Clinching victory in the CCI4*S at Wallaby Hill, Cathryn Herbert and Wimborne Constable are an Australian eventing combination on the rise. It was the pair’s second four-star together, resulting in a breakthrough win at the level for both halves of the partnership – and with a terrific finishing score, they did it in style.

“I was really happy with his dressage and then cross country I was really, really pleased with how he went,” says Cathryn Herbert of her win last month with Wimborne Constable. “We’re still working each other out, but we went clear; we weren’t the fastest, but we were fast enough. I was really nervous going into the show jumping, but I knew I had a pretty good jumping horse underneath me, so I just had to do the right thing as a rider. As I went over the second last fence, I knew I had a rail in hand, but I still was just trying to keep my focus, so I didn’t take the last rail… I was really happy to get over clear!

“He’s got a really nice temperament and he tries really hard,” describes Cathryn of the 14-year-old stallion’s best attributes. “Probably his biggest strength is the show jumping; he’s just a really talented jumper. It’s just really nice to sit on, on the final day of competition, knowing you’ve got that power underneath you.”

It’s been a tough period for events in Australia, especially on the east coast where rain has wreaked havoc with competition schedules. “We thought we were getting back into normal competition life after all the Covid cancellations, and then it just rained,” laments Cathryn. “I didn’t even expect (Wallaby Hill) to happen. We got lucky that it actually dried out in time. I’d entered for a dressage event at Tamworth, just in case Wallaby Hill was cancelled, so that I didn’t get left home doing nothing!”

Cathryn says it was a great way to end the year competing at the picturesque property at Robertson in the NSW Southern Highlands. “We were so lucky to go out to Wallaby Hill. Owners Alex (Townsend) and Derek (Pascoe) always do an amazing job… their facilities are just second to none. It’s such a privilege to compete there.”

Cathryn explains that her partnership with Wimborne Constable – who is owned by Kylie and Philip Ewart – is yet to reach its full potential given they’ve only been together for just over 18 months. “It’s actually worked in our favour a little bit that there hasn’t been as many competitions, because it’s given us a chance to get to know each other off the competition arena. And then when we have gone out, we’ve felt a bit more comfortable. I think it takes about two years to really form a partnership and so I think there’s still more to come, so it’s really exciting.”

Wimborne Constable, by Contenda out of Wimborne Paint it Black (Gribaldi), was bred by veterinarian Dr Justine Donohoe of Wimborne Park Stud in 2008. Cathryn says that apparently he was “a bit of a small foal”, but Kylie and Philip saw his potential early on and subsequently purchased him as a yearling.

“They just really liked the way he moved and were really interested in his sire, Contenda. Kylie’s a vet herself and they were setting up a boutique stud, Mallyon Hills Warmblood Stud, and they wanted a stallion to front it. So they purchased him… originally as a dressage horse.” Wimborne Constable was started under saddle and eventually found his way to Heath Ryan, who was tasked with continuing the stallion’s education.

“Heath really, really rated him,” recalls Cathryn of the early days when Wimborne Constable arrived at Ryans Horses. “He proved himself in the competition arena and went up through the grades with ease. It went from there… Heath convinced Philip and Kylie to let him continue producing Constable up to the top levels of eventing and dressage.”

OVER TO CATHRYN

Growing up in Western Australian, Cathryn’s introduction to horses came via her father, an avid rider who spent his childhood on horseback traversing a cattle and sheep station in the Pilbara. “He always had horses and loved them, and did a bit of racehorse training too. Before I could walk, I was put on a horse and never looked back,” she explains.

Like many, she went through the Pony Club system, and early on her discipline of choice was mounted games. “I then got Femme de Renaissance when I was in Year 10. I wanted a dressage horse that I could teach to jump. She was five at the time and when I went to trial her, she was really feral and bucked. So of course, we bought her. She was my first real introduction to proper eventing. All my ponies in the past had been hot and I would do well in the jumping phases, but be last after dressage. With her, I was at least placing after dressage and then I could actually finish on a reasonable score!”

Incredibly, at 19 years young, Femme de Renaissance is Cathryn’s other current four-star horse. “We knew nothing when we got her, it’s just lucky that she’s gone with me all the way through to four-star.”

Six years ago when she finished university, Cathryn opted for a change of scenery. “I didn’t want to do the West Australian mining life. I wanted to see if I could have a shot at eventing and see what I could do with that. My coach in Western Australia was Ann Taylor – she was a top-level eventer back in the day – and she knew Heath and Rozzie Ryan, so she put me in contact with them. I travelled to NSW for a trial and absolutely hated it… then went home and decided to come back! I was with Heath and Rozzie for five years.

