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A lesson with Billy Raymont

This article is from the September 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Photo: Julie Wilson

Photo: Julie Wilson

Showjumping rider Billy, from Queensland, has been on the verge of international selection for about the past two decades and when he finally got the call up to be part of the Australian Team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon USA, he did not disappoint. His efforts riding the Tucker family’s Oaks Redwood at the World Cup Final in Sweden and the WEG firmly established him as an international rider to watch. At WEG his efforts helped Australia qualify a team for the Tokyo Olympics next year. Once Billy had the opportunity to show what he could do on the world stage, he made the most of it.

The popular rider has been on our radar as a teacher, but when hearing he was giving a clinic organised by the Port Phillip Showjumping Club and conducted at Lang Lang Showgrounds in Gippsland, Victoria, close to home, we went along and we were impressed.

“I have always taught quite a lot, especially in Queensland,” says Billy “but I have been doing a lot of teaching in Victoria since I came back from WEG. Everyone here is keen to have some help and it is good to get to work with a fairly experienced bunch. I have enjoyed teaching here because there are a lot of experienced riders jumping up to a good level. It is quite stimulating because there are a number of good riders and some really good horses and it is exciting working with them, but of course I am happy to teach kids and less experienced riders, as everyone needs help.”

The riders were getting the benefit of Billy’s considerable experience, not the least being his recent trip to Europe and North America. We remarked how Oaks Redwood, a relatively inexperienced horse at that level jumped so well over the big indoor tracks. “The course designing over there is very good, especially indoors,” says Billy. “Some of the lines I walked at the World Cup Final were half a stride too long to my mind, but they didn’t ride long. It is surprising how quickly you get riding forward over there. So many things come into play, the jumps and especially the surfaces. You can ride forward on those surfaces and the horses naturally make up ground on them. The surfaces are a big thing. Being able to ride forward and especially forward indoors, it is surprising how you can ride and the horses can jump bigger tracks easily.

“One of the biggest things I learnt over there is that we in Australia are still a little bit green about the Warmbloods. They are different from the Thoroughbreds and we know with the Thoroughbreds quite early if we have a good horse or not. With the Warmbloods there is so much to them that makes them jump well; quality of canter, connection and until you have that, they don’t give you their best jump. They are supposed to be the horse that has the most powerful canter and all of that, but they don’t have it until you train it and create it. It is the unseen production of the horses over there that makes the difference. They are produced before they get to the famous riders and the GCT. Whilst we see a lot of the top level international competition, we don’t see the way they ride and train at the local shows. The riders make them work for the jump and then they learn that they must work for the jump, and you don’t see them ridden like that at the big shows because the best of them have learnt their lesson well. The Europeans work on every weakness of the horse and they have a way of working on it. They just keep making the horses stronger.

“The Thoroughbreds come on much more quickly. They have had a lot of miles put into them early and it is usually going forward and the Warmbloods by and large are not naturally forward. Also, the Warmbloods are not strong until they are about nine years old. Even with Oaks Redwood, I got a lot of help on the flat and it made him so much stronger in his canter and that’s where his improved jump came from in the end. By the time we got to WEG, that horse had come a long way. That flat work made his canter a bit sharper. He is a horse that is not very big and he had a cold canter, so it was very helpful and I was really pleased with him.”

Billy was pleased with the expertise of some of the riders in the clinic, especially Tinky K. “It is exciting working with riders like Tinky, she has ridden in and won World Cup Qualifiers,” says Billy. “Her horse produced a nice jump out of a nothing sort of canter. He is still green, but I think it looks like he will develop a good canter. She is encouraging him to jump in a shape and that is something very big in Europe; they encourage them to make a shape and we in Australia are inclined to let them make a shape. But with the Warmblood, if you let them do anything, they are inclined to do nothing. You have to encourage them to do everything; they don’t do much on their own, especially when they are still young and weak. Therefore we have to encourage them to have a stronger canter, encourage them to jump in a shape, jump the fence and do the work themselves. They must be in front of the leg and certainly at the practice fence, they should not be helped. They must focus on the back rail and jump it.

