The FEI World Championships for eventing are taking place at Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, with the first horse inspection on 14 September. Australia has a strong squad that includes seasoned campaigners and exciting newcomers alike.

ANDREW HOY & VASSILY DE LASSOS

Andrew Hoy needs little introduction; the eight-time Olympian was a member of Australia’s recent silver medal winning team at Tokyo where he and Vassily de Lassos also claimed individual bronze. Andrew, who is based in the UK, has also attended six World Championships/World Equestrian Games (WEG): 1978 in Lexington and 1982 in Luhmühlen with Davey; 1990 in Stockholm with Kiwi; 2002 in Jerez de la Frontera with Moonfleet; 2006 in Aachen with Master Monarch; and 2018 in Tryon with Vassily de Lassos. He and Vassily – a 13-year-old Selle Français gelding (Jaguar Mail x Illusion Perdue, by Jalienny) owned by Paula and David Evans – were fourth on their dressage score at Tryon and will be aiming to finish on the podium in Pratoni. Vassily will be groomed at these World Championships by Clémentine Girardeau.

EQ LIFE: Pratoni will be your third major championship with Vassily. You were fourth at WEG Tryon in 2018, and third at the Tokyo Olympics last year, which were amazing results – do you think you can you go one (or two!) better this time around?

ANDREW: Vassily can definitely do it. It’s where we set the base for the dressage, that’s the thing that’s quite likely to decide where we finish, because he has got a very consistent record of finishing on his dressage score. So who knows? We’re working on it!

EQ LIFE: How is Vassily feeling – he had a great run to finish on his dressage score at Haras du Pin, not to mention great second-placings at Aachen and Marbach earlier this year?

ANDREW: Before this interview, I was out riding in a field alongside where Vassily is, and he was running and bucking and galloping and playing. He’s feeling very well, he’s definitely in good order. Every horse is an athlete, the same as every rider is an athlete, and at any stage anything can happen – but all is good at this point.

I’ve been in the industry for so long now, it’s just step by step, and day by day. It’s not about getting in a panic because it’s a championship, it’s just another competition. I very much know the venue – it is a great venue – and so it’s just a matter of day by day until we get there. And then throughout the competition, continuing on and executing our performances.

EQ LIFE: Vassily’s level of consistency and ability to finish on his dressage score is outstanding; it must be a great feeling lining up at another major championship with a horse like this? 

ANDREW: It’s a privilege to ride a horse like Vassily and I am very grateful to his owners, David and Paula Evans, for making our partnership and journey possible. I’ve had many great horses in my life and I’ve been asked many times if Vassily is the best horse that I’ve ever had. It’s always very easy to remember the current horses, but if I go back to Davey, when I started in 1978, the respect I had for that horse… he was my Pony Club horse. He was only very small; 15.3hh. He took me to two Olympic Games, two World Championships and won Burghley. I had zero knowledge at that point in time… the knowledge that I’ve got now, the support team that I’ve got now, the people that I’ve worked with, it’s just on a totally, totally different level.

For sure, Vassily is exceptional at finishing on his dressage score. He’s got exceptional performances. I’m riding better than I did in 1978, and so I can give him the opportunity to perform at his best. And I think that’s the same as any athlete working with a horse, you can only give the horse the opportunity for them to perform at their best. So therefore, it’s about you understanding the horse.

EQ LIFE: As you said, results at Pratoni could well be determined by your dressage mark – what aspects of the test have you been working on the most?

ANDREW: It’s the overall thing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the walk, the trot, the canter, the flying changes, the lateral work… they all need to be at a very good level now. I believe he’s a horse that is very good. His test is improving all the time, but it’s also about having the judges believe that it’s better as well – and the judges being brave enough to give him good marks.

I think every athlete has probably got a very strong opinion about the dressage and the dressage scoring. The really important thing is with dressage judging, the judges actually judge what they see in front of them and not a perception. I think this is debated throughout all dressage, whether it’s the World Championships that have just been in Herning… there is much debate about judging. It’s just important that the judges actually judge what they see, and not what they want to see or expect to see.

I have been training with German ‘Reitmeister’ Dolf Keller and his wife Manuela for many years now, who also support me on site at every competition – and it is a privilege to be able to work with one of the very best coaches in the ‘Pure Dressage’ world.

