While warmblood genetics dominate dressage at the elite level, Olympic judge Susan Hoevenaars was impressed by what she saw when Thoroughbreds recently took to the arena at Boneo Park.

Susan Hoevenaars is no stranger to quality horses. An FEI five-star judge, she’s adjudicated at all major championships, including an Olympic Games, and judged many of the sport’s most talented equine stars.

It’s no secret that warmblood genetics rule the upper echelons of the dressage world, but they are certainly not the only ones with an aptitude for the sport – something Susie herself knows well. Growing up in Tasmania, Susie’s father bred racehorses and, naturally, many of her early mounts were off the track. Although in the saddle from a very young age, her introduction to dressage came along a little later – and it was with a Thoroughbred that she first entered the sport.

“I gave up horses when I went to Sydney to get a job – my father told me I had to get a proper job – and so dressage was new to me,” explains Susie of when she took up the sport on returning home to Tasmania in the 70s. “My father was breeding racehorses and so my first dressage horse was, if you like, a cast-off; he wasn’t good enough on the track. His name was Sirocco and he was a chestnut of about 16.3 hands.”

The pair began their competitive career hacking – which proved very beneficial in terms of Sirocco learning to cope with the show ring atmosphere – however, it wasn’t long before Susie began looking for her next challenge. An Irish woman named Shelagh Young, a founding member of Dressage Tasmania, became a fantastic mentor who really helped Susie begin to understand the art of dressage. “Sirocco wasn’t a world beater, but he was so kind and generous,” she recalls, adding that together they went on to compete at Elementary/Medium level during a time when the sport was in its infancy in the island state.

Quickly developing a passion for dressage, Susie became involved in organising events and it wasn’t long before she naturally progressed to judging. A little over 20 years later, and she’s become one of Australia’s best-known international dressage judges – as well as remaining an active member of multiple committees and an FEI mentor and judge educator among other roles. Her contribution to the sport here in Australia – and globally – is undeniable.

IMPRESSING IN THE DRESSAGE ARENA

Susie has seen many Thoroughbreds in the dressage arena over the years and says that lately she’s noticed a return to a type that she feels is really quite suited to the sport. “When we went more to sprint-bred racehorses the style of the horse changed, and I was worried as I think we did lose some really nice types of horses then – but now we seem to be getting horses back that do have a shoulder, and they can move out of the shoulder and they’re really good types with really nice conformation,” she observes.

Judging Novice and Preliminary classes as part of the Racing Victoria Off The Track Dressage series at Boneo Park recently, Susie was blown away by the quality of Thoroughbreds on show and was reminded of just how well the breed can be suited to the sport.

“I was really impressed with them. They were trying to please, they had a really nice attitude. The riders were all trying to ride sympathetically and establish the correct basics in accordance with the training scale. It’s a credit to them.”

And while some might consider Thoroughbreds to be a ‘hotter’ breed, Susie explains that what she observed at Boneo Park was quite the contrary: “They came out and they were standing quietly… I could see them talking outside the arena before and after their tests on a loose rein, and I thought, ‘Well, doesn’t this say a lot!’ They can stand, they can relax. They all seem to have a very good brain. You have to have the brain. It doesn’t matter how brilliant the horse is… I had a fantastic warmblood, but do you think he’d ever settle in the walk?”

Susie speaks highly of Racing Victoria’s Off The Track program and believes it has been incredibly well developed with the welfare of the horse at the forefront – from the Acknowledged Retrainer program that ensures there are suitable trainers helping the horses make the transition to a new career, through to the RESET program for OTTs who need a little extra help finding the right home.

“I think the retraining of racehorses now is much better than it was 50 years ago because there’s more understanding of the way of going for horses and their wellbeing,” she says. Susie also feels that support from Racing Victoria and Boneo Park to fund dressage events aimed specifically at OTT horses is a huge step in the right direction.

“Boneo Park is proud to have developed the OTT Dressage Series with Racing Victoria and the improvement in the quality and quantity of OTT horses participating in the series over the past three years is brilliant to see,” enthuses Boneo Park’s managing director, Fiona Selby. “To have OTT horses scoring above 70% at our official dressage events shows the suitability of these horses to have careers as competitive dressage horses.”

“You do need this sort of support to drive these programs,” continues Susie. “I think it could be a really important part of the development of lower level dressage in Victoria. It’s all about giving the horses a second career and putting their welfare first.”

Now in its third year, the Racing Victoria Off The Track Dressage series gives OTTs the chance to compete for great prizes across three Boneo Park events. A combination’s best three scores count towards their ranking on the leaderboard; Mariah Kaminski and Linton Street currently lead the Novice Series leaderboard, while Amanda Ross and Romeo F lead the Preliminary Series leaderboard. With over $7000 in prizemoney on offer, competition is hotting up as we head towards the final leg of the series at the Hi Form Autumn Dressage Championships (11-12 March). EQ

This article was written in conjunction with Racing Victoria. To find out more about their Off The Track program, please visit OTT Community.

READ MORE ABOUT OFF THE TRACK HORSES:

Murray Makes Time for Thoroughbreds – Equestrian Life, December 2022

Astro, the Horse of Many Talents – Equestrian Life, November 2022

Thoroughbreds in Their Element – Equestrian Life, October 2022

Thoroughbreds Making Their Way to Melbourne – Equestrian Life, June 2022

Thoroughbreds Shine in the Ring – Equestrian Life, April 2022

A Grand New Career – Equestrian Life, February 2022

The Women Transforming Equine Welfare – Equestrian Life, December 2021

Clear Vision for a Better Future – Equestrian Life, October 2021

A Thorough Belief in Thoroughbreds – Equestrian Life, September 2021

General Ready To Conquer Again – Equestrian Life, June 2021

Sparks Fly When Cutting Meets Racing – Equestrian Life, May 2021