“I had a great time there and learnt heaps; it’s made me the rider I am today,” she says of her time working with the Ryans. “Learning the basics of riding, horsemanship, breeding, sales… it was an all-round experience, it’s hard to pick any one thing more than anything else,” she says when asked about the main lessons she learnt. “I also discovered that it’s amazing what you can fit in in a day… and how to type to dictation,” she adds. (Cathryn was a long-suffering Ryan’s Rave typist for many years.) “I also discovered the ability to dream – Heath’s a bit of a dreamer. He’s always got these big goals and big stories… you can’t help but get caught up in it.”

Taking over the reins of Constable 18 months ago and fuelled by Heath’s belief in the horse, Cathryn began competing him at two-star with second placings at Quirindi and Camden. They then had success at three-star when they won the CCI3*L at Quirindi last April, and now four-star success has followed.

A NEW VENTURE

Recently graduating from Ryans Horses, Cathryn has begun an exciting venture with partner and fellow Ryans alumni, Breanna Tillitzki. “Breanna’s parents have a really beautiful property in the Hunter Valley and we work out of here. She does her dressage – she’s got two horses at Grand Prix now – and I do my eventing. I have a few clients’ horses, there’s a few of my own, we breed a few, break in a few. We do a little bit of everything; we work together and have a bit of fun.”

Cathryn explains that their day begins with feeding horses at 5.30am before heading down the road to ride racehorses until lunchtime. “We do about five or six in the morning each. We school on the flat in a dressage arena, for a Sydney trainer (Matthew Smith) who’s got a property up here. He’s just trying something a little different for his stables and has us doing a bit of dressage work with the horses to get them going a little nicer for the track riders and more balanced and smooth on the track. There are some really nice horses that we get to ride… it’s usually the ones that are really good racehorses that we really like… a good horse is a good horse! It’s definitely a bit of fun and something a little bit different.”

After riding the racehorses, it’s then back home to work their own horses in the evening. When it comes to her eventing team, Cathryn has a number of other horses alongside Wimborne Constable and Femme de Renaissance.

“I have two young ones of mine that I’m quite excited about. CH Don Quixote, aka ‘Donut’, I got as a two-year-old off Sappho Ransan-Elliott, who also used to work for Heath and Rozzie. She wasn’t really doing anything with him and just wanted to sell him; I was short a horse, so I thought I’d give him a go. He’s now seven and is going two-star. I don’t know if he’s the next champion or not, it’s really hard to say, but he’s a cool little horse.

“Then I have CH Colette, aka ‘Micah’, she’s six and at one-star. She’s the one I’m really excited about. She was bought by my parents for me as a two-year-old from WA; her mum, Early Days, went around Adelaide five-star with Makayla Wood. She looks to be pretty talented and has had a few wins already. In terms of her future it’s looking very positive. And then there’s always lots of young ones coming through as well – whether I keep them or sell them is still to be decided.”

A “double duty” stallion, Wimborne Constable has always competed through the breeding season without issue. “I’ve got a two-year-old by him here that I’m quite excited about, and a mare that’s just about to foal that I’m desperately waiting to see what it’s going be like!” You can find out more about breeding with Constable via Mallyon Hills Warmblood Stud.

THE YEAR AHEAD

Looking to the year ahead, Cathryn has a few goals for her top horses. “The aim with Femme de Renaissance is to try and get her to Adelaide this year and do my first five-star on her. She still looks really good and is really fit and healthy. I’d really love to do an Adelaide. She’s qualified and she looks good. We’ll give it a crack if all goes to plan.” With a lot of good management and little bit of luck, eventers can certainly excel at the highest level in their later teens – just look at Classic Moet, Jonelle Price’s recently retired 19-year-old mare that finished fourth at Burghley last year with the fastest cross country time of any horse in the field.

As for Wimborne Constable, Cathryn has plans that extend beyond eventing. Originally bred as a dressage horse and trained to Small Tour level, Cathryn has enjoyed taking him out to a few local competitions to date and says that one goal with him is to get to a CDI this year and have a crack at the Medium Tour.

On the eventing front, the pair have their eyes on an Australian team debut. “I’m putting in an expression of interest for the Oceania Championship team in New Zealand. So we’ll see if we can get on that team… that would be a great as it would be my first team experience and really cool if that happens. Otherwise, we’ll just work on getting our four-star long qualification and just campaigning away and seeing where we get to.” EQ

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