“His name is Daddy, short for Daddy Long Legs,” says Tinky of her six year old 17.1hh gelding she rode in Billy’s clinic. “He was bred by Jo Devlin and is out of a B Grade mare of hers by an Australian Stock Horse stallion. Perhaps he gets his height from the Clydesdale breeding in his dam that apparently goes back to a stallion the late Charlie Moffatt had. I suppose he is a kind of Australian Warmblood. What he jumped today is probably the biggest he has jumped so far. He gets tired and I don’t think he will fully mature until he is at least eight years old. He has done a few shows and at the last show he jumped around 95cm and it is to be hoped in this coming season he will progress to 1m-1.05m. He is a nice horse. I have a couple of other nice horses, Hot And Spicy and Hot And Thirsty, that are jumping at a 1.30m and 1.20m. They are not Champions, but they are good horses and I won a few classes with them last season and I hope they will progress.”

“Billy has been great and I have had a few lessons now. He is also brilliant at the shows; he is so helpful and can just see the little things that make a big difference.”

Daddy’s canter was elevated and he was a bit inclined to be a little ‘humpy.’ “He is humpy a bit,” says Billy “and that will sometimes turn into a good active canter. Ride him forward and strong through the turn and keep a feel of his mouth and wait for the vertical.”

Not all good riders are good teachers, but Billy gave his pupils some important advice on the day in his typically good-humoured fashion. The lesson was informal and relaxed, but the teaching modern classical jumping.

The Pupil: Tinky Konecny

In the early 1990s, Tinky from Upper Beaconsfield in Victoria was considered one of the most promising young Grand Prix riders in the country. She had in the Thoroughbred Too Hot To Handle a World Cup winner and the jumping world was at her feet. For reasons unknown she took another path and has only recently, in the past few years, returned to jumping.

We chose Tinky as the pupil, which in hindsight was not the best choice in a supposed teaching article. You see, Tinky is a naturally talented rider who had been trained by Michelle Strapp and there was almost nothing to correct. Tinky was encouraged not to help her horse too much. “You don’t want to force the shape over the fence; you just want to keep the feel to encourage him to make a shape. That release over the gate was a bit long, keep a feel of his mouth, you don’t want to block him, you want to encourage him to be like a ball over the fence.”

You can see where ‘Daddy’ got his name. The 17.1hh six year old has a lot of maturing to do. He has a good walk and trot and will have a good canter.

You can see where ‘Daddy’ got his name. The 17.1hh six year old has a lot of maturing to do. He has a good walk and trot and will have a good canter.

“You have to encourage them to do everything, encourage them to have a strong canter.”

“You have to encourage them to do everything, encourage them to have a strong canter.”

Tinky has a great natural feel for a jump. “She is encouraging him to jump in a shape and that is something very big in Europe.”

Tinky has a great natural feel for a jump. “She is encouraging him to jump in a shape and that is something very big in Europe.”

Tinky got Daddy to the right take off and then it was up to the horse to jump. What was so encouraging about Daddy was that he seemed so comfortable about getting into the air and was attentive to and careful of the jump. It will certainly be interesting to watch Tinky and Daddy’s progress together.

Tinky got Daddy to the right take off and then it was up to the horse to jump. What was so encouraging about Daddy was that he seemed so comfortable about getting into the air and was attentive to and careful of the jump. It will certainly be interesting to watch Tinky and Daddy’s progress together.

The interesting thing about Daddy, although his canter at this stage is quite weak, when he got to the jumps he jumped them very well with the appearance of plenty of scope and carefulness. “The horse produced a nice jump from a nothing sort of canter,” said Billy.

The interesting thing about Daddy, although his canter at this stage is quite weak, when he got to the jumps he jumped them very well with the appearance of plenty of scope and carefulness. “The horse produced a nice jump from a nothing sort of canter,” said Billy.

The clinic was a lot of work for the big, green horse and he was given plenty of opportunity to get his breath back between exercises.”What he jumped today was probably the biggest he has jumped so far,” says Tinky.

The clinic was a lot of work for the big, green horse and he was given plenty of opportunity to get his breath back between exercises.”What he jumped today was probably the biggest he has jumped so far,” says Tinky.

Story: Anna Sharpley
Photos: Julie Wilson


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