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Horses’ Tales: 2019 DWTS Young Horse Champions

This story is from the May 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Sonic K

Sonic K

4yo Champion - Sonic K with Karen Blythe

Stable name:
Sully

Breeding:
Stedinger/Whistler GP (Weltmeyer), bred by Ali Foye

Owner:
Karen Blythe

Rider:
Karen Blythe

How long have you been working with Sonic K?
I purchased him as a two year old from Ali Foye in the Hunter Valley, and broke him in myself as a three year old in January 2018. He was then turned out for eight months and has been back in light work since September 2018.

What were the biggest challenges of starting and training him yourself?
I can’t afford to send my horses away to be broken in, so I break them all in myself. As I work in Melbourne and have three kids, the breaking in process takes me approximately two to three months. Sully was very easy, I took my time in mouthing and driving him, then he was perfect to ride.

You describe Sonic K as horse shy and spooky. How did you overcome this at such a huge event and indoors? 
Initially he was extremely horse shy and would stop and shake if another horse came anywhere near him. At first I tried putting him in the paddock with other horses to try and get his confidence, but this didn’t seem to help much when he was under saddle in the arena. I then began riding him quietly with a pony beside him, and eventually was able to ride in pairs with a similarly sized horse. He is much better now, but is still very shy in the warm-up. He is gaining more confidence all the time. 
Sully is still quite spooky and unsure of new surroundings, however he seems to trust me and I am able to encourage him with my voice and patting if he becomes scared. I was unsure of how he would cope at such a big event, but he just put his head down and worked perfectly at the right time, when it counted, although he became very anxious and worried during the presentations, which was to be expected with all the noise and movement.

What do you enjoy about Sonic K?
Everything! He is the perfect gentleman, never pushy, doesn’t bite or kick. He loves attention and is so trainable and is stunning to look at. He is the perfect package.

What are his strengths in the dressage arena?
His beautiful presence and excellent attitude to work.

Describe a typical week of training for Sonic K.
Three to four flat training sessions lasting approximately 20-30 minutes, and a trail ride around the property at least once per week.

What are your plans for the next 12 months with him?
Taking it quietly, establishing the basics further and getting him stronger and more confident. He will have a break now before coming back into work and lightly competing.

Three things we don’t know about Sonic K?
1. He nearly lost his right eye as a two year old, however with surgery and intensive therapy his eye was saved, albeit some scarring which is fading over time.
2. He is the slowest eater ever. He takes all day to eat his breakfast!
3. He has sheep in his paddock sometimes. If they get in the way or try to eat his dinner, he just picks them up and throws them.


WillingaPark Emotion

WillingaPark Emotion

5yo Champion - WillingaPark Emotion with Brett Parbery

Stable name:
Emmi

Breeding: 
Mecklenburger

Owner: 
Mr Terry Snow

Rider:
Brett Parbery

How long have you been working with WillingaPark Emotion?
About 9 months.

You refer to WillingaPark Emotion as the ‘Queen of the Stables’. How did she get this title?
She is the only mare we have in full-time training so she is surrounded by geldings and stallions.

How did she handle the huge environment of DJWTS?
She was fantastic in the environment of DWJTS. She hasn’t been that exposed to big shows in her life, so I was very pleased with the way she took it all in her stride.

What do you enjoy about WillingaPark Emotion?
Her attitude is her strongest attribute. She always tries hard in training and never says no. She is just a delight to have around and easy to do anything with.

What are her strengths in the dressage arena?
She has three correct paces that are all quite adjustable. She looks big and impressive, however that is all a waste if the character isn’t right. That’s her strongest point.

Describe a typical week of training for WillingaPark Emotion.
Monday - stretching day with some intensity. Tuesday - intensive dressage training. Wednesday - aqua training on our water treadmill. Thursday and Friday - both intensive dressage training days. Saturday - a ride out through the bush trails and some hill work. Sunday - the day off.
 
What are your plans for the next 12 months with her?
Keep training her towards Medium level. She knows most of the Elementary work, so Medium is our next goal. She technically only just turned five and she is quite big, so I am very careful that we don’t push her too hard.

