About Horses with Billy & Nicole Slater

This article is from the January 2021 Horse Deals magazine.
Article: Anna Sharpley

Yes, that Billy Slater, the multi-award-winning Champion Melbourne Storm Rugby League player. If you think this article has gone astray from something like NRL Weekly, you would be mistaken, and I encourage you to read on to learn that Billy and his artist wife, Nicole, are far from one-dimensional characters in the sporting world.

“Nicole and I met at pony club,” begins Billy. “I grew up in Innisfail (Queensland) and went to Innisfail Pony Club and Nicole went to Freshwater Pony Club in Cairns. My grandfather introduced me to horses and I started riding with him. I got to know Nicole when we were both about 13 or 14 at gymkhanas and showjumping events. Everyone laughs at me when I say I went to pony club, but little did they know that the ratio of boys to girls was very much in my favour.

“I started working at the Innisfail Turf Club and riding trackwork when I was 14. I was eventually given a racehorse that had finished her career due to injury. I’m not sure how, but I managed to persuade Mum and Dad to allow me to have a horse. I don’t know how I got that one over the line, as we lived in town, but we fenced a vacant block down the road and kept her there.

“I absolutely loved horses and was there for the horses. Nicole and I met and there was nothing romantic about us then, we were just good friends. We loved that environment of going away for the weekend with our families, camping, riding horses and having fun. Looking back, it was the most fun time we had in our childhood; it was a great way to grow up.

“When I was 15, I had to make the decision, league or horses? I had played rugby league since I was four years old.

“Footy was my life; I grew up in a rugby league family, in a rugby league area and my number one passion had always been to play footy. But then horses came along and I loved them almost as much, enough in fact, to give away league for one and a half years and go away on the weekends showjumping and going to gymkhanas.

“I finished grade 11 and it is fair to say that school and I weren’t the best of friends. I left after grade 11 — and I would not advise anyone to do that — and mum said I needed to get a job. I was working at the local racetrack at the time and from there I got a job in Sydney at Tulloch Lodge working for Gai Waterhouse. I went down there when I was 16 and it taught me a lot, not just about horses, it taught me the importance of a work ethic; you had to work hard if you want to succeed. It put me in good stead when I went home and started playing football again, and shortly after that I went down to Brisbane to give NRL a crack, and what I learnt at Tulloch Lodge gave me the mindset to succeed.”

“My childhood was quite different from Billy’s,” begins Nicole. ”I had horses in my back yard. It was easier to ride than try to do something else. I love animals, which was my main attraction, but I became a good rider and was happy to do it and catch up with friends like Billy at pony club events. I tried my hand at everything, eventing, showjumping, dressage and hacking. My dad built my horse float and we used to do the show run every year from Cairns to the EKKA at Brisbane. All through high school we would take a couple of months off and be on the road doing shows. It was a fun lifestyle and you learn a bit too.

“After school, I was riding for other people, but I knew that horse riding was not going to pay the bills; I had to think of something else. I was always interested in art and I have been painting now for 20 years and am now starting to see the benefits. Billy was the same with his football career, reaping the benefits of working hard. Our life has been so focused on what Billy needed for his career, and that has been so enjoyable and we are so grateful for all the opportunities it has given us. We married in 2009 and had our children early and now we are embarking on a whole new life with Slater Thoroughbreds, and I am working on a large scale equine series that will be exhibited this year.”

“I’ve been retired for two years now,” continues Billy. “I love the game and I’ve been very fortunate that I still work with Melbourne Storm and I’m involved with Channel 9’s Wide World of Sport’s commentary team, which is great. Nicole and I have always been interested in the racing industry and we have become more interested in the breeding side of things. Six or seven years ago we started up a little company, Slater Thoroughbreds. We have a 20-acre boutique stud farm out of Melbourne and we have a couple of nice broodmares. We actually have a Redoute’s Choice yearling colt going to the Magic Millions Sale in January in the Arrowfield draft. We just love the horses for starters, and then to see something you’ve bred go on to the races is very rewarding and exciting. Whenever you put your mind to something and have worked hard and it comes to fruition, you always have a sense of pride and achievement. We have only had one runner so far, we are hoping for more, but it takes time and we are only just beginning. We are working on quality over quantity and we have a Snitzel on the way.”

“We have just moved to our new property,” continues Nicole, “and because of COVID, our kids, 12-year-old Tyla and ten-year-old Jake, have not been able to experience pony club yet. They share a pony we have here and ride, but like most kids, they drift in and out of what they are interested in, but they love the horses. To make things interesting the other day, I had them both trot and canter the pony in the round yard, bareback and without a bridle. I knew the pony would be agreeable and I taught the kids to do a bit of groundwork before they got on. They were over the moon with what they could achieve. We will encourage them to become more involved with the horses, but if they don’t want to, then that’s OK too.

“A year ago we spent some time in the US with a horseman called Chris Cox.

“He is one of the best horsemen I have ever come across and we learnt a lot from him. We rescued a pregnant Palomino Quarter Horse that gave birth to a Paint and we have put what we learnt from Chris into practice with the Paint and also its mother, as we had no idea what had happened to her and how much she knew, so we took her back to basics. And honestly, it has worked; we were able to connect and achieve so much in a short amount of time, and I am getting far more joy out of what we are doing now than I have ever had with horses. Usually, if you are not getting it right, it’s your fault, not the horse’s. I started working with the Paint colt when he was about seven months old and I am now riding him under saddle with only a halter. Since he’s young I am not doing much, but I have got him to respond to anything I’ve asked him. It has given us so much confidence. The Palomino, the Paint and the kids’ pony are all we have to ride at the moment and we are happy with that. I have a special connection with the Paint and I am happy to wait for him and do more in time.”

“I believe the horse teaches you more than you can teach it,” says Billy. “Training has gone from being a dictatorship to being a partnership. We want to keep our business small, so we can put some groundwork into each foal as it comes along. We are breeding to sell and I think that bit of early education could help to ease the horse into the industry with less stress. We teach them to lead, be rugged and go on the float etc. We want to give them every chance to go through life with ease.”

“We are having a great time and we have it all now,” says Nicole in conclusion. “We are both very grounded and are happy being who we are. We have waited and worked to build our dream home and farm and it’s been worth the wait. As Billy says, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

“We are an odd couple, an artist and a footballer, but horses bring us together.”

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