EQ LIFE: You have competed at Pratoni with Vassily in 2020 – tell us a little bit about the venue and what you’re expecting this time around.

ANDREW: It was the venue for the 1960 Olympics; it’s a well-established venue. The stabling is good. I was there earlier in the year for the Test Event and they’re doing a lot of construction; they’re establishing some extra arenas with all-weather surfaces. The main jumping arena is going to be on grass, but it’s a very good grass surface, for it to be a natural surface, I’d say it is possibly the best natural grass surface that I’ve ever jumped on.

Cross country, the ground is just phenomenally good. It’s on volcanic soil and it is very, very hilly. Your horses have to be fit. They can have one metre of rain the night before, and they can still start cross country at eight o’clock the following morning, it’s just a phenomenal piece of ground.

EQ LIFE: This will be your seventh World Championships – and you’ve also been to eight Olympic Games – can you give us some insight into what goes on behind the scenes to get a combination to a major championship?

ANDREW: This does not come just through what Vassily and I do. The support team that I have, from the groom that travels with me, Clémentine – she’s got a very good understanding of Vassily – and then there are the owners, David and Paula Evans, who are just exceptional owners, to a huge support team of people behind us. It really does ‘take a village’.

To go to any championship, it is the Equestrian Australia High Performance team that actually makes it happen. Under the management and great leadership of Chris Webb and the team that he puts around him, that is a very, very big factor in any success. They are an incredible team of people, they work incredibly hard and they all do a fantastic job – our success is their success!

These are the unsung heroes because when we do well as a team, it’s often ‘didn’t the horses and riders do such a great job?’ But we are not alone. You don’t win competitions just on the day. It’s all the work that goes in beforehand. You do many, many hours for a very brief performance. Before I left for Tokyo, I had a conversation with all my staff here at home. I said, ‘well, if all of this goes well, all of these years that we’ve been working on this – ever since Vassily began with us in 2017 – this is for a 13-minute performance’.

SHANE ROSE & VIRGIL

Another member of our silver medal winning team at Tokyo, Shane Rose is also no stranger to competing at major championships. The NSW-based three-time Olympian has attended five World Championships/WEGs: 1998 in Rome with It’s A Knockout; 2006 in Aachen with All Luck; 2014 in Caen with Taurus; and 2018 in Tryon with Virgil. Shane and 17-year-old Australian Warmblood Virgil (Vivant) – owned by Shane and wife Niki in partnership with Michelle Hasibar – have a long partnership and will be lining up in Pratoni for their third major international championship together. Virgil will be groomed by Jamie Atkinson

EQ LIFE: It will be Virgil’s third major championship following WEG in Tryon and the Tokyo Olympics – how is he feeling ahead of these championships in Pratoni?

SHANE: There are always things to improve on, but Virgil’s in great shape and is extremely fit and healthy. He’s always been a good jumper, and he’s just getting better and better on the flat. So I’m looking forward to it!

EQ LIFE: Virgil has been competing at FEI level with you now for an incredible 11 years, what do you think is the secret to his longevity in the sport?

SHANE: We’ve looked after him, but when you’ve got a horse like him, he finds the jumping component of the sport very easy – so he’s not over-exerting himself. If you imagine you’ve got a race car and you’re just driving it around on the red line… well if you’re trying to compete horses all the time on the red line, they bust. If you’ve got a horse that you can manage to keep fit and healthy, and they’re not physically busting themselves all the time, then that certainly helps.

We obviously look after him; we’ve been pretty selective of where and how often he’s competed, to keep him ticking along. The thing about horses is the longer you have them, the more they learn and the better they become. He’s still improving and I’m hoping I can get a better dressage score at Pratoni; I’m really looking forward to trying to get that to happen, and then we’ll see how we go after that. I’m really happy with where he’s at physically and mentally, leading towards this trip.

EQ LIFE: You opted to campaign from Australia for these championships – what led you to that decision?

SHANE: I have been overseas in the past, but I guess what’s changed is I probably secured my position earlier in the team this time. Results over the last few years have been really good for us as a combination, so that enabled me to have this discussion with the selectors about whether they were comfortable with my plans preparing from Australia.

In the past, I think the selectors – especially after Tryon where I had a few issues with various different things – were keen for me to go overseas and prove that I could actually prepare the horse from home, go over, and do an event overseas with my own plan. I gave them that by doing Pau CCI5* with Virgil in 2019, and this gave them the confidence that I could then repeat it in Tokyo. So it’s not just a decision on my part; it’s also having the selectors comfortable that you are able to do what you say you can do.

