Working & Winning with Pete Bartolo

This article is from the October 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Pete, what does a normal working week look like for you in your job as a Unit Manager in a Juvenile Justice Centre? My days as a manager are filled with a bunch of operational responsibilities that go with managing young people in custody and staff that supervise them. My role is committed to managing risks and ensuring that safe work methods and best practices are implemented on a daily basis. No two days are the same and the challenges working with young offenders is what keeps me motivated.

What commitments do you have at the stables before, and after work? My mornings generally start at 6am with feeding and cleaning boxes before work and on occasion during the summer months working horses to avoid the heat in the afternoon. I get to work by 8 to 8.30am and my work hours vary from eight to ten-hour days. I’m fortunate to have a supportive family who help me with the horses when I need it.

How many horses do you have in work and what is their workload? I currently have a futurity and derby horse in work and both are ridden five to six days a week.

Do you find your work mentally taxing? If so, how do you find the motivation to work horses? My work role demands total commitment and can be mentally exhausting from time to time, it’s not a role that allows you to always leave on time and long days can sometimes deflate plans of what you want to do after work. Success in the show pen is what motivates me and my desire to get the best out of whatever horse I am working with. This desire allows me to get up the next day and do it all over again.

Do you do any fitness work other than riding? I would love to answer this question with me saying that I work out five days a week at the gym like I did before I showed performance horses. These days any fitness work I do is usually rushing around to get things done before and after work.

How do you keep your horses fit and tuned on limited time? A consistent training program, usually in the evening under lights that ends at 10pm each evening through the week.

What are some of your proudest moments in your riding career and in your job? Winning the Intermediate Open Futurity and finishing a half-point behind Martin Larcombe in the Open Futurity back in 2010 was a definite highlight. In 2018, winning the Non-Pro at the NSW State Championships alongside coach Rodney Peachy who won the Open on one of my other horses. We had the two highest scores of the show, at one of the largest shows in reining history which was also a very proud moment.

Do you have a strapper to help you on the morning of a competition and what jobs do they assist with? I have supportive friends and family who are always happy to help out if I need it.

What do you do after a weekend comp, to prepare for the next weekend’s comp? I’m always looking at how I can improve on either the manoeuvre or my show technique. I spend a lot of time working on the mental preparation in getting a horse show ready for a major event. I generally reflect on what went well or what didn’t at the horse show and school on the manoeuvres that requires more attention.

Out of your four weeks annual leave, how much of that is used for competitions? My annual leave is basically taken up with horse shows. I always try to have enough leave for a family holiday, sometimes these periods are not as long as my family would like.

How many events would you do in a year and is there a lot of travel involved? I generally show three to four major events a year depending on the shows and horsepower I have at the time. I spend a lot more time at smaller local shows schooling and preparing horses for the bigger shows.

Do you do anything in the off-season with your horses? Off-season is generally spent starting two year olds and breeding mares. I have a stallion that I stand at stud that also takes up time.

How do you balance work, family, social life and competitions? I’m fortunate to have a very supportive workplace and family that allows me to do what I do. I don’t ever take this for granted as I know that without this, I would not be able to achieve the success I have in the past.

What sacrifices do you have to make to do it all, and do it all successfully? Outside of my work role, training and showing my own reining horses is my passion and my way of life. I attribute my performances in the show pen to being the best employee, partner, father, friend I can be. This, in turn, allows me to be successful in the show pen.

What words of advice can you give to other amateur riders who want success in all aspects of their lives? Nothing comes easy, set achievable goals and gain sound advice from those who have been there before you is always a good start. Be patient with your horses and those around you, training a horse takes time, not everybody around you will understand this. With trust comes confidence with confidence comes speed. I remind myself of this every time I train a reining horse. Don’t be scared to screw up, it happens to the best who have been successful. And lastly, remember there will always be another show.

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