{"id":23431,"date":"2015-07-09T10:59:58","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T00:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=23431"},"modified":"2017-02-09T16:51:47","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T05:51:47","slug":"ben-blay-starting-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2015\/07\/ben-blay-starting-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Blay \u2013 Starting Out showjumping\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ben\"<\/a>Interview by Christopher Hector & Photos by Sibil Slejko, Roz Neave, and JUMPETCLIC<\/h3>\n

Ben Blay got lucky when he went to work for Vicki Roycroft. Not only did he receive a thorough grounding from a rider, trainer, and one of those rarities in today\u2019s world, a horsewoman, but he was also progressively exposed to first the teaching of George Morris \u2013 both indirectly through Vicki, and directly, in clinics with the great man \u2013 and then, when it was deemed he was ready, sent off to France to see showjumping at the other side of the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Ben seems to have taken it in his stride\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a whole different culture, the food is different, the weather is different\u2026 it\u2019s a bit more cultured, there was a serious injection of culture straight away. Culture shock, I suppose\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you speak any French?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI did a bit of French at school, but nothing can prepare you for what it\u2019s like \u2013 they talk too fast plus all the different lingos, you can get to listening to the grooms and your boss, then you go down the road to the bakery, and it\u2019s sorry what did you say? I was very lucky that Vicki has bought a few horses through Les Ecuries du Grand Veneur in Barbizon, so she set the gig up for me\u00a0there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6101\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"_MG_1300\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s near Fontainbleau, about 45 minutes by train from Paris. Just beautiful surroundings, Barbizon is a little touristy village, mega-bucks, on the other side of the village is Roger Yves-Bost. On our side we had the Grand Veneur, with Eric Couperie and Eric Negre, and Adeline Wirth Negre. Small operation but beautiful big sand arena, pine trees on the side, on the other side of the trees, a massive grass arena with three different sorts of water jumps. A big indoor arena\u2026 I think they have room for about 25 horses, so a small family operation but they are selling to America, they are selling to some of the bigger dealers in Europe. If someone wants to buy a horse they come to the Grand Veneur\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they like to keep Vicki happy, so I got some nice jobs. I think it was an advantage for them to have me, because whenever they had guys come and try the horses, I\u2019d be riding the ones for sale \u2013 oh, we just put the Australian on this one\u2026 like anyone can ride it.\u201d
\n
\nWere the horses different, were the buttons different?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I suppose\u2026 The majority are Warmbloods, and when I first went there for three months, they were heavier Warmbloods \u2013 whatever the amateur market is following, that\u2019s what they follow because that is where the money is, so there were a lot of heavier French style Warmbloods, the next time I went there, there was a lot more blood, and I said, you\u2019ve got a lot more Thoroughbred type horses \u2013 oh, that\u2019s where the sport horse is, they want more blood now, so we have more blood. It just follows
\nthe market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The training methods, were they very different?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCompletely different. At Couperies, we were a little branch off the French style again, because Baptiste, Edward\u2019s son, had been with Ludger Beerbaum for two years, Edward trained with Alwin Schockem\u00f6hle, so they are really German \/ French, still sympathetique, the French like to be, oh so don\u2019t hurt the horses, keep the horse happy\u2026 but they still like wait, wait, wait, one more stride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you learn anything there?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, the first thing that comes to mind is, work is just what you do, every day you do the boxes, you ride every horse, you work until you finish\u2026 in Australia it is a bit more like, oh not enough time today, don\u2019t worry about it, there it is like, we have to work, no question.\u201d<\/p>\n

We think we are professional in Australia but it\u2019s not true a lot of the time\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s probably a kick in the teeth for some of the guys here who put in a few yards, but in France it is another step\u00a0again\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ben1\"<\/a>Ben and the horse he brought home, Tetiorah des Plaines<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Riding technique, did you learn much?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cVicki has given me that free-up-momentum-jumping, but these guys are on the other end of the spectrum. As Wayne Roycroft said, there\u2019s collection jumping and momentum jumping, some people have one or the other, but the good riders have both. I\u2019ve never been one to take an extra stride so it was a good learning curve, it was beneficial \u2013 and especially have all these GREAT horses, you can concentrate on yourself. They are concentrating on their horses, but it is a lot simpler than our Thoroughbreds.\u201d<\/p>\n