I’m fairly experienced and Virgil is also, so I think that given the fact that we’ve done it in the past gives the selectors the confidence to think that we’re going be able to do it again. It’s my preference at this stage, both financially and for him as a horse… I didn’t think he needed to do anything over there beforehand.

The experience of competing over in Europe that some of the other riders on the squad are getting at the moment, like Hazel Shannon and (reserve) Jess Rae, it certainly gives them good experience going forward that they can build on.

EQ LIFE: The World Championships heads back to the four-combination team with a drop score, as opposed to the three-combination team at Tokyo – do you feel this changes the dynamics of the competition from what we saw last year at the Games?

SHANE: For us as Australians, we’ve certainly got a directive from Equestrian Australia High Performance that priority one is to qualify the team for the Paris Olympics so that we can really focus on our Paris preparations how we want.

Since the first priority is that we have a strong team that finishes and qualifies, I think that probably suggests that we’re going to have a fairly similar structure and thought process to what we did in Tokyo. The fact that we’ve got an extra rider to be able to do that is good, but I don’t think our plans will change. We’ll still aim to do the best dressage we can; our fastest, clear cross country in the safest possible manner that we can; and then four clear show jumping rounds is our goal. As a team, that’s what we’ll be doing.

When we all produce our best results, that’s the best way for the team to be strong and that’s what happened in Tokyo. So I think we’ll have a fairly similar approach.

EQ LIFE: Your former student Shenae has also made the team – that must be a proud moment as well?

SHANE: Absolutely, and one of the reserves on the squad, Jess Rae, worked for us for a couple of years as well not long ago. I’m really pleased for Shenae – and she obviously has a lot of association with the Barretts as well. She’s actually still based with me here at the moment. It’s fun, as preparing for a championship is quite often – I was going to say lonely but that’s not quite the right word – but it’s just there are not many other horses going to a World Championships! To be able to do our flatwork together and when we jump, we jump together and are bouncing ideas of each other, and that’s been great.

Shenae is in great form; she and the horse are an amazing combination. I’m really pleased for her, how she’s handled the pressure of selection and now the preparation going forward to Pratoni. I can’t wait to see how good a job she can do; I think she’s probably got a chance of being the best Australian score to finish. If she can do what she’s done in the past, she’s going to be a real asset!

KEVIN MCNAB & SCUDERIA 1918 DON QUIDAM OR WILLUNGA

UK-based Kevin McNab has been named with a choice of two horses for Pratoni. The first is his Tokyo team silver medal winning horse, 14-year-old KWPN gelding Don Quidam (Quidam x Nairoby, by Amethist), who is owned by Scuderia 1918 and wife, Emma McNab. The lesser-known 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Willunga (Olympic Lux x Ringmoylan Beauty, by Coevers Diamond Boy), owned by Samia Murgian Hedger in partnership with Emma, is the second. While Kevin has a wealth of experience competing at international level and has an Olympic Games under his belt, Pratoni is his first World Championships. His groom will be Lucy Hartley.

EQ LIFE: Pratoni will be your first World Championships/WEG – that must be exciting?

KEVIN: Yes, I am thrilled to be representing Australia at the biggest competition on the calendar. Last winter Emma and I planned the 2022 season and it was always our aim to get to Pratoni with the horses carefully produced to peak this (northern hemisphere) autumn. It takes so much support to get here. I have to thank my owners, sponsors and the Equestrian Australia High Performance program, particularly Chris Webb who brings an amazing team ethos to the group.

EQ LIFE: You have two horses beside your name – Don Quidam and Willunga – you must be thrilled to not only make the team but have the choice of two horses?

KEVIN: I am a lucky guy! But seriously, these two horses have been fantastic athletes for Australia. Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam, owned by Scuderia 1918, is such a consistent horse and we know each other very well. Willunga, owned by Samia Murgian Hedger, is a horse I have ridden since 2015 and we are very proud he has been selected.

EQ LIFE: What was the High Performance team’s reasoning behind listing both on the team, as opposed to one as a reserve? At this stage, will both travel to Pratoni?

KEVIN: Both horses will travel to (pre-event) camp, but we will discuss and decide closer to the date which one travels to Pratoni.

