Megan Bryant was raised on the land as a team player, and now she is instilling that work ethic into breeding, training and riding a growing family of horses that can take her to where she is destined to go.

 “Megan’s ability to
remain calm and logical
was formidable”

Ian and Jenny Bryant are fifth and sixth generation Australians, all of whom have lived on the land around Cowra in Central West NSW. They run sheep and cattle and grow lucerne on the large property they have had for 27 years, never afraid of the hard work and long hours involved, even baling hay through the night! They were both involved with horses as they grew up; Ian working with horses in general cattle and farm work, and Jenny riding for fun at Pony Club and shows with a growing interest in all equestrian sports and competitions. After marrying Ian, she had several horses, including Mayfield Cadence, whom she competed on in dressage after daughter Megan and son were Matthew born.

Young Matthew followed Megan to Pony Club – but rode ponies like he was on a motorbike, which to him was a lot more fun. His interest waned as he became passionate about the farm and bikes and tractors, which suited Jenny and Megan as it allowed them to pursue their passions.

Megan started riding as a small child but at that time was very timid and introverted. By the same token, she was extremely talented with a steady temperament that was never fazed. As a scholar she was super intelligent and topped all her subjects and could have chosen any career path. She went through to year twelve with flying colours and did extension maths, having a very logical, mathematical and ordered brain. Always the quiet achiever, she decided to herself that she would pursue riding to the best of her ability – and she is doing exactly this.

She was never in anyone’s face about her dream, keeping to herself and soaking up every bit of help and information she could without imposing on anyone. She attended local clinics whenever she could but remained a family team player who was totally at home on the farm. Megan loved dressage and had the brain to work it out.

After taking her grey pony and then a galloway to Elementary, she took on her mother’s horse Cadence and produced him from Elementary to Inter I in 12 months, consistently scoring around 64%. Cadence was a smart, fabulous horse of riding pony and stock horse breeding, but not overly genetically born with expressive paces.

Next was Answers, an amazing brown thoroughbred she leased from good friend and mentor Karen Glendenning, a passionate dressage enthusiast from a harness racing background and secretary and a great promoter of the Young Dressage Association for 25 years. Answers was Medium at that time and before long Megan had him at Inter I scoring mid to high 60%. He wasn’t always so easy, but Megan connected well and he taught her all about dealing with tension and excitability.

Then there was another stock horse, Talinga Cavalier, who had a hot and willful mind and was very stubborn. Megan decided eventing was the go for Cav, and as anticipated, she had him winning at big events up to three-star. Megan’s ability to remain calm and logical was formidable, even on this hot and complicated character, and the dressage was not a real problem if Cav was on song, and they were usually in the lead after that phase.

FAST LEARNER

It’s worth mentioning that I was watching Megan at a two-star event when she was warming up, keeping one eye on the horse before her in the arena. All of a sudden she realised she had learnt the wrong test. Pulling up and getting a copy of the new test, sitting on Cav at A unfazed, she studied and learnt the test she had never ridden. The judge sounded the bell, as she hadn’t presented, and Megan entered and rode a faultless test as if nothing was wrong. This is typical of her focus and her amazing ability to never give in to adversity. No one would ever have known!

Through a good friend and coach, it was time to find a good potential Small Tour horse and that horse was to be an amazing springboard for Megan’s career. That mare was Donnabella, by Don Ramiro x Salute x Monopol, who was owned then by Georgie Farrar and helped in the training by Matthew Dowsley. Donnabella was a very powerful and talented mare with a strong will and attitude. She could really move but was not always easy. Megan was extremely successful with her and started to compete in the CDI Young Rider classes, where she was rarely beaten. With such great success she qualified to represent Australia at the Young Rider World Cup!

“Donnabella was a very powerful
and talented mare with a
strong will and attitude.”

It was off with Donnabella to the final in Frankfurt in late December 2010. It was below zero and snowing. Having never travelled further than Brisbane to compete, the country girl took it all in her stride. Of course, she had all of Cowra cheering her on. To again illustrate Megan’s cool-headedness, as Donnabella trotted down the narrow dark hall to enter the huge hall for the final, the gate man pulled the curtain across by mistake in front of them as they were a few metres from entering! Donnabella spooked, reared, spun and bolted for the warm-up some distance away. Megan calmly reassured the mare and trotted back down the hall, with the gate guy so apologetic, and entered the arena. The judges thought Megan was inattentive to her time and rang the bell as they entered. No lap to warm up, it was straight down the centreline to produce a mid 60% test with no mistakes, finishing eighth.

They were then accepted to a show at Mechelen in Belgium, doing the Prix St Georges and finishing mid-field against the likes of Edward Gal, Patrik Kittel and Imke Schellekens-Bartels, to name a few. Megan was totally at ease warming up with them at the 6am familiarisation in minus five degrees with the snow falling outside! It was an experience that really tugged at Megan’s passion and motivated her to work towards bigger and better things.

