From Queensland racetracks to the American equestrian mecca of Kentucky, Dunedin Black Watch constantly reminds Hayley Frielick why she loves off-the-track Thoroughbreds. A real trier who prefers humans to horses, ‘Nelson’ is proving the perfect travel buddy for Hayley’s US adventure.
“I have long-suffering parents who have had to become horsey by default; I begged them for lessons and ended up taking my first at Samurai Park Riding School in Terrey Hills, Sydney,” explains Hayley Frielick of her introduction to riding. Born in the USA to South African parents, Hayley and her family moved to Australia when she as very young, before shifting to Scotland for six years. “That’s where I really got into riding, through the Pony Club system. I did a lot of pony show jumping… I didn’t really do much eventing as Mum was far too scared!”
Hayley and her family moved back to Australia when she was 15. “That’s when I said, ‘right, now I really want to get an event horse and go eventing’,” she explains. Her first event horse was a New Zealand Thoroughbred named Bentleigh Oliver from a student of Chris Burton, and he took her through to four-star when she was 18.
“That was pretty cool… I went from not having evented to going clear and under time at our first four-star, in about three years. We would have every single rail down in the show jumping, and the dressage was a work in progress, but he was a just a phenomenal horse to learn cross country on, he was so quick and honest. I was lucky enough to find that horse and base with Chris; that was my introduction to eventing, so we were thrown into the elite level from the get-go and I went, ‘yep, I love it!’”
From there, along came two more off-the-track Thoroughbreds: My Happiness and Class Action. Hayley went on to compete both at Adelaide five-star, with My Happiness – who sadly passed away earlier this year – making his five-star debut at the grand age of 18. Riding under the New Zealand flag, Hayley enjoyed success with both horses and was long-listed for the Tokyo Olympics with Class Action.
“He was the first horse that I was planning to bring to the US, but with Covid all plans got cancelled. So little Nelson – Dunedin Black Watch – had to step up, and he ended up making the trip instead.”
TWO-FOR-ONE DEAL
Dunedin Black Watch, a 2010 off-the-track Thoroughbred by Dylan Thomas (Danehill) out of Love First (Lonhro), is Hayley’s latest star. Bred and raced in Queensland, he went on to become “a fairly useless racehorse” under the name Storm in Africa, with seven starts for a third placing and $1200 in total prizemoney.
“Knowing him now, there’s no way he would’ve liked being a racehorse,” laughs Hayley. “He absolutely hates other horses in his space. If he could have run a solo time trail, I reckon they would’ve had a very fast horse, but put other horses around him and he’s going to wiggle around and absolutely hate it.”
The partnership between Hayley and the little black Thoroughbred came about by chance. A connection of Hayley’s from Scotland, Katie Roberston – who rode from a young age and also used to event – had moved to Australia in her corporate career and was missing the horses. She asked Hayley if there was a way she could be involved in the sport, and so off they went to buy some off-the-track Thoroughbreds, with the idea being Katie would own them and Hayley would produce them.
Hayley’s non-horsey boyfriend at the time had spotted an advert for off-the-track horses in Cowra, New South Wales, and so she and Katie went to take a look. “We weren’t actually looking at Nelson, he just happened to be there, and Katie said, ‘I really like that one as well. He’s got a great canter… can we get him too?’ We got him on a two-for-one-deal with another horse, who we called Dunedin The Brave, and who actually ended up going around Adelaide three-star and then doing well for himself as a show jumper. We were pretty happy with our two-for-one deal!”
Hayley and Katie co-founded Dunedin Sport Horses, with Hayley the head rider and trainer. The name came about as a blend of their nationalities – Dunedin, New Zealand, is the sister city to Edinburgh, Scotland, and the logo features the shape of Australia, the NZ flag southern stars, and the Scottish thistle.
Prior to her first five-star at Adelaide in 2018 with both Class Action LP and My Happiness, Hayley based in Queensland for a year and trained with Tony Manca just down the road from Warrendale Stud. She brought a young Nelson along as well to further his experience.
