Queensland showjumper Billy Raymont had a fantastic show at Dressage & Jumping with the Stars, ultimately winning the five-year-old and six-year-old classes — and taking out the overall Champion of Champions class with the “unbelievable jumper” Cera Cadbury Z.
“(Cera Cadbury Z) is the
perfect horse for that event.”
“One thing that’s been 100%
from day dot is his quality of jump.”
Dressage & Jumping with the Stars (DJWTS) saw many exciting performances in the showjumping arena, from newcomers and seasoned campaigners alike. Queenslander Billy Raymont, who’s enjoyed many successes over the years and represented Australia on the international stage, scored major wins in the young horse arena with two budding stars.
Billy won the five-year-old class with Tulara Dakchico, a 17.1 hand stallion bred by Mark Fraser at Tulara Warmbloods, out of Tulara Chico’s Girl and by the stallion Dakar. In the six-year-old class, Billy also tasted success with Cera Cadbury Z, by Christian out of Cera Calista. This 16.2-hand gelding is owned by Caroline Price and was bred by Cera Warmbloods — and it was this horse that was ultimately crowned overall Young Jumping Horse Champion of Champions.
Following the event at Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre on 18-20 March, we spoke to Billy Raymont about the road to DJWTS for these two exciting young horses, how he felt they performed, and what his hopes are for the next 12 months.
“Initially, owner Caroline Price brought (Cera Cadbury Z) to a clinic that I did at the Port Phillip Showjumping Club (in Victoria) mid last year,” enthuses Billy. “He was a really nice horse; we talked a lot about him and about his future, and then when I was lucky enough to escape Victoria and go to Queensland to do some shows (during the peak of Covid-19 lockdowns), Caroline decided it was a good idea to jump on board and had the horse trucked up.
“Caroline had already done a lot of work on him, although he was still reasonably green as there hadn’t been any shows. He was ready to go to competitions, and then he got that opportunity by coming to Queensland. However, he got out and about and learned the job of being at shows really quickly, which some horses do and some take much longer.”
Billy felt the horse went well at DJWTS and was perfectly suited to the event. “He’s the perfect horse for that event. He’s been very, very well bred, specifically bred for showjumping, by Kerri Parker from Cera Warmbloods in New South Wales. Caroline bought him quite young (two days old) and he’s a very, very fancy horse and a seriously good jumper. Caroline has done a good job producing him, and I’ve had a small hand in that with his time in Queensland, and then Caroline keeps him ticking over now.
“He was perfect at the event; he rode well and jumped clear every day. Like I said, he’s a pretty fancy jumper; he just did his thing. When (guest rider and judge) Nicole Bruggemann rode him, he was probably a little bit greener to ride on the flat and a little bit more of a handful compared to a couple of the other horses. But I think as soon as she jumped a jump, her mind was probably made up. I half expected that would be the case because I know what feeling the horse gives me, and if you’re a jumping rider and you sit on a horse like that when it jumps a fence, it usually puts a smile on your face, because not too many jump like Cadbury does! He’s only a six-year-old, so his rideability will keep improving, but one thing that’s been 100% from day dot is his quality of jump; he’s just an unbelievable jumper.
“I got Tulara Dakchico from Mark Fraser at Tulara Warmbloods as a two-year-old. Mark did actually breed with him a little bit before I got him, so he has about half a dozen foals on the ground. My partner, Tesse, and I have been schooling him along. We did a couple of shows in Queensland during Covid.
“He was exceptional at DJWTS; it was actually only his sixth show! His nature has been unbelievable… his ability to learn and cope at shows for his age has been very, very good. At DJWTS he was relaxed and really nice to ride each day, and he jumped really well and just stood out. He was really consistent over the three days, which was the main thing. He was third the first day and then he just stepped up and won the next couple of days. He just kept growing and improving throughout the event.”
So where does Billy hope to see these two exciting young horses in 12 months’ time? “Cadbury is actually going to have a little spell now. And then he will likely come to Queensland probably in June for a couple of World Cup shows. And hopefully, by the end of the year, he’s jumping the Future Stars classes — and then jumping Mini Prix classes this time next year.
“The stallion (Tulara Dakchico), being a year behind Cadbury in age, is still a bit too young for the Future Stars classes — but I’m pretty excited about him. Hopefully in 12 months’ time he’s ready to start jumping those Future Stars events and being competitive.”
“All four age class winners
were bred right here in Australia.”
DJWTS was not just a success story for Billy Raymont, but also the wider Australian jumping community. All four age class winners were bred right here in Australia — both of Billy’s rides, and the four and seven-year-old winners.
Clasique Emerelda, a 17-hand mare by Emerald Van’t Ruytershof out of Fiorella, claimed the four-year-old title. Ridden by Tom McDermott, she was bred and is owned by Jessica Spence. Yalambi Stud bred the winner of the seven-year-old class with Yalambi’s Jadore, by Carpino Z out of Fendi. The classy mare is owned by Chatham Park and was ridden by Kate Hinschen. Hats off to the Aussie studs that are breeding our next generation of showjumping superstars… more on this in the May issue of Equestrian Life!
