ISSUE 73
DEC 2021
LYNDAL OATLEY’S
DYNAMIC DUO
THE WOMEN BACKING
EQUINE WELFARE
WILL MATTHEW’S
TRUE WERTH

PLUS: EMMA BOOTH SALUTES ZIDANE, HEATH RYAN’S CALL FOR CRITERIA, JAMES ARKINS MAKES HIS MOVE, CARO WAGNER’S NEXT CHALLENGE, 60 SEC TO IMPRESS THE JUDGES, KERRY MACK’S SOFT TOUCH, BRIDLELESS RIDING, SEABISCUIT, UNDERSTANDING ANAESTHESIA & FEEDING STARCH.

AUSTRALIA`S BEST EQUINE MAGAZINE
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ISSUE 73

CONTENTS

DEC 2021
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A Few Words

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

ROBERT MCKAY

Ryan's Rave

BUILDING FOR BRISBANE 2032 STARTS NOW!

BY HEATH RYAN

Dressage

CAROLINE WAGNER’S SPECIAL TOUCH

BY ROGER FITZHARDINGE

Showjumping

JAMES ARKINS MAKES
HIS MOVE

BY ADELE SEVERS

Dressage

LYNDAL OATLEY HONES IN ON HERNING

BY ROGER FITZHARDINGE & ADELE SEVERS

Para Equestrian

ZIDANE – MOTIVATOR, FIGHTER, LEGEND, BEST FRIEND

BY EMMA BOOTH

Training

THE SECRET TO
‘SOFT HANDS’

BY DR KERRY MACK

Off the Track

THE WOMEN TRANSFORMING EQUINE WELFARE

BY ADELE SEVERS

Dressage

PERTH BOY FINDS HIS TRUE WERTH

BY ADELE SEVERS

Training

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

BY KIM DYER

Health

UNDERSTANDING ANAESTHESIA

BY DR MAXINE BRAIN

Dressage

60 SECONDS TO GIVE A FIRST IMPRESSION

BY ROGER FITZHARDINGE

Lifestyle

'SEABISCUIT'
TAKES THE CAKE

BY SUZY JARRATT

Health

A GOOD GUT FEELING FOR PERFORMANCE HORSES

BY ELLIE JOLLEY
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William Matthew and Belantis. © LL-Foto
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William Matthew started out on leased riding school horses at a Pony Club in Perth before heading to Europe at 17 for an equestrian gap year. A decade later, he’s riding for Isabell Werth and is successfully campaigning an international-level Grand Prix horse.

“I was always around horses as a kid,” says William Matthew. “Dad always says Mum brainwashed me into loving horses, as she used to sit me in the middle of the arena in a pushchair as a baby while she rode around me!” Will started riding at five when his mother took him and one of his sisters to the local riding school. “From then on, I was always riding,” Will declares.

“In Australia I rode a bit of every discipline; I went through the Pony Club system in Western Australia, so I did everything from flat work to show jumping to mounted games. I never had my own horse, we could never afford it, but my trainer Alisa Dodds gave me every opportunity she could with leasing her riding school horses in exchange for helping in the stable. I think Alisa was the one that really helped create my love for dressage, she worked with all the horses in such a system, and it really instilled in me how disciplined you have to be to train horses.”

Will finished school, and at the age of 17 he wasn’t sure what career he wanted to pursue; an electrical apprenticeship was on the cards, however, first he thought he’d enjoy an equestrian gap year overseas. “I was at a clinic in Perth with a lady called Kate Mably. She had a business importing Lusitanos from Portugal into the UK, and after a few lessons with her she invited me to come over as a working student when I finished school, so that’s what I did. For me [moving overseas] was great, it was an adventure!” says Will, adding that he never planned to stay as long as did.

Moving overseas at such a young age might seem daunting to some, however, having family in the UK meant Will didn’t feel so far away from home. “I spent eight months in the UK with Kate until I ran out of the money I had saved beforehand,” he laughs. It was time to move back to Australia to refill the coffers, and for six months he took jobs wherever he could, from cleaning boxes to riding and even labouring on construction sites. “I really knew then I wanted to be in Europe to learn from the best, but first I needed to organise everything at home and get some money together.”

With money saved, Will reached out to former fellow Perth resident Hayley Beresford, who had been in Europe since 2005 when she was initially offered a job to work for Isabell Werth. “Before I knew it I was back in Europe, in Germany as a working student. Hayley’s yard was my first real taste of a professional competition stable; we worked hard but I learnt so much, both with the riding and the management of the horses.”

