Chasing the Dream with Clay Simmonds

This article is from the October 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Where have you been based overseas and how did the opportunity arise? I have been based with Rowan Willis at a couple of different places in my time over here so far. My first two weeks I was based at Langerly for the Thunderbird show and now I’m currently in Calgary doing Spruce (Meadows) for a week and then head back down to Lexington for another couple of weeks.

We messaged Rowan a while back and asked if sometime this year I could come over and get some experience overseas. A week before Caboolture World Cup we got a message back from him and he said that I could come over anytime and he sent a bit of a calendar of all the shows he had coming up. My coach Gavin Chester, my parents and I said it’s too good of an opportunity to let go, even though I would miss some good shows back home. Within a couple weeks of getting in contact with Rowan, I was on a plane to Canada to work for him and so far it has been an unreal experience and couldn’t have been a better choice.

Describe a day’s work. We usually start at seven in the morning but depending on if we have an earlier class we’ll start a bit before seven. When we get to the stables we will muck out stables and feed, then Rowan and I will start working horses to get them ready for a class or if they just need a hack out. How late we finish depends on if Rowan has a late class but usually we finish around 4 to 5pm.

How does the equestrian scene differ to Australia? The big difference is the number of riders and horses. With so many riders and the depth of good riders and horses, the classes are a lot tougher.

Was the reality of your new job different to your expectations and if so how? It has been what I was expecting it to be over here. I have learnt heaps working on the ground, helping work the horses and being able to compete.

Did you make any mistakes while learning the ropes? Yeah, I’ve made a couple of little mistakes but if I’m not making mistakes I’m not learning and pushing my self to be better.

What will you change about your riding and management back home? I don’t think I will change much about my riding but I’m always pushing myself to learn more and get stronger with my riding all the time. Being here competing and working will help me change how I manage myself in and out of the ring.

How has the experience so far changed you as a person and as a rider? I don’t think I’ve been over here long enough for it to really change me as a person but as a rider there a lot of little things that I can improve on to make me a stronger rider.

What are three things you’ve learnt during your time abroad?
• That you have to be very mindful of your time on the course cause the time allowed is very tight.
• The different systems they have in the warm-ups, every rider is allocated their own fence to warm up on.
• The FEI horses aren’t allowed to stay in the same barn as the horses in the national classes.

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