The Horse that Nearly Broke Me

This article is from the January 2021 Horse Deals magazine.

Louise, how did Panda come into your life? When I saw Panda advertised, I fell in love with her frame and extreme outline and had to have her.

What made Panda a difficult horse? I believe she came with a few issues from racing. It’s my understanding at her last race it took eight attendants to get her in the barrier.

She was a very reactive horse and those reactions were often extreme. Her other talent of being incredibly athletic produced some killer acrobatic manoeuvres. She really could have been a great showjumper, polo horse, barrel racer - you name it.

How did you cope with her traits? Honestly, it took a team! She had an entourage for all her shows. Minimal recovery time after workdown was the key. A 15-minute wash, 1 hour to prep & saddle, then showtime.

At what point did she nearly mentally break you? Pretty much every show! I could never relax. Just walking her through the crowds to the measuring bay at Sydney Royal almost gave me a nervous breakdown - she was so handy with her back legs! The first ride at a Royal Show would always be spectacular. Strangers used to come up to me and ask what day and time I was on, as they wanted to see if I stayed on the fire breathing, black dragon.

I did, however, have one really bad fall off her - which was before she was shown. That changed me as a rider and I never really got over it. It made me aware of what she was capable of... she did this giant capriole, followed up by two huge bucks, which resulted in me doing a mickey flip over her head. Panda then jumped me with her hind leg, hitting my helmet off my head. The helmet landed 20m away and I went mouth first through the sand and somehow most of the arena ended up in my pants.

Lesson: Always buy a good helmet and replace it immediately after a fall.

Another memorable moment was coming out of the arena after Champion Hack at Sydney Royal. I asked Matt Snell to please be at the gate to grab me when I come out — sometimes she’d lose her mind going past all the crowds on the track and I don’t bounce too well on concrete.

She had just blown her Champion workout with some Kung-Fu Panda demonstrations that the judge didn’t ask for. We were coming out of the gate, through to the marshalling area and I could tell she was gonna blow. As luck would have it, the polocrosse teams were warming up and one punter galloped straight at us. I was toast! She caprioled like a cat and bucked on the spot like a lunatic. I was desperately trying to hang on, searching for Matt’s face to appear. There he was running flat-strap through the crowds. He launched over the rail and his back foot got stuck and he face-planted straight into the sand! At this point I’d bailed and was just hanging onto the reins when Panda reared and struck at me — Matt jumped up and grabbed her in the nick of time. The people around us stared in bewilderment. We just walked back to the stable like it was another day... just the usual.

What made you stick it out? Did you give yourself a timeline? Because I was young and determined. And when she worked, she was the most amazing horse I’ve ever sat on. She was my one in a million and we were lucky to find each other. I’m also lucky that I can share her next chapter as a broodmare and enjoy her foals. It’s the gift that keeps giving.

What did the people around you think; persist or stop? I think they enjoyed the ride and entertainment. Most people wanted her to do well and I had some really supportive people around me. Matt Snell and Chris Leech were instrumental in Panda’s success. She was extremely noise-reactive, and after arriving at Canberra Royal, Chris Leech found these earplugs that were used for trotters that were really dense. He said, “just like 5ml of ace!” I said, “Perfect! Let’s get at least six pairs.” I also wore top hat and tails on her that year and felt like I’d cheated death.

What did she go on to achieve? Mascara won Best Novice Hack at Canberra, being her first Royal Show. Then went on to win Champion Hack at Royals and Horse of Years around Australia.

What lessons did she teach you? Knowing the difference when your horse is genuinely scared or just being naughty. Often Panda would react out of fear. Bringing her back to the walk and giving her a longer rein and trying to get her adrenalin down for twenty minutes was something that really helped her.

Now that she’s retired, what is she like? As a broodmare she is much more relaxed and is a brilliant mum. She’s had four beautiful foals and I still have the most recent three by the following sires: Royalwood Boy Soprano, Whitmere Secret Agent and Royal Anarchy of Hannaley.

What do you miss most about showing Panda? Those feelings of elation, euphoria, terror and pride from looking between the set of those two black ears.

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