WARWICK McLEAN CALLS

After eight months William again ran out of money, but he felt he had learnt enough to gain a paid position in a European stable. “I had an offer in the UK again at a stable near Surrey. I got to ride a lot there, so I could practise everything I had learnt with Hayley, but after around six months I realised it wasn’t the place for me and I began to look for something else where I could keep learning. Literally the week I started looking, I got a call from Warwick McLean. I had stayed a few weeks with him the first time I was in the UK, as he was based there at the time; my trainer from Perth, Alisa Dodds, had recommended I try to spend some time with him.”

Warwick, an Australian dressage rider and well-known equine behaviourist, had started a new business in Germany, McLean Reitsport, in 2012 with his wife, Carolina McLean. In need of a rider, they contacted Will. The young rider stayed with Warwick and Carolina for almost five years. “Warwick’s was amazing, I learnt so much, especially with problem horses and young horses. Warwick and his wife gave me so many opportunities; they organised a horse for me, D’Artagnan, so I could do Young Rider competitions and then Under-25 Grand Prix. To be honest, they shaped me totally into the rider I am.

“D’Artagnan 198, or ‘Arttu’ as we called him, was a horse from Finnish Grand Prix rider Henri Ruoste. Henri had bought him as a young horse and had built him up over the years to be sold. Henri had not really had time to compete him, and Warwick knew I wanted to compete in Young Rider classes. So he organised with Henri that I could compete him with the eventual goal of selling him.

“We always said Arttu was a mouse in an elephant’s body; he was huge but scared of everything and strong like hell. He’s still to this day the strongest horse I’ve ever ridden, however, he had a heart of gold and always wanted to work. It took a while to really learn how to ride him, but we went from Young Rider classes through to Under-25 Grand Prix together; it was an amazing experience to ride at those big shows and also not to have the easiest horse, I think from this I learnt a lot.

“At the beginning of 2015, I had a really bad accident where a horse reared and fell backwards on top of me. I broke my pelvis at the front and the back, and this took around six months for me to be back riding again. During this time Henri decided to send Arttu to another stable to be sold, so this is when I stopped riding him.”

After almost five years at McLean Reitsport, William again wanted to experience something new. “I got a job offer in Holland from Leida Collins-Strijk, and this was a really cool experience to see the Dutch system of riding. After eight months Leida was heading to Florida for the winter with all the horses, however, it wasn’t possible for me to go because my girlfriend was studying, and we have two dogs and other commitments, so I couldn’t leave.”

CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH ISABELL

William says the next job offer came from Beatrice Buchwald and the Hödl family. “I was then there for two years. Beatrice moved to her husband’s stable at the end of the two years, and it was a bit too far for me to drive.” And so, in 2019, it was time for another change. “My original idea was to go completely independent. The Höldl family had a few horses they wanted to sell and asked if I could go with them to show the horses to Isabell Werth; this was when Isabell first saw me ride.

“When I knew we were going to Isabell’s, for sure I was nervous about it; it was a really cool opportunity to ride in front of her and just to meet her, and when I was riding I really wanted to do a good job. [Meeting Isabell] wasn’t what I expected, I don’t really know what I expected, but it was different. She immediately makes you feel comfortable; I think she’s just so positive and welcoming that you forget you’re standing in front of one of the best riders in the world and can relax a bit.”

This chance meeting was the catalyst for Will’s current working arrangement. “Isabell heard that I was thinking about going independent, and that’s when she offered me a job to work for her half days, which I directly said yes too!”

Since the end of 2019, William has been riding half days, six days per week for Isabell and currently has eight horses in work for her. “Working for Isabell is insane! I can remember when I was young watching YouTube videos of her riding and being so amazed by it, and now I’m riding in the same arena as her every morning, which is really crazy. Isabell is just very inspirational; she has been in the sport for so long and she still has so much passion for it. She’s a genius on the horse, and you learn so much from just watching her. When she trains you, she knows exactly what each individual horse needs and the exact right moment to do it. I’m very lucky to be in the position I am and very grateful to Isabell for the opportunities she’s giving me.

“I am then self-employed the other half of the day for my six-day work week. Three days a week after riding at Isabell’s I then go and work for my previous employer, the Hödl family, riding their young horses, some of which we own together. On these three days I then drive home and ride my two horses; one I own 50/50 with Leida Collins-Strijk, my old boss, and one super-talented eight-year-old gelding from a client that I have been riding since he was five; he’s starting to be really exciting now, as he’s learning all the things for the Grand Prix.

“The three days where I’m not working for the Hödl family, I drive home from Isabell’s and ride my two horses and then normally give some lessons and help my girlfriend with her two horses. Most days, my lunch break is normally in the car! Normally, I try to always make Sundays free unless there is a show to attend or clients to meet with.”

