ISSUE 71
OCT 2021


THE JIVE CONTINUES
FOR ROZZIE RYAN
SABINE & SANCEO
TWO OF A KIND
ON THE MOVE:
HAZEL SHANNON

PLUS: STORIES FROM THE BRISBANE CDN, SUE-ELLEN LOVETT RIDES ON, SAM WOODS & CAGE FIGHTER, KERRY MACK’S REWARD PHILOSOPHY, DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT FOR RACEHORSES, SPRING HEALTH, FEEDING, MARE CARE… & A ZEBRA EARNS ITS ‘RACING STRIPES’!

AUSTRALIA`S BEST EQUINE MAGAZINE
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ISSUE 71

CONTENTS

OCT 2021
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A Few Words

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

ROBERT MCKAY

Opinion

WATCH OUT FOR THE BRITS, GERMANS & SWEDES

BY HEATH RYAN

Dressage

SABINE & SANCEO, A PAIR OF MIND READERS

WRITTEN BY ADELE SEVERS / INTERVIEW BY ROGER FITZHARDINGE

Special feature

THE ‘BLIND CHICK’ RIDES AGAIN

BY ADELE SEVERS

Dressage

STARLITE SHINES AT BRISBANE CDN

BY ADELE SEVERS

Health

CLEAR VISION FOR A BETTER FUTURE

BY AMANDA YOUNG

Dressage

ALL IN THE GENES FOR ALISTAIR & SWEENEY

BY GEOFF MCLEAN

Health

SPRING INTO ACTION

BY EQ LIFE

Lifestyle

A ZEBRA EARNS ITS ‘RACING STRIPES’

BY SUZY JARRATT

Health

IN A BIND: THE ROLE OF TOXIN BINDERS

BY ELLIE JOLLEY

Dressage

JARRAH DEPARTS BUT THE MUSIC CONTINUES

BY ROGER FITZHARDINGE

Training

ASK LESS, REWARD MORE

BY DR KERRY MACK

Eventing

CAGE FIGHTER PUNCHES ABOVE HIS WEIGHT

BY ADELE SEVERS

Eventing

HAZEL SHANNON, ON THE MOVE

BY ADELE SEVERS

Health

CARING FOR MAMMARY GLANDS

BY DR MAXINE BRAIN
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Rozzie and Jarrah R, by Jive magic, on their way to winning the Pacific League World Cup Final at Boneo Park in 2019. © Roger Fitzhardinge
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It feels like the end of an of era with Rozzie Ryan’s Grand Prix mainstay Jarrah R about to set sail for England, however with sire Jive Magic’s lineage still going strong here in Australia, the journey continues.

Jive was a big, gangly,
loose individual.”

If he could tell it himself, Jarrah’s story might be even more fascinating than the enthralling yet heart-wrenching tale as related truthfully by his devoted carer, eventual trainer and mentor, Rozzie Ryan.

Jarrah R’s story is one to behold. He competed at 29 CDIs in Australia and won the Pacific League World Cup Final to become eligible to represent the league in 2019 at Gothenburg. His personality is another story…

Remember that Jarrah R was by Rozzie Ryan’s most favourite stallion, Jive Magic. Jarrah, being by Jive out of Samphire (who is out of Lilac), needed a name beginning with ‘J’ for Jive and a flora name from the Lilac line. When they chose Jarrah, little did they know how appropriate the name was going to be!

Jarrah, the timber, is a Swan River mahogany from the myrtle family. It is a stunning, liver-brown colour, very sturdy and resilient. It is one of the most solid citizens in the timber family and is admired locally and internationally for its character and strength.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH JIVE MAGIC

Jive Magic was a stallion that Rozzie bought as a foal when she was in Holland training with the Grand Prix gelding Excellent, with Tineke Bartels. Tineke was then riding the impressive stallion Jazz, and Rozzie was very taken by his amazing uphill stature, his work ethic and presence. In consultation with Heath, she decided the best thing was to look for a foal by Jazz that was affordable. Tineke arranged for Rozzie to look at some Jazz foals with Nico Witte, a breeding and young horse expert.

Rozzie picked a six-week-old foal that was Jazz x Aktion. Aktion was a wonderful grey who had amazing piaffe and passage, and there was just something about this foal that screamed “pick me” at Rozzie. He was indeed picked and grew up in Holland before being sent over to England with Heath’s brother, Matt Ryan, where he continued to grow and was subsequently broken in.

It was at this time that all-time legend Regardez Moi (aka ‘Fabio’) was also found and purchased by Margaret Evans and followed along with the now-named Jive Magic. The two stallions flew to Australia together and went to the Ryans at Lochinvar. As colts they were the best of buddies, but how time changed that! Of course, needless to say Jive Magic went on to be a seriously successful Grand Prix star, winning many national championships and at Grand Prix as well. He has sired many, many amazing horses and Jarrah was one of them.