I know I was a bit shocked when I went to a few French jumping shows, and while it was great at the top, there was so much terrible riding to be seen\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey talk about what we\u2019ve got to aim for \u2013 that\u2019s the good riders \u2013 they\u2019ve still got 90% not so nice to look at. At the small shows, you\u2019ve got your one or two nice riders from the area but there are a lot of wild\u00a0wannabes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia has neglected France as a source of horses which is weird because there are so many nice horses there\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, I think the French like to keep to the French\u2026 People say, Germany, that\u2019s the place to go, it\u2019s a whole human nature thing \u2013 the French can come across as quite arrogant, if you don\u2019t try and be a part of their culture, then, oh we don\u2019t want to know about you either\u2026. If you have a go, then they are the nicest people in the world. And there are a lot of nice horses, especially at the French breeding championships, which is such a big deal with them. Like it is the biggest show in France and it is for four, five, six year old horses \u2013 the national championships for the open horses, is nothing. The breeding championships, that\u2019s their big deal. Where they have them at Fontainbleau, that\u2019s like the most beautiful park in the world \u2013 the big Derby arena, then the petit parquet, which is like our big arenas here \u2013 that\u2019s their small one. Then there are all these sand arenas, and the sand surfaces in France are unbelievable, you can put as much water as you like on them and they will still be\u00a0perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Blay<\/a><\/p>\n

Tell me a little about Tetiorah des Plaines, the horse you bought over\u00a0there\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShe is seven European, eight Australian, Selle Fran\u00e7ais, she is by Dollar de la Pierre out of a Calypso d\u2019Herbiers mare, her grand-dam, is the dam of Jalisco B. The story was that they felt they couldn\u2019t sell her to an amateur because she was a bit too difficult, we\u2019ll send her back, but Eric said, we know Ben is coming over and he can kick them along and Eric loves the breeding \u2013 old French breeding. Okay Ben can have a go, they didn\u2019t tell me the history. I just kicked it in, and the first oxer we went over it just landed on the back rail and I thought I was about to fall over, but we just kept on kicking it in, and they kept showing it to people \u2013 look at what this horse can do! Because it has got the most extraordinary back end. A bit, fierce, a bit mare-y, it is a chestnut mare, the least favorite on the buyer\u2019s market, but I just fell in love with her. The first time I left, I cried because I thought I\u2019d never see her again, but lo and behold, I came back, and she was still there. I think Edward had been riding her because no one else wanted to. I said, can I buy this horse? We do a deal for you\u2026 We worked it all out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Now you are back in Australia\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI came straight back to Vicki\u2019s, it\u2019s like I never left, but now I\u2019ve moved in with my girlfriend, Kate\u00a0Roots in\u00a0Singleton, to\u00a0have a go on our\u00a0own. I\u2019ve got a few horses coming. It\u2019s a bit far out of the way, but it\u2019s a chance to do our own thing \u2013 risky because you go on your own and you\u2019ve got all these financial issues. At Vicki\u2019s she looks after me, like she always has\u2026 but now we\u2019ve bought half a truck, and it\u2019s been a bit stressful trying to work out where the money is going to come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just got a new sponsor, Karl Steininger at Over the Top jumping equipment and\u00a0OTT NextGen who has been absolutely fantastic, and I\u2019ve already got a really good sponsor in Mitch Carraro and the Carraro family\u00a0at Storm Park Produce, they\u2019ve helped me out right through Pony Club. They lent me a horse when I needed a horse and\u00a0every Monday we go there for dinner, it keeps a balance, because you can get a bit obsessed with working when you are with Vicki and in that professional environment all the time. And not to forget Kaden Weaver at CWD Australia who is looking after us gear wise. It\u2019s all looking up!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMum and dad have been so supportive with any way they can help. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do all this without their help.\u00a0I can\u2019t thank Penny Hoy and the Hoy family at Nyngan enough. They have been more than generous. They have set us up with the truck and a few horses to get the business going. They\u2019ve lent Kate a nice eventer to go up the grades. And that\u2019s where it gets interesting. Kate was going eventing so I thought I\u2019d tag along too. Now I think we have more eventers than show jumpers! People keep sending us promising eventers, we\u2019ve just had Greg Dean\u2019s imported black stallion Desert Storm arrive and we are looking forward to taking him eventing and jumping as well. It\u2019s already been quite a big year already but looking ahead the calendar is booked up until November with a mix of Showjumping and eventing. Quite a change since being with Vicki since 2010 but it\u2019s been an enjoyable one. Kate and I are looking forward to the rest of the year with excitement!\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the THM July 2015 issue.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"BenKate\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Young Australian jumping rider Ben Blay has had a wonderful education – working with Olympian Vicki Roycroft and taking clinics with George Morris, topped off by a trip to France…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[941,1168,1169,67,452],"class_list":["post-23431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-show-jumping","tag-ben-blay","tag-katie-roots","tag-les-ecuries-du-grand-veneur","tag-showjumping","tag-vicki-roycroft"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23431"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32267,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23431\/revisions\/32267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}