Tribute To A Champion - Wesswoods Magic Caste

As seen in the April 2019 issue of Horse Deals magazine.

Benny must certainly have been a very good person in a previous life, as he was certainly lucky reincarnated as a large Galloway Hack. From the beginning to this point he has led a charmed life. Breeders, breeding, owners, riders and performance have all combined to create one of the most successful show horses of the modern era, and this is his tribute.

Everyone asks; who’s it by? And certainly the sire is important, but breeders world-wide understand the greater importance of the mother. Benny, foaled on the 19/09/2007 was lucky there too, as he was out of the superstar Galloway mare Pure Caste, that was responsible for 14 offspring, and just about all of them Champions. His breeding was certainly no one-sided affair either, being by Oakvale Serenade. Bred by Joanne Prestwidge, Serenade was by the imported paternal grandson of Keston Royal Occasion, Syon Royal Portrait, and out of Chippenham Merry Music. Not all Thoroughbreds are beautiful but Pure Caste was, and that combined with the best of English Riding Pony breeding, was a successful combination.

“Benny was an ET foal and one of, if not the most, successful horses I have bred, and one of the last ETs out of Cindy,” says breeder Julie Klante, formerly principal of Wesswoods stud. “He had a lovely temperament too, just like his mother. An early sale fell through and my husband and I decided to show him ourselves, as it was something we always wanted to do. I’m not sure why we called him Benny. We had a couple of really good sheep dogs over in the West called Benny, so maybe that had something to do with it.

“I sent him to David McKay at Phantom Park to break in, and he said he was one of the easiest he had ever broken in. He was so quiet. David said he would suit Briony Payne (now Randle). She rode him, liked him and took him home, and she rode him for us for about three years. There was a bit of confusion and lack of communication about his sale in 2013, but Briony’s aunts Margaret Burns and Dianne Banks, bought him and he went to the very best home he could possibly have, and Benny went on to make us very proud of what he achieved.”

“David McKay suggested that Benny was my type of horse,” says Briony. “I think he said that because of his movement and the way he went (and not that he was black!) and he just thought I would click with him. I had ridden horses for Julie Klante before and we had a good relationship, so when David finished breaking him in I took him home. I think he was only three, and I spent a bit of time getting him going and getting him in to show condition. He went to his first show, a pre Royal event at Corio-Moorabool, and although very green he was declared Champion Galloway under Raymond Butler. We continued on doing the shows and getting him qualified for the Royals, and he continued to win. He went to his first Royal at Geelong in 2011 and was declared Best Novice and Grand Champion Galloway. He was just four then and he really hit the ground running and was pretty much Champion Galloway at every show he went to. He went to Barastoc in 2012 and was Champion Newcomer.

“He went to Canberra that year and won his Open, but coming back he got a little travel sick. We let him recover from that and his next big show after that was Adelaide Royal, where he won his open class. After that initial trip back from Canberra, we never had a problem travelling him and we travelled the country.

“Benny was such a consistent winner over a long period of time and he never hit a slump. He just kept going and winning, even with all the new Galloways coming in to the ring. He just kept holding his own and I think too, he got better as time went on. He was such a good, consistent performer in the ring. He was a funny horse and really did not like agricultural shows. He thought they were boring and beneath him, and would never do his best work at them. This is so beneath me, why am I here? I would think that he was not working well enough at home, but when he would get to that big arena at a Royal, Barastoc, Grand National etc, he just loved it and would be ready to go out and show off. He was a big time performer and such a show horse in that way, and he just appealed to so many people. He is the loveliest horse, obsessed with food. His whole life revolves around food. He is a real character and a nice person to have around; a real personality, but easy.”

“With my daughter Melanie married and Di’s daughter Shelley married and travelling, we had not been involved with the showing world for a few years,” says long time and successful showing enthusiast, Margaret Burns. “All of a sudden we decided we wanted to get involved again and to buy Benny with the idea Melanie would ride him. I left messages on Briony’s phone at Sydney, but she did not see them, and Benny was almost sold to someone else. But I eventually got through and I pushed and pushed and eventually bought him. Di rings up a couple of days later; can I buy a half share in that horse? That was in 2013. We took him back home to our place after Sydney 2017 for the winter break and Mel, who had been having children up to that point, was going to start to ride him. He just loved being the only child here, rather than one of many at Briony’s, so we decided to keep him at home and Mel would get him ready for Briony to ride at Melbourne Royal, and he got Champion that year.

“After Christmas 2017 we took him to the SHCV show and Mel won the Lady’s Park Hack class with him. He was being prepared to go to the Grand Nationals, but we felt he was not quite right. We called the vet and started the long diagnostic process. After lots of testing and x-rays, they found that he had arthritis in his front pasterns. We had big plans for Benny. Melanie was to ride him and after that he was to go on to the kids, and he would have been a fantastic riding comp horse for them. He was so good for Mel coming back after a long break from showing, and he gave her a lot of confidence.

“It was so upsetting for all of us. The vet tried everything that was legal and OK. In the end he said, Marg, I can’t take your money, it won’t work. The only hope we have is that down the track, the arthritis may settle down and not cause him to be sore, and the kids can maybe ride him. We will have to wait and see. He is perfectly happy and not in pain, as he has a quiet life at home. But any time the float comes out of the shed, Benny is at the gate and he hates to be left at home. He is the first in at night, the first out in the morning and the first fed. He is still the boss cocky.

“Benny came into our lives when he was just a three year old, and he has been part of our family for most of his life. Julie (Klante) has been wonderful. She knew what he had won before we did and would always ring and we would always let her know about him. She was part of the family and part of Benny’s life as well. Since we bought Benny, we are right into showing again, and we are showing a team of four horses. It has brought the whole family together, even the non-horsey ones come to the shows and help strap, or look after the kids. So it’s the whole family doing the whole thing again, all thanks to Benny. He has been such a blessing.”

“When we bought him in 2013,” says Dianne Banks, “my daughter Shelley was travelling and Melanie was having babies, so we left him with Briony. He just won everything above and beyond what we ever expected. The first year we had him he went Reserve Champion Galloway at Melbourne with Chanele Hunter riding him, as Briony had qualified two for the Championship. Just when Melanie was starting to click with him, we got the arthritis diagnosis. Benny has the most amazing temperament and personality plus and we are maintaining his quality of life and we will just monitor that. He has given us a renewed interest in showing and he has reincarnated “Payne, Burns and McGuinness.”

Written by Anna Sharpley.

MAJOR RESULTS: **
**2011
• Geelong Royal. Best Novice and Grand Champion Galloway.

2012
• Barastoc (Victoria) Champion Newcomer Galloway
• Geelong Royal. Grand Champion Galloway.

2013
• Runner Up National Champion Galloway
• Melbourne Royal. Reserve Champion Galloway.

2014
• VAS Ltd Champion Large Galloway
• Barastoc Champion Large Galloway
• Adelaide Royal. Champion Galloway.

2015
• Adelaide Royal. Reserve Champion Galloway
• SHCV Champion Large Galloway.

2016 Runner Up National Champion Large Galloway
• Sydney Royal, Reserve Champion Galloway
• Barastoc. Champion Large Galloway
• Melbourne Royal. Reserve Champion Galloway.

2017
• Barastoc. Runner Up Large Galloway
• Melbourne Royal. Champion Galloway.

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