“It was simply human madness…
It did his head in!”

When Jive Magic arrived at the Ryans, he was ridden as a baby horse by Will Enzinger until it was easy to see he was a very well-mannered stallion. Rozzie keenly took over the reins and his training from then on. His first competition Rozzie remembers well at Rutherford on the grass polo fields. Jive was a big, gangly, loose individual whom Rozzie described as “sometimes like trying to ride a bowl of spaghetti!”

“He felt gigantic and gawky, and with only front shoes on and the grass arena he felt very wobbly and lacked balance, but the judges loved him,” recalls Rozzie. “I so remember making a diagonal in lengthened trot strides and secretly thinking to myself, ‘WOW!’ When I received my papers after the test, the judge simply wrote ‘WOW’ against that lengthening and I will always remember that.”

Rozzie is always very modest in describing her horses and plays their attributes down, but Jive, as he was known, was an imposing uphill stallion and filled the eye. He had elastic paces and a seriously impressive extended trot! His training was interesting and he was so good at some things and so slow to cotton on to others. The one-tempi changes were a total mystery to him and took him forever to get his head and gangly legs around. He competed for a long while at small tour, simply as the one-tempis were in the “way too hard basket!”

“One day I was working on changes and he just exasperated me,” says Rozzie. “I pulled up and said to Heath in a moment of dismay, exclaiming, ‘I think he is incapable!’ Heath gave an indignant look and explained to me in a very forthright manner that he was certainly NOT incapable, he simply hadn’t quite grasped the concept yet, but he would. I did wonder, but had faith in Heath’s words and he actually eventually did get the ones – but what a rocky training episode that was! Not to mention time-consuming and not to mention the mental anguish.

“Then, when after a year I was able to compete and got the 15 ones… Yay! The criticism was they needed to cover more ground… really that wasn’t rocket science to see, but I had to start short and brisk so he could manage them and then slowly increase the size of the canter steps in small increments. The one-tempis are simply one movement and he could do them now, and the rest of the test was all okay so I decided to get on and have a go. He did eventually become quite good at them and they covered the ground well. It just took him a while to demystify the changes and what Heath had said was so true!

“I have to say that another Jive mystery movement was the zig-zag in canter. It simply did his head in, and why the hell would you want to do tempi changes so sideways and swinging. Keep it simple and do them simply on a diagonal line… why combine them with half-pass and all those changes of bend and flexion. You just get organised and then you need to disorganise and go the other way, and then again and again… it was simply human madness! It did his head in! He also twigged in the end and he was a fabulous Grand Prix horse for me and I loved the time we spent together training and competing.”

Jive and Fabio (Regardez Moi) grew up together from when they were three-year-olds. Fabio was a hot and sensitive soul whilst Jive was laid back and quiet. The two made the progression to Grand Prix but it was so interesting to watch the differing approaches to the training and how they both ended up such solid and competitive Grand Prix horses. It was not as if there were 20 horses training and imported. These were two colts that were bought as very young horses and they both ended up being very competitive CDI Grand Prix horses knocking on the door of Olympic selection. It just shows the strength and diligent training, faith and belief that Rozzie and Heath have. Combined with their work ethic and consistency, Grand Prix was the end result even though others may have given up. Just as it was with Jarrah!

Jive was a bit of a spooky horse and lacked inner self-confidence, yet he learnt total trust in Rozzie. Rozzie relates that if ever there was a horse that was accident-prone, it was Jive.

“I can’t tell you how much time he had off from being a klutz and injuring himself – and usually before or at a big competition. He managed to just cop injuries and I never understood why. He had almost a year off with an eye problem that at one stage we thought he may lose the eye. It was a really awful time and it was so painful for him.

“With people he was an absolute pleasure but for whatever reason he did not like other horses coming near him, nor near his stable. He would kick the wall to show his disapproval and you just couldn’t quell this hate. The kicking was eventually to be his demise. We lined his stable with rubber and did all we could to limit the traffic past his stable, but the kicking eventually created bony changes to his pastern and he started to feel it in his work, and so this is why he was retired. It was at the final selection trial in Sydney before the 2010 Kentucky World Equestrian Games where he chose not to try at all.

“I loved him and knew him well and I knew there was something amiss. He always gave his all but at the last moment when perhaps we could have gotten on a team, he felt not right; it wasn’t the usual Jive. He made uncanny mistakes and felt drab – that was not his form. I knew there was something wrong and I needed to know, as it was so out of character.

“After much veterinary advice there was a reason for his lack of enthusiasm: the beginnings of bony changes in his hind pastern from kicking the wall. And as much as there was no lameness, it was enough to make him not want to give his all, so it was time for me to back off the work. It was a very sad time.