There were opportunities for her to stay to ride and train in Belgium with Arjen Teeuwissen, the Dutch team silver medallist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 riding Goliath. But Megan was happy to go home and give back to the sport through coaching and helping build the Young Dressage Association. She is now the President of that club and runs one of the most popular country championships in NSW, having won Equestrian Australia awards.

“Megan was happy to go home
and give back to the sport.”

Megan actually qualified Donnabella for the next two Young Rider World Cups, but decided one trip for the mare was enough. Megan also won the Aachen Challenge at Dressage & Jumping With The Stars twice and went there both times as a reward, working with Christoph Koschel on one occasion for a few weeks, soaking up the dressage scene in Europe. Coming home she realised that not only were dedication and focus essential to be competitive, money and quality horsepower were needed to succeed internationally.

Along the way Megan also had Northern Xanthus III (Falkland Victory x Northern Fandango) who won CDI U-25 Grand Prix classes. Then came Mr Jackson, who one could actually write a funny book about. He was bought as a very green and wobbly Preliminary horse simply because he was out of Donnabella’s mother. If ever there has been a training feat, it was with this 16.3-hand brown, spooky, scared and introverted gelding by Jive Magic. Jackson was seriously scared of his own shadow. As a Preliminary/Novice horse, he took many, many short steps to get down the long side of the arena. Then his canter was so big that he could make it around a 20-metre circle in six strides – the size of the stride even scaring him!

“Jackson was seriously
scared of his own shadow.”

NEVER GIVE IN

Megan was determined to get Jackson to Elementary as his ability to try and make a flying change was simply out of the question. Little bit by little he first learnt to keep his mouth and frame still, a feat in itself. He learnt collection and to actually get cadence. He learnt to collect that enormous canter to make pirouettes and he competed Grand Prix. If you want it bad enough it will happen, and Megan is simply proof of this. She also won Champion Rider at the Show Horse Grand Nationals on him, as well as numerous state champion hunter hack accolades. This horse was truly amazing with Megan. She simply never gave in and quietly got him to do every Grand Prix movement… even 15 one-tempis. Megan is a genius! Mr Jackson believed Megan in the end and was proud of his achievements!

Megan’s mother realised that the way to the top of the sport was with a good horse, but that was expensive. Jenny decided to breed a few for Megan that they could perhaps train and sell on and make a business of it. Donnabella was the first in the breeding line, as you would imagine, and has had four embryo transfer foals. The first was by Fürst Love, which was Furst Dance MBE (Megan Bryant Equestrian). Furst Dance is now at Grand Prix! Then one by OO Seven, which was small and sold on, then two by Stedinger. The first bay gelding, Stellinger, was simply amazing. Uphill expressive and very quick-minded and talented. He was showing exceptional promise and was very well received by the judges at the few competitions he attended. But just one of the many downsides to breeding and producing quality horses occurred when he was severely injured in a freak paddock accident and had to be euthanised. It was a very low time for Jenny and Megan, as Stellinger had been much loved and a positive symbol of the breeding program. Devastating, to say the least! Fortunately, he does have a full sister.

Megan then bought a Riverside mare, Riviera, from Cooramin Stud. Cooramin generously sponsored $1000 towards a youngster from their stud as a reward for winning the CDI-Y at Bradgate Park, which Megan won with Donnabella. Megan chose Riviera out of the paddock when she was a yearling and trained her to Prix St Georges in six years, of which one was a break to have a foal, before selling her. During Riviera’s early days, Jenny met JJ Fuchs (Bluefields Stud) after hearing of their stallion Bluefields Floreno from a judge, who saw him compete at Preliminary in Western Australia and gave him 80%, and suggested using him. The foal was a filly and now is a broodmare, having produced a stunning Stedinger filly and two Questing colts not yet broken in.

Then came Donna Karan, the full sister to the beloved and now retired Donnabella, who was purchased from Bradgate Park. She had already had Jive Talkin BP, who was at Prix St Georges, then Fantasia who went to FEI, and Bradgate Park Amadeus who is now successful with Sharon Potter at Medium Tour. Of course, the Donnabella affair sparked that, and Donna Karan has done a wonderful job in producing a mare by Fürstenball, Favourite MBE, who was super talented and delightful. She was sold to Rebecca Skinner and is now in training with Caroline Hooper and yet to compete with them but is already at Medium level. Favourite was a favourite, with the best nature and trainability but perhaps a little small. Megan schooled her and had initially decided she was not for sale, but one to breed with then compete.

The Bluefields Dankeschoen OLD foal, Dankesohn MBE, from Favourite MBE, was a ripper and when he was weaned Megan set about competing Favourite with great success and scores always over 70%. She was wonderful, but when clients were interested, Megan could not say no; as hard as it was, she needed her business to make a mark, and now there was this son to produce.