Three things we don’t know about WillingaPark Emotion?
1. She had one successful embryo transfer this breeding season to Sezuan.
2. She loves food.
3. She was bought from Stephan Borgmann of Hof Borgmann in Germany.

Rider’s sponsors: Shockemoehle Sports, Rodd & Gunn, Kieffer Saddles, Technyflex, and Prydes Easifeed.


Bertone

Bertone

6yo Champion - Bertone with Jayden Brown

Stable name:
Bert

Breeding:
Benicio x Falsterbo

Owner:
Lauren K George Family Trust

Rider:
Jayden Brown

How long have you been working with Bertone?
About 3 months.

You say he is still a little green with the work. How did you work with his inexperience in the ring?
He’s a naturally flamboyant horse with a limited amount of energy, so we keep the warm-up short and test his basic reactions and try not to use up his energy. In the ring, it’s just about letting him travel forwards and show off his quality. If he makes a mistake it’s not a big deal at the moment. With a bit more time he’ll be more solid with the work.

How did he handle the huge environment of DJWTS?
He is a really laid back horse. The only thing that scares him is the possibility of dinner not showing up. He’s not spooky at all, so the DJWTS arena was just like riding him at home.

What do you enjoy about Bertone?
He’s very playful, and once he is in work mode he just offers more and more.

What are his strengths in the dressage arena?
His character, he is fun to work with and gives a great feeling when he is going.

Describe a typical week of training for Bertone.
I train him Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The rest of the time he is in the paddock. It’s the same routine for all of the horses owned by Lauren George. It works for them and works for me as I have my own stable 45 minutes away with eight horses in training.

What are your plans for the next 12 months with him?
We will do one more young horse show at Brisbane CDI, and then it will be States and Nationals at Medium level. He is schooling a lot of the 7yo work already, so training will be focussed on strength and fitness and introducing a little bit of piaffe work.

Three things we don’t know about Bertone?
1. He absolutely loves food!
2. He is a bit of a joker, loves to play in the paddock.
3. He’s a world traveler, having been in Europe and the USA before finding his home in Australia.


Bluefields Doris Day

Bluefields Doris Day

7yo Champion - Bluefields Doris Day with Alexis Hellyer

Stable name:
Doris

Breeding:
Desperados x Filia (imported Florencio mare)

Owner:
Elliot Patterson and Alexis Hellyer

Rider:
Elliot and I have both competed Doris at different stages in her training and at different levels. I am the current rider.

How long have you been working with Bluefields Doris Day?
5 years.

Bluefields Doris Day was purchased as an unbroken horse from the paddock. What was she like as a foal? 
She was a bit sensitive. 

What is her work ethic like? 
Doris has an amazing work ethic and is a never-ending Energizer Bunny.

How did she handle the huge environment of DJWTS?
She loves going into the arena and puts a lot of effort into her work. At the moment she shows some tension in her walk, but this is a phase in her training with learning the piaffe, and she just needs time. She is on a mission all the time.

What do you enjoy about Bluefields Doris Day?
She has an amazing work ethic.

What are her strengths in the Dressage arena?
Doris feels very rideable and reliable in the dressage arena. 

Describe a typical week of training for Bluefields Doris Day.
Monday and Tuesday is arena work, Wednesday hacking out or jumping, Thursday and Friday arena work, Saturday stretching arena work or hacking out and Sunday is her day off. All our horses spend five hours in the paddock per day.

What are your plans for the next 12 months with her?
Continue her training with the Grand Prix work and consolidate small tour in the competition arena.

Three things we don’t know about Bluefields Doris Day?
1. Doris is a very picky eater and loves Coprice Performer pellets with her daily Hi Form Proflamaid Plus and 4Cyte.
2. She had been extremely hard to fit a saddle to her body, and loves her Equipe Victoria saddle and Mattes pad. 
3. She has a special tree in her paddock that she loves to scratch and rub herself on daily.

Rider’s sponsors: Trailrace Saddlery, Coprice Feeds, Hi Form Australia, Equimeds, Heiniger Australia and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Photos: Julie Wilson

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