Taking a horse from grassroots to elite level eventing is a long yet familiar journey for Rohan Luxmoore. The veterinarian did it with a homebred named Bells N Whistles – and now he’s stepping up the grades again with his latest prodigy.
Training a horse to the elite level of eventing is a feat in itself, but Rohan Luxmoore’s success at the top of the sport is all the more impressive given he’s an owner-rider juggling training with a full-time veterinary career. Rohan very successfully took Bells N Whistles all the way to five-star before the horse’s retirement back in 2018. Rohan’s busy life and commitments meant that while they were competing at the top of the sport, he had not had time to develop young horses that would be knocking on the door of the FEI levels when the time came to retire his eventing star.
Therefore, it was a matter of returning to the lower levels and steadily working his way back up, a process Rohan began in earnest with two youngsters – one a homebred, and the other a just-broken three-year-old from friends Trish and Wes Joyce at Lal’s Haven.
The latter, six-year-old LH Valentino, is now really starting to hit his stride – this season, he and Rohan won the EvA95 6 & 7YO class at Gisborne, were second in the CCN1* at Tonimbuk, and then had another win in the CCN1*at Wandin. Most recently, they won the CCN1* at Ballarat International Horse Trials, and Rohan is now eyeing a two-star start in the near future. Five years on, and FEI competition is back on the radar!
“He went really well at Ballarat,” says Rohan of Valentino. “He did a solid dressage test and show jumped really well, and it was probably his best cross country round so far in that he felt really confident. He’s been really good cross country but being show jumping bred, sometimes he can be a little careful and a little spooky at a ditch or a trakehner… sometimes he’ll give the jumps a bit of air!”
JUMPING FOR JOYCE
LH Valentino is by Wes Joyce’s Grand Prix stallion Oaks Volta and out of a mare Wes jumped to A Grade back in the day, named Kelso Bernie (by Daley K). As Trish Joyce explains, they purchased Oaks Volta as a weanling and Wes educated and campaigned the stallion with great success, until he was unfortunately lost in a tragic paddock accident. “Wes says he has never had a horse like Volta,” notes Trish. “He was like a real person; he had to be around or see you. He was such a warm, cuddly fella that you would not know he was a colt. Jumping was his expertise… Volta contained loads of energy and could go on and on!”
Rohan believes Valentino’s show jumping heritage is a serious asset in today’s eventing world, where that final phase can often prove so influential in terms of final standings. “It’s essential in eventing these days to have a good show jumping horse. It was really interesting watching Adelaide (Equestrian Festival), the first three horses there in the five-star were all very good show jumping horses and probably all capable of being straight show jumpers in their own domain. Valentino is a really good jumper and he nearly always jumps clear; obviously that’s where his breeding lies and that’s his strength.”
When he purchased Valentino as a just-broken three-year-old, Rohan says that Trish and Wes were confident that with his breeding, he would have a wonderful temperament – and it’s certainly been the case.
“He’s very much liked by everyone and during breeding season when I was busy with work, my wife Kate started riding him, just doing dressage on him, which was really good for him. He’s probably more talented as a jumper, but he’s got such a good temperament and he’s quite trainable, so Kate really enjoyed riding him and when it came to the end of the busy season, I had a bit of an arm wrestle getting him back!”
HORSES FOR COURSES
While Rohan has wrestled back the reins of Valentino, there’s another set he’s just handed over with his other six-year-old, homebred Neat N Tidy. As Rohan explains, part of producing event horses is recognising when they might be better served in a different line of work, and so Neat N Tidy has recently made the switch to full-time dressage.
“Neat N Tidy has always been a spooky horse and he just wasn’t finding it very easy. He was still very successful in the EvA95 and lower grades (not to mention he was the Young Event Horse Champion of Champions at DJWTS last year), and he’s a beautiful type of horse, but we just made the decision that eventing wasn’t his game. Kate and our daughter, Isabelle, will ride him in the dressage. It was a little disappointing, because he’s a lovely type of horse, but I just felt he was unlikely to progress up the grades and therefore made the call on a career change.”
Interestingly, Valentino’s full sister, the younger but very similar looking LH Vanzy, has recently started her career as a show jumper with Trish and Wes’ daughter, Tiffany, who’s returned to the fold after a four-year break with children. While Trish says they have no plans to go eventing, who knows what the future holds!
MANAGING THE YOUNG HORSE
While the two-star at Melbourne International Three-Day Event has come a little too soon for Valentino, Rohan is hopeful that he may have a start there next year. “I’d like him to have a few one-day event runs in the two-star (CCI2*S) to qualify, so it’ll hopefully be Melbourne next year. I tend to stick on the conservative side with young horses, and if they need another run or two, then that’s the way it goes. You don’t want anything to go wrong when they’re coming through and developing,” he explains.
“We’ve enjoyed training him and it’s interesting seeing how he’s physically gotten fitter as we go; he’s now feeling as fit as he ever has. It takes time for the young horses to get stronger and fitter and I think you just have to be patient sometimes with them, even if they do show a bit of talent. It’s amazing the difference as a six-year-old, how they just feel fitter and stronger compared to a five-year-old.”
As Rohan explains, you have to take your time with young horses not only educating them, but conditioning their bodies. “It takes considerable time to build up their fitness and stamina. You need to understand their temperament, being careful not to overdo things with the hotter, more forward-thinking ones, whilst quietly pushing the more relaxed ones. LH Valentino is nice a mix of both. He is quiet but also a forward horse that loves his jumping… at times over jumping! Thus, I have been careful not to jump bigger fences until he was ready.
“Mixing the exercises up is also really important, not only physically but also mentally. I like to train their proprioception: riding on different surfaces, hacking out over uneven ground, and walking over logs and raised poles. This helps to keep the horse thinking about where and how they are putting their feet down, which over the long term will keep them sounder.”
Careful training and management aside, good nutrition is also an important aspect of producing an event horse. With Rohan and the Joyces all Barastoc ambassadors – in fact, the Joyces’ partnership with the feed manufacturer spans an incredible 25 years – Valentino has been fuelled by Barastoc since conception. “LH Valentino has been on Barastoc his whole life,” says Trish, explaining that he was on Breed N Grow as a foal, and then Calm Performer and Command until he was a three-year-old. Since moving to the Luxmoores’, he’s primarily been on Calm Performer and Groom, with the odd bit of Supreme when he’s at an event and working hard. “Valentino is very much the good doer, and he absolutely loves his feed,” laughs Rohan. “We always joke about how his metabolism and his appetite are mismatched!”
This article was written in conjunction with Barastoc Horse. You can find out more about the range here. EQ
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:
Two Steps at a Time for Isabelle – Equestrian Life, January 2023
Rohan Luxmoore Looks to the Future – Equestrian Life, April 2021