Donna Karan also produced a Lauries AS black, tall and beautiful filly who was sold on to new owners eager to breed from her. Another Fürstenball, Fashionable (not ridden as yet), has produced a stunning Sir Donnerhall filly (named Stylish) that will be broken in soon and has now also a Bluefields Dankeschoen OLD colt who is rising two. They are very excited by him as he is in blood a full brother to Megan’s top talented Dankesohn. As with all the MBE fillies, Stylish will have a foal before starting her competition career.

The next Donna Karan foal was by Amicelli Gold, Armani Gold MBE, who is now four and competing at Preliminary with up to 74%; he’s flashy with white stockings and a good work ethic and movement. Donna Karan’s last foal, by Dankeschoen, is now just broken in and she is bay with white socks and called Donatella. She was born with a crooked ear and a half-moon star just like her aunty Donnabella!

DANKESOHN MBE

Now to the next exciting chapter… Dankesohn MBE! What an amazing homebred. He is as cute as, black and beautiful headed, with the most amazing attitude to work, unassuming and with huge expressive paces! He is now five years old and what a star. He isn’t the tallest at 16 hands, but he’s still growing. He has the sweetest nature and is wonderful to train. The hardest thing with ‘DJ’ (Dankeschoen Junior) is to go slowly as he shows already the changes are easy as is the piaffe and passage. The lateral work in all paces is effortless and in balance and expressive. He is the real deal! An exciting collection of great breeding. Megan is keeping him at Novice to season him with no pressure. She is competing him in the young horse classes and realises the exercises that are required at this level. It’s a great vision of where the horse should be in the scheme of schooling to Grand Prix at each age and Megan doesn’t want to get ahead of the Training Scale that would be so easy with this gem.

Having qualified for the national final at Dressage & Jumping With The Stars, it was off to Werribee and a stop halfway. He was always the ultimate relaxed character and so relaxed on reloading the next morning, he tripped and slipped off the edge on the ramp. A large enough gash to the inside of his thigh and a few minutes of him saying “ouch” would be enough to put anyone into a spin.

Not Megan… the cool ice woman took a breath, assessed the wound and chose to hose and ice it. She waited a few hours to ensure he would be okay and spoke to experts in these injuries. She was undecided whether to turn left out the gate and go home, or right towards Melbourne… “eeny, meeny, miny, mo” and at the intersection a right indicator and on to Melbourne. Megan looked after him so well and DJ turned out just fine.

He was coming eighth after the first round, which was a little disappointing, but, needless to say, Megan was rapt as always. He was immaculate in his behaviour and aptitude throughout the show. Megan has such an affinity with DJ, having ridden the mother and handling him since birth. She rode into the second round with that modest, controlled confidence and DJ made a truly impressive and faultless test. A little more energy and sharpness than in the first round and an overall score of 80%.

Of course, for any breeder to have a finalist at Dressage & Jumping With The Stars is a real feather in the cap and DJ did just that. Even better, they won the Five-Year-Old Young Horse Final with a qualifying score to be eligible to represent Australia at the 2023 FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses. A dream, but if there is one thing that Megan is, she is logical and modest when it comes to expense versus reward and simply wants to see DJ be the real horse he can be and get him steadily confident to Grand Prix. Megan has no expectations of grandeur and accepts her horses’ improvement as they become more confident and really on the aids. It’s time that will tell and she has plenty of time for this one and all of her team!

For Jenny and Megan to have so much familiarity with DJ through the awareness of all his relatives, having competed them and dealt with their individual traits, and to see that through good choices in breeding to complement any glitches – be it type, movement or temperament – and to get it right as here with DJ, is not only rewarding but totally exciting for the Bryant family!

“We are a great pair
and I adore riding
him every day.”

On asking Megan that, considering all the progeny they have bred and she has trained, as well as her knowledge of training and competing to FEI, what is it about DJ that she sees is in his favour for the road to Grand Prix?

“He has a charming charisma and appeal. Off him, on the ground, he is such a kind and loveable character, and on riding him he switches on and loves to please and learn,” says Megan. “DJ is effortless in all you ask of him. He has fabulous expressive gaits that make people look. He is willing and a great partner. Above all he has a great approach when it’s important. In the competition arena he is really trying harder than ever to please as if he knows how imperative that time is. He is always focused on the task at hand and never takes over.

“We are a great pair and I adore riding him every day,” explains Megan. “He is very special and what sets him apart is his wonderful outlook and cleverness to pick things up. He is focused and sensitive and switched on to me, and then when you stop and pat him he switches off and is so laid back yet always ready to get going again. To be sensitive yet totally sensible is exactly the trait you need to train to Grand Prix. I have others that had more exuberance and pizazz but it’s his character of sensitivity with calmness that makes him a real star. He fills me with confidence that he will always help me even when he is a little afraid. It’s something from within. I can’t really put it into words.” EQ

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