{"id":24395,"date":"2015-09-22T12:31:21","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T02:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=24395"},"modified":"2017-02-10T10:22:57","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T23:22:57","slug":"natalie-siiankoski-game-on-competitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2015\/09\/natalie-siiankoski-game-on-competitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Natalie Siiankoski – Game-On Competitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faces come and faces go in the sport of eventing. Across the years the view changes with a parade of special horses, talented riders, and promising combinations so it\u2019s always exciting when a new star emerges on the scene. But opportunity is fickle and so often new stars seemingly vanish from the picture. Ever wonder where they go and what they are doing? This is a story about a stellar combination that had their time in the limelight, how it ended, and what this rider has accomplished in order to reposition herself as a contender.<\/p>\n

Natalie Siiankoski grew up in suburbia; a pretty blond girl showing signs of pony fever, but any riding around took place on her bicycle. However, for her sixth birthday Natalie\u2019s parents gave her a block of riding lessons as a present, just the tickets of admission she always wanted. As a first generation equestrian it was up to Natalie to shape her horsey opportunities; she negotiated more riding lessons, riding camps, and eventually leased a pony that she could access via bike.<\/p>\n

\"NatArchie\"Natalie and her first star, KS Archie<\/em><\/p>\n

By the time she was thirteen Natalie had become skilled in striking deals with people, but says, \u2018acquiring a young horse off the track taught her to negotiate with horses very quickly!\u2019 Fortunately her steep learning curve was well assisted by Anjanette Harten in dressage, Simone Kann in cross country, and Michelle Lang\u00a0in showjumping. It wasn\u2019t long before she competed her Thoroughbred, Aussie Casanova, up the grades in Pony Club to 1* level. The pair was positioned for a top placing at the 2001 State Championships when he unfortunately came down with a virus and was retired from eventing permanently. Ah, the ups and downs of horses had started.\"NatalieSiankoskiKSArchie\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But opportunity has a way of finding those who see the possibilities… Natalie was fifteen years old and training with Michelle Lang when a nice chestnut Thoroughbred came up for sale at the stable. Nat knew immediately she wanted this one. Fortunately, a number of professional event riders passed him up and so a purchase plan was negotiated between Michelle, Natalie and her mother. Natalie recalls, \u2018I don\u2019t think Mum told Dad until we\u2019d finished paying for him.\u2019 The acquisition of KS Archie was a definite upswing in Natalie\u2019s roller coaster of opportunities; she brought him to Pre-Novice within one season and won the coveted Overall State Championship across five disciplines as an interschool rider. At the age of 17 Natalie and Archie won the 2004 Queensland State Eventing Championships at 2*. Wayne Roycroft spotted her at the 2005 World Cup event in Warwick and she was invited onto the Australian Junior National Squad and held a place on the Australian National A Squad from 2005\u20132008. Natalie describes this as a \u2018really helpful opportunity,\u2019 especially attending pre-event schools at Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Over the next few years she had access to training from Gillian Rolton, Wayne and showjumping specialists, all of whom she credits for giving her the tools to produce wins at the 2006 Sydney CCI in 2* and the 2007 CCI 3* World Cup Qualifier at Melbourne, plus a bag full of second place finishes at the big events.<\/p>\n

Besides driving her horses up and down the east coast of Australia enough times to make anyone dizzy, all Natalie had to do to sustain her position as an emerging top-level eventer was to spend every second off her horse running around to several part-time jobs. So she worked at Sportsco, and later at Suncorp Bank; she worked at a restaurant, and did quite a bit of promotions work for the NRL football clubs. If you think Natalie looks striking in tall black boots on a horse, you should see her in white boots hosting functions for the teams! The promotions company she worked for, Rock Solid Sports mentored talented football players aiming for the big leagues and looked after her as a main sponsor, helping her get to events for several years.<\/p>\n

\"Natalie_at_Suncorp_Stadium_photo_by_Bob<\/a>Flying the flag for the Brisbane Broncos matches. Photo: Bob Jones Photography<\/em><\/p>\n

By the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics, Natalie and Archie were long listed for the team. The horse was fit and the rider was on a roll. Her opportunity to carve a place on the short list was the final World Cup Qualifier in 2007 \u2013 at Warwick \u2013 but we all know what happened… One day Australian\u2019s best and brightest combinations were lined up to vie for the prize of a trip to compete at the World Cup Event in France, and the next day all Equine Influenza hell broke out. Natalie wasn\u2019t the only rider whose dreams came crashing down.<\/p>\n