THE FEI WORLD CUP SEASON GETS UNDERWAY
DJWTS also signalled the start of the FEI World Cup season here in Australia, which was an exciting moment for the jumping community given the lack of events last year. A large crowd of spectators — both at Werribee and watching at home on the Equestrian Life live stream — lapped up the action. Taking the win with a double-clear performance was NSW rider Amber Fuller and CP Aretino (CP Ulixes x CP Argentina by Chiron Z). Gabrielle Chugg and the stallion Cera Cassiago (Cassini I / Carathago Z) produced the only other double-clear in the class to claim second place, while third place went to Tom McDermott and Elegance De La Charmille (Clinton / Andwind), who recorded the fastest clear round in Round 1.
DJWTS has given us a glimpse into the action we can expect to see as the World Cup season unfolds — and also what’s in store for the future with young horses that will hopefully go on to represent Australia on the international stage. Exciting times!
Full results from DJWTS can be found here.
Scroll down to read our Q&A with young horse guest rider and judge Nicole Bruggemann…
Q&A WITH YOUNG HORSE GUEST RIDER AND JUDGE NICOLE BRUGGEMANN
Based in Gawler, South Australia, Nicole Bruggemann is one of Australia’s up and coming showjumping riders. She has ridden to World Cup level and produced many young horses through to Grand Prix. At 2021 DJWTS, Nicole was on the judging panel for the young horse classes — and a late call-up saw her jump in the saddle as the guest rider as well!
“We could have stood there and talked for
around 45 minutes trying to make
the decision, that’s how close they were.”
EQ LIFE: What made (six year old winner and overall young jumping horse Champion of Champions) Cera Cadbury Z a stand out horse for you?
NICOLE: He’s a very nice horse. What stood out to me was just the feel in his jump. To me, you can tell a lot about a horse through their consistency in the jump. When I rode him, the rideability to a jump and after a jump was there, and then jumping an 80cm cross rail, it felt like he was jumping a 1.30m vertical. Sometimes a horse might do that the first time… the second time around, I wasn’t expecting the same response, but he did everything exactly the same. His jump did not change at all; to me that was quite a good thing because he felt very nice over a jump!
EQ LIFE: This was the first year where there were no international guest judges at DJWTS, and instead you took up the reins. Was this the first time that you had done this type of judging where you get on and ride different horses?
N: Yes, it was indeed. I originally was not supposed to be the riding judge, but unfortunately the judge that was supposed to be riding had a back injury, so I got the call that I had to ride, which was slightly terrifying but exciting at the same time! I’d not done anything like that before, whereas both the other judges (James Patterson-Robinson and John McMillan) had had past experience at this sort of thing. So it was a little overwhelming to be asked to do that when it was very new to me, but at the same time I was excited to have that experience.
Normally I’m too busy riding at shows to be able to watch, so to be able to sit there and have a look at young horses and see how people train young horses, the differences in them and how they go was really interesting to be a part of. I enjoyed it. I thought it was a good experience; it was a great weekend!
EQ LIFE: Jumping on a four-year-old versus a seven-year-old and judging horses at different stages of training would be challenging… how did you find that aspect of it?
N: It’s hard because the horses didn’t get the opportunity to do a lot last year, so you have some horses in the six-year-old class that were still five-year-olds mentally. It just came down to experience in the ring. But then at the same time it’s hard because, for example, the seven-year-old is 12 months in front of a six-year-old, but you don’t know where that six-year-old would be if Covid didn’t happen last year. So it’s hard to really gauge where a horse should be at, depending on how much it did or didn’t do last year.
Having said that, the education from the four-year-old to the seven-year-old was fantastic. I had no doubt that was going to be the case because they are all ridden by fantastic riders, so the rideability of each horse was phenomenal regardless of the age of the horse.
Overall, myself and the other judges thought the six-year-old (Cera Cadbury Z) and the seven-year-old (Yalambi’s Jadore) were quite close together. When it came down to picking the overall winner, it was tough for us to make that decision. It was very hard to split them apart; we could have stood there and talked for around 45 minutes trying to decide between the two, that’s how close they were.
EQ LIFE: All four young horse winners were bred in Australia, which is very exciting. With this in mind, what are your thoughts on the future of showjumping horses in Australia?
N: Oh yes, absolutely. I made a comment about that when I was talking about the horses after I’d ridden them, in the sense that the future of the sport is bright and how great the breeding is in Australia now. There are a lot of nice homebred horses and people in Australia are putting in so much effort, pride and joy into the breeding of their horses — and they are seeing the results. There was so much homebred talent at DJWTS, and I think it’s only going to continue. It’s going to be exciting to watch the young horses we saw at the show and see them progress into the future.
I have no doubt that the sport is in fantastic hands. People are now trusting the process and really enjoying breeding homebred horses and getting the satisfaction of seeing them progress through the stages and seeing what they can do. So I definitely think the sport is heading in a great way. EQ
