A Parent’s View with Rachael Schliebs

This article is from the December 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Behind every child rider, there is a parent who supports their child’s chosen discipline. Any sport a child is involved in takes a commitment in time and money to realise the child’s dream. Add horses into the equation and the commitment in time and money doubles!

So who are the parents behind the child rider? What are their thoughts on the benefits and life lessons that horses and riding provide to their child? In this new series, you will find out about the parent’s view from behind the scenes and at the sidelines.

What was your experience with horses prior to Jack and Darcy’s interest? I have always been involved in horses, and grew up on the south coast at Moruya, where Mum and Dad had a boutique horse stud, Mungererie. They stood some nice stallions, and we prepped yearlings for sales. At that stage I was riding open hacks, and having contacts in the industry gave me access to some nice horses. One of my nicest hacks, Sir Serene, was actually a horse that won the Metropolitan Handicap and held the race record for quite some time. In 1977 he led the field into the straight in the Melbourne Cup also. I transitioned to Stock Horses due to where my life led me. We are on 3,000 acres in southern NSW, we use horses for stockwork and competition now.

What were your initial thoughts when you realised your children were into horses? Having twin boys (Jack and Darcy, 14 years) later in my life, I always hoped that they would be interested in horses. I never wanted to push them though. We are very fortunate that what we do involves all our family. Although my husband does not ride, he is very supportive and enjoys travelling and watching his boys.

Does your own personal experience with horses have an impact on your children’s sport? Whilst the boys are competing, at the various disciplines that stock horse enables, we try to produce a good all-round horse that will draft, challenge and show. I think my days years ago prepping yearlings, and then later in the open hack world (this was 10, 12, 14 stone hack days and before hunters) gave me a sound knowledge of feeding, working and presentation of show horses. This knowledge I share with the boys. Our sport is always progressing, and the standards are high. I do quite a lot of judging, and the boys come to steward. This also enables them to see what a judge is looking for.

We also try to volunteer at competitions. Events don’t happen by themselves, so helping out is a good way of making sure the events are there the following year. If there are no events, there’s no competing... people need to volunteer.

What were your expectations of your children’s first pony and what did you end up with? With twins you always want things to be equal, like you would get the same bikes, scooters or toys. But when it comes to horses, there are never two the same, and hence brings a whole new dimension to equal. What also happens is that no two riders are the same either. We did not want the boys to be discouraged, and safety was paramount.

Fortunately with our team at that time, I had an older gelding that I thought would be OK. Jack rode him first, the boys picked what horse they wanted. Out in the paddock he went, and at the trot, the old horse shied at a tussock. Jack slid down his shoulder and gracefully landed in slow motion on the ground, like an autumn leaf, but unfortunately copped a greenstick fracture of the wrist! So that was the end of that for Jack for a while and Darcy took over the ride and never looked back. They made a great partnership, this horse was Bobby (Cedervale Classic).
Jack, still keen, tried some horses I thought would suit, not realising the younger gelding I had would be his turning point, Boss (Condover Boss). Jack did not show for a couple of years, and this was purely due to confidence. He didn’t want to end up in plaster again. We did not push him, it was his choice to when he rode again. The rest is history now.

How do you juggle your time for horses between the rest of your commitments? The running of our property is our major commitment and priority, and more so than ever with the drought. The horses are my solace. My happy place. We generally show four to five horses. The boys help out on-farm and with horses, otherwise I just could not do it. They are big enough now to pack trucks, work and wash horses, clean gear etc. Sometimes I feel there’s not enough time in the day, but so much easier now that they can do things themselves.

How has your own competition career been affected? Well, I have to be at my best to get around the boys these days. I have been a bridesmaid quite a few times this year, especially in the working classes. Jack worked last in an event earlier in the year, it was an open working gelding. The judge was placing them as they worked, I was head of the line for most of the class, Jack worked well, and sure enough took the blue. His words as the steward placed him up front, “gidday old girl” with his cheeky smile. It drew a wry smile from me. How fortunate am I to be competing against my own kids.

Darcy quite often gets around me in the hacks. He is very business-like, and slight OCD, making him very competitive in his quiet way. He just looks at me and smiles, no words. Many that would know the boys would only expect as much from them, they are completely different personalities, but great kids, and we are blessed. As I get older and with the younger horses, they look after me and hop on to make sure mum’s going to be ok. Self-preservation is a big thing, but I also would not let them get hurt. The boys have the tools to hop on most horses these days.

What are the life lessons and benefits of your children being involved with horses? Responsibility, empathy, patience, sportsmanship, friendships and hard work in a nutshell.

Horse riding is known as a high risk. How do you come to terms with the risk factors? Everything we do in life has a risk, crossing the road or hopping in a car.

What enjoyment do you get out of watching Jack and Darcy ride? It’s hard to put into words, to watch the boys happy and competing on our homebred and trained horses is very special. My parents come to events to watch and they too get much pleasure. It takes us away from the bumps in life, like the drought. We get to catch up with our friends. There is nothing better than hopping in the truck with the boys, horses, a couple of Jack Russells and cattle dogs, Jack as DJ, and heading off for the weekend. I keep reminding the boys how much it means to me. It is what my parents did for me, and I still have wonderful memories of those times. I hope in future the boys will have those memories too.

What advice can you give to other parents whose child may be interested in riding? It’s expensive but fulfilling. Make sure you keep your child safe. Ask for assistance in big decision making, horses are a commitment. In saying that, I would rather have the kids riding horses outside and learning life skills than in front of the TV, or on their phones.

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