EQ LIFE: Tell us a little bit about Willunga – he is relatively lightly competed for his age, but had a great run at Haras du Pin in the Nations Cup?

KEVIN: He is a 2007 Irish Sport Horse by Olympic Lux; he is quite small at 16.1hh, but very athletic. I am fortunate enough to have some top horses that all peaked at the same time! But this year Willunga has really shone.

EQ LIFE: Your Tokyo hero Don Quidam has had one run in Ireland since Tokyo, how is feeling in the lead up to Pratoni?

KEVIN: He has actually had two runs, one national event and Mallow CCI4*S in Ireland, and he’ll run again at the end of this month (August, in the CCI3*S at Millstreet). We’ve found from past experience this is the best way to prepare him. He is an experienced campaigner and we’ve only had one aim for him this year: Pratoni.

EQ LIFE: Who will be cheering you on in Pratoni – will Emma, Annabelle and Charli be heading to Italy as well?

KEVIN: As always, we have a great team behind us, and it really takes a village to create top horses. We hope the whole family and friends will be supporting us.

HAZEL SHANNON & WILLINGAPARK CLIFFORD

Hazel Shannon will also be making her debut at a major championship with 17-year-old Thoroughbred gelding WillingaPark Clifford (Passing Shot x Twin Pearls, by Double Income). Clifford, who has been owned by Willinga Park’s Terry Snow since 2017, has had a long and successful FEI career and is best known for winning Adelaide five-star a record three times. Hazel, originally from Mutchilba in Queensland, has been based over in Europe since October last year with Clifford in preparation for hopeful team selection – and the big move was worth it! Hazel and Clifford’s groom at Pratoni will be Bronte Buttel.

EQ LIFE: You’ve been at FEI level with Clifford for 10 years and won Adelaide CCI5* three times; how does it feel to now have been named on an Australian team for a major championship?

HAZEL: I am very excited for myself, Terry and Ginette Snow and Clifford. Like you said, we have been at FEI level together for 10 years now and we have been knocking on the door of selection for a few years. It has been a goal we have been aiming at for quite some time, and to achieve it is an amazing feeling.

EQ LIFE: You’ve been over in Europe for some time now – when did you travel over and where have you been based all this time? Who’s coaching you?

HAZEL: Clifford and I travelled over for Pau 5* last year (October 2021). The plan was to compete at Pau and then come home to Australia again. As most know, Clifford became sick during competition and we had to withdraw. He quickly recovered and after speaking to Terry and Ginette, we decided to re-route to the UK. It seemed like such a shame to have come so far and spent so much money to turn around and come home again without getting the chance to compete. Since Pau I have been based at Kevin and Emma McNab’s. I have regular jump coaching from Kevin and occasionally Nelson Pessoa. On the flat I have been getting regular coaching from Sune Hansen. Sune has been Kevin and Emma’s dressage coach for some time now. I have gained so much from my time here, more than I could have imagined. I am so grateful to Terry and Ginette for making this possible.

EQ LIFE: It hasn’t been the easiest overseas trip with Clifford, having had some bad luck at Pau and also Badminton this year – it must be a nice feeling for it to have all come together at the Nations Cup in Haras du Pin?

HAZEL: Yes, it has been a frustrating year in that respect. Some of it has been completely out of my control. I’ve just had to live with it, move on and re-plan. The bad competitions certainly make you appreciate the good ones.

EQ LIFE: Clifford is 17 and has been competing at the elite level for many years now – what do you think has contributed to his prolonged success and longevity at the top of the sport?

HAZEL: Obviously I’ve done everything I can to minimise chances of injuries or wear and tear, but I think a lot of it comes down to being a tough Aussie Thoroughbred!

SHENAE LOWINGS & BOLD VENTURE

Following an eye-catching win in the CCI4*L at Melbourne International Three-Day Event, Shenae Lowings is making her major championship debut with 11-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred Bold Venture (Devaraja x Zamoff). Shenae, a former working pupil for teammate Shane Rose, is based in NSW and will make the long trip to Italy with ‘Bentley’, who she owns in partnership with her parents Leanne and Mark. Olivia Barton will be their groom at the World Championships. You can read more about Shenae’s journey with Bentley in the July issue of Equestrian Life. EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

Back to the Future at the Worlds – Equestrian Life, September 2022