted to come home. I’ll keep riding but I also want to go to uni. I’ve sort of been, not fluffing around, but I haven’t been doing anything but riding, and I want to do something else. I’ll keep riding and competing…”
And the Games in Hong Kong is the aim?
“Hopefully. Cam is a very good horse, he’s got so much more to give. I’ve just got to find it.”
This article originally appeared in THM January 2007.