‘PINCHING MYSELF’

William says that working for Isabell has been an amazing experience for many reasons, not least the fact that it’s given him his first international Grand Prix ride with Belantis – a partnership that came about by chance. “It was just one busy day where Isabell had too much going on and she asked me just to stretch Belantis a bit. It worked quite well and then because of the busy week she asked if I could ride him the rest of the week. Then I had a bit of luck, with the Tokyo Olympics and European Championships and everything Isabell had going on, and she thought it could be a good idea for me to continue riding him and to compete him a bit as she would not have time this year.”

The 12-year-old grey stallion, by Benetton Dream (Brentano II) out of Philharmonie (Expo’se), is owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze. “Belantis is my first international Grand Prix horse; I’m still pinching myself that I get to ride and compete a Grand Prix horse trained by Isabell Werth. He is super, but he is sensitive and I’m still inexperienced in the Grand Prix, so we are still getting to know each other in the ring.”

In May this year, William rode the horse in a national Short Grand Prix class at Troisdorf in Germany, winning the test with 71.434%, followed by his first normal Grand Prix test at the same venue in June – this time scoring 70.3% for second place. “We then threw ourselves in the deep end at CHIO Aachen [in August]. It’s not every day you get a chance to ride there, so I had to grab it, and I think we both learnt a lot. It was a bit overwhelming for Belantis too, so we had a lot of mistakes, but I don’t think it was a bad thing. I was able to see what can happen when he’s tenser and figure out ways to help him.” It was William and Belantis’ first CDI Big Tour event, and they scored 68.174% in the Grand Prix test and 65.085% in the Special.

At the end of October, the pair rode at another national competition in Germany, winning the Grand Prix test on 69.433%. “He felt much more confident, so I’m excited for the future,” says William of their recent performance. The next competition on the pair’s schedule is Dortmund CDI4*, also in Germany, which begins on 9 December. “I think Belantis will then have a couple of months break from the shows and we will start again at the end of the winter.”

Belantis is not the only exciting horse William is riding at present. “At Isabell’s I have a few really nice selling projects, and also some young ones that haven’t been in front of a judge yet, but they will be very exciting in the future. One of my other favourites at Isabell’s is Freischutz; he is a very talented eight-year-old gelding, also owned by Madeline Winter-Schulze, and he’s started at Prix St Georges level this year and had some good results, but I think for next year he will be super.

“At home I have my own and Leida Collins-Strijk’s 11-year-old gelding Fernando. I have had him for three years; he was a very big project as he was quite spooky and difficult when we started. This year he had his first Prix St Georges win, and that was a huge personal achievement for me as I think no one really knew if it would be possible with him. Now we hope to find him a new home in the near future, as the plan was always to eventually sell him.

“I also have an eight-year-old gelding at home called Mysterious Star from one client, and he had his first placing this year in the S level (the German national equivalent to Small Tour) and is beginning to become something very exciting for the Grand Prix, so that is really cool.”

Looking to the year ahead, William has a few personal goals in mind. “I want to build my own business a bit more. I invested in some young horses with the Hödl family this year, so the idea is to build them up for selling, and to then keep investing in and growing my personal business, which is also super exciting. Hopefully we can also slowly improve the quality of horses that we can buy! I also have some really cool opportunities with Belantis, and in the end Isabell has a plan for us and I completely trust her judgement. So with the horses from Isabell I will just keep training and trying to improve from show to show, and let’s see what opportunities arise – either way I’m super excited.”

“THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNT FROM ISABELL”

  1. That we are working with animals and anything can happen, and we shouldn’t get disheartened. Isabell has had so many ups and downs over such a long time, and it doesn’t phase her when something goes wrong. They can spook or make a mistake in the test or they can get an injury and sometimes there’s nothing we can do about it; we just have to stay positive and keep going. If I have a bad test, Isabell will always see the positive parts of it and then say, “so now we know what we need to work on for the next show”, and it’s as simple as that, you just keep going.
  1. It’s all about good riding! Over the years I’ve seen so many tricks and different special tools people are using, whether it’s a different bit or different lunging system or whatever. I still think there are lots of different techniques we can use to train the horses, but what I realised here at Isabell’s is that she’s not doing something special; there are no tricks, it’s just good riding and basics. You have to just trust your system and keep going, some horses take longer and some shorter, but when you just keep going with good basics they eventually learn what you want.
  1. The horses have to be as through and as flexible as possible and it’s just through basics you can achieve this. You have to be able to control the body of the horse; you need to be able to make the horse as long, as short, as bent, or as straight as you want at any time. The exercises are never the problem, if they’re not working it’s just because there’s an issue somewhere in the basics. So it’s just about constantly checking throughout the ride that the horse is soft and accepting your leg, seat and hand. EQ

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