“On thinking of Jive’s idiosyncrasies, I so remember taking him to the first Boneo competition and Fiona Selby had given Jive a beautiful big stable at the end of her private barn. The first morning I walked in and he had managed to pull the watering system off the wall. That was embarrassing… but the next morning he had managed to kick planks off the stable wall! I would be greeted by Jive looking forlorn, minorly injured and wondering how these things could have possibly happened! I just wish he could have explained to Fiona how he wrecked her superb stable, but no, it was up to me!

“He was the gentlest horse to deal with and never ever did he stand me up or give me trouble at all. It was simply with other horses and doing dumb things. I could guarantee that if there was an object big or small that was in the way of his path of travel, he would manage to tread on it or trip over it. He was such a dork but a loveable one and always tried. He was a little afraid of things but I always managed him and he grew to trust me a lot and that is a very special bond. He was always an accident looking to happen and he always kept us on our toes; I dreaded the first look over the stable each morning. He just had a way of sourcing out a way to injure himself.”

Jive Magic and Rozzie Ryan became synonymous as the combination to beat at the CDIs, and they won national titles. He was a solid Grand Prix horse, and not only that but a sire of great repute. He bred many good horses and Rozzie always said that if he gave any grief as a stallion to ride or for her to handle, he would be gelded – but this never eventuated or was ever on the cards.

Horses such as Jacaranda, Jukebox, Jude and Jermyn Street are all great FEI horses that come to mind, not to mention the stunning Juliette, who was a National Show Hunter Champion and so admired. The Regardez Moi and Jive Magic crosses have been a fantastic match for the dressage community and the Ryan breeding program and way of producing them and selling them on has been amazing. The ‘R’ horses are everywhere and well thought of. It was interesting to see that as time went on, Jive and Fabio, who were the best of buddies, turned into the worst enemies and really did not like each other at all. They couldn’t share the same arena at the same time, and as for travelling together, forget that! Masculinity at its utmost! Needless to say, they would have to be two of the most well-regarded dressage stallions in Australia.

There has never been such a wonderful story as these two stallions, but the bond between Rozzie and Jive was deep and very meaningful. Jive was retired from competition at age 15 and put down in 2019 aged 23. Rozzie is never one to grandstand or blow her own trumpet, and would rather divert attention to others worse off than her when the going gets tough. Her affiliation with Jive Magic was a bond that no one but Rozzie and Jive will comprehend. Being the amazing horsewoman she is, Rozzie takes life and all its blows in her stride. She is never one to look back and absolutely not one to look for accolades.

NEXT CHAPTER FOR JARRAH R

The son of Jive, in Jarrah R (born 2006), has been a highlight in Rozzie’s life. What a great trier and what an amazing story precedes him; but let’s not forget the brains trust behind this competitive horse that came from a very troubled and not well-understood beginning. Half a dozen times Heath and Rozzie sold Jarrah, and half a dozen times he was returned to sender for temperamental reasons. The final time, he was offered for sale via Ryans’ Auction of Stars. Jonah and Edna Bevan purchased him so that Rozzie could regain the ride, as she had always had belief in his potential, and has since cared and nurtured him to the successful, reliable and consistent horse he has become.

Rozzie’s sister, Charlotte, also a very competent Grand Prix rider, is without a horse at the moment and Rozzie has decided to send Jarrah to England for her to ride. If the chance arises, Rozzie will take the opportunity to go to England and also have a crack at a few Grand Prix tests with him there and see how he fares. Rozzie thought of selling him on to a young rider, but with Covid-19 in Australia and the lack of competition, and time marching on, she wanted her buddy and trusted horse to stay in the family, so to speak, and what better way than to send him to a loving sister. What a fitting story for this wonderful horse and we will look forward to following his next steps.

Jive Magic was a total legend, as is Jarrah R — and what an amazing feat to see Rozzie have the patience and trust in them both to simply plug away at the Grand Prix until they learnt it all. Both great horses and a greater rider who proceeded with devotion, positivity and belief that she would get to the best of their ability, which she certainly did.

“We never really give our horses enough time and we really need to trust our feelings and continue down the road to Grand Prix, despite the speed humps along the way that at times slow us down,” muses Rozzie. “Take them as they come… slow down, negotiate the hump and get going again.”

Jive will forever be remembered and we look to following the genetic trail continuing on here in Australia. Watch this space to see the ongoing story of Jarrah R… really a Swan River mahogany… a stunning, liver-brown coloured timber… one of the most solid citizens in the timber family… admired by many internationally for its enormous character and strength. EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

Watch Out For The Brits, Germans & Swedes – Ryan’s Rave, Equestrian Life, October 2021

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