Archie\u2019s recovery following EI was prolonged and Natalie was \u2018pedantic\u2019 about his care. While she might have chased off to the next opportunity at the end of the year in Adelaide, she had to admit Archie\u2019s preparation and return to form was compromised. She was faced with the reality of a twelve-year-old eventer and the next Olympic opportunity being four years away; this juxtaposed against a rather large offer that had presented from overseas to purchase Archie. In the end, a nice man in England bought his fianc\u00e9e a lovely chestnut that would go on to have a career at 2* and 3*. Back in Australia, a practical girl made a professional decision, paid off her loans, her car, her truck, and put a deposit on
\na ten-acre property in Tamborine. Natalie recalls when the funds first appeared in her account, how she was sobbing next to the computer and her Dad saying, \u2018Natalie, I suppose you don\u2019t have to really sell him if you don\u2019t want to\u2019….and Natalie relied, \u2018No Dad, thanks, I think it\u2019s done.\u2019<\/p>\n

Thus, in 2009 Natalie had a mortgage and the remnants of a job at the Suncorp Bank (another thing taking a hit during EI), but the promotions business was going well. It got to the stage where Nat was not just turning up to work at promotions, increasingly she was organising them \u2013 so she launched her own business, Game On Promotions. Natalie\u2019s team of gorgeous girls are available to host corporate functions, drive limos at the Gold Coast 600, lead tours, and cheer on the team at Queensland Rugby League matches. Nat manages all this plus canters the Bronco\u2019s mascot, \u2018Buck\u2019 around Suncorp Stadium at the beginning of each game and after all tries scored by the Broncos \u2013 wearing cowboy boots for this gig. (Note: Buck does birthday parties also). At one point Natalie had started a bachelor\u2019s degree in business \u2013 majoring in finance \u2013 but she found herself building an enterprise rather than learning how to do it at university.<\/p>\n

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

Nat’s current star, Smart Showoff<\/em><\/p>\n

However, when it came to pursuing her eventing aspirations it seemed Natalie had joined the legion of riders hoping to find their next star partner. She was doing some riding at Simone Kann\u2019s yard when a big, lanky bay arrived from out west to be sold. He was actually purchased quickly by the first lady to view him as a prospect for her son who evented in interschool. The horse was not collected immediately so Simone asked Natalie to give him a ride and Natalie\u2019s first thought was, \u2018Gee, I really like this horse.\u2019 The buyer was Melanie Morgan and although Natalie did make her several offers and tried to persuade the woman to change her mind, the bay went to the boy, Tom who enjoyed good success. Natalie persisted with her interest and when Tom went on to university a year later Melanie offered Natalie a twelve-month lease to buy option. By this time the horse, Smart Show Off had filled out with good work and care, and had become a rather powerful looking fellow. The pair achieved good results in the lead up to the 2010 Australian International Three Day Event at Adelaide, but had a couple of stops cross country. Their progress stalled a bit in 2011 with Smarty having an injury and Natalie\u2019s business taking off but by the end of the year she was Smarty\u2019s new owner. In 2012 the pair was back on track, placing sixth in their first 3* at Goulburn and second in the 2* at the Australian International Three Day Event in Adelaide. Over the summer Michelle helped Natalie fine tune their choice of bits. Natalie describes how Smarty is a big strong horse with a very sensitive mouth; the rubber Pelham for cross country and the hackamore for showjumping have proved their best options so far. This year the pair has run well at the 3* level \u2013 third in the CIC at the Queensland International Three Day Event and 9th at the Albury CIC in a field of nearly 40 horses. Natalie acknowledges Ben Conn and Thomas Muehlenbeck for lifting her game in the dressage phase and says having the chance to be training again with a national squad, as at Wallaby Hill earlier this year, was super. Natalie and Smartie are already qualified for the 4* at Adelaide, so watch this space.<\/p>\n

At 26 years of age Natalie has really scored her share of goals. The success of her business has enabled her to set up her property with an arena and fencing, and the paddocks are filled with prospects for the future. She is sponsored by Pryde\u2019s EasiFeed, Horseland and TR Forge \u2013which is the business of her rather adorable farrier boyfriend, Tim Wilkinson. If it were summer you might find them at the beach paddling out for a surf and maybe you wouldn\u2019t pick them as riders, except for their white feet from all the boot wearing (and in Natalie\u2019s case that\u2019s many!) But seriously, when it comes to her passion for eventing, Natalie is clearly more than just a pretty face…for her it is \u2018game on\u2019 to make her way as a genuine competitor.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the July 2013 article of THM.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faces come and faces go in the sport of eventing. Across the years the view changes with a parade of special horses, talented riders, and promising combinations so it\u2019s always exciting when a new star emerges on the scene…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24398,"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":[5],"tags":[1298],"class_list":["post-24395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eventing","tag-natalie-siiankowski"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24395","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=24395"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32384,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24395\/revisions\/32384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}