“One of the girls at the stables recognised his brand and said, ‘Do you know that’s from just down the road?’ So we got in touch with Di Hannel of Warrandale Stud, who raised him and prepped him for the sales, and we’ve stayed in touch with her. So she’s seen the horse that she raised as a little one now flying across to the other side of the world and competing at Kentucky.” Di also connected with Nelson’s original racing owners, who were pleased to see he was a better eventer than he was a racehorse.
“Everything is just on
a whole other level.”
FROM COWRA TO KENTUCKY
Last year, Hayley and Nelson flew to the US and completed their first five-star together at Maryland, which they completed. “Maryland, being my first big event over here, was particularly eye-opening and awe-inspiring. You’re there and you’ve got Tim Price and Ollie Townend, and you’re with big names and you’re in a big venue… everything is just on a whole other level.”
Although their plan was to then go on and contest the five-star at Kentucky, an FEI rule change to rider categories meant that Hayley found herself only able to ride in the CCI4*S.
“We had to go back a level before we can do another five-star, but we could still go and do Kentucky CCI4*S and then head to some other events. We’re getting to tour the US, which is pretty cool.” Kentucky, as it turns out, was another level again in terms of crowds and event atmosphere. “I don’t think I’d prepared myself for it. Having done Maryland and other cool events since I’ve been here, I thought, ‘Yep this is eventing in the US, it’s awesome, I love it’. Then I went to Kentucky and went, ‘Oh my God, it’s a whole other level again!’
“I knew there were going to be crowds at Kentucky. It’s a lot for horses that haven’t seen that before. We were pretty early in the morning for the CCI4*S cross country yet there were still crowds of people around, people clapping and cheering… there were just people everywhere, it was pretty phenomenal.”
Hayley says Kentucky was one of the best cross country rides they’ve ever had. “He cantered around and made it feel so easy and he really felt mature. We’re such a partnership now; I know him well and he’s not a crazy little off-the-track Thoroughbred anymore. He felt really seasoned and he ate up the track so well.
“The dressage was really good considering we were going into that big stadium for the first time. He handled that so well. I was pretty pleased with his test, he tried really hard. When we flew him over, he could not do a medium trot, so it was tough to go and do a test where we had two mediums and an extended in it. But we’ve really been working hard at that, and I was so proud of him in the dressage, he felt really rideable and stayed with me.
“It would’ve been nice to leave all the show jumping rails up – we had two down – but he actually felt like he jumped a really good round. He just had one moment coming into the triple at the end where he looked at the sea of people and went, ‘Whoa! There are a lot of people there!’ But he jumped super, especially after galloping around the day before. He’s such a good little Thoroughbred like that; he’s always willing to go again if you ask him.”
Hayley and Nelson finished a very credible 12th at Kentucky, and Hayley is now focused on completing her re-qualification for five-star level so they can return to the event next year at the highest level. While in Kentucky, Hayley was thrilled to have on-ground support from Helen Diacono of CrossCountry App – an Australian business – as well as Forestier saddles.
AUSSIE CONNECTIONS
“Before I arrived, I hadn’t met any of the Aussies that are based here in US, because they’d all moved here before I’d even moved back to Australia. I literally called (Australian-turned-American) Boyd Martin out of the blue and said, ‘Hey, I want to bring some horses over, what do you think?’ And he said, ‘Sure we can help find somewhere’. As it turns out, there’s a whole community of Australians over here!”
When they first landed in the US, Hayley and her horses were based in Pennsylvania with Aussie eventers Dominic and Jimmie Schramm, next door to the Martins. “Boyd was great to bounce ideas off, and when I landed he gave advice regarding what events are good to go to and what to do. He’s just an all-around good bloke. He’s always willing to offer advice and guidance.”
As it turned out, Queensland-born Nelson wasn’t a fan of the Pennsylvanian winter, so at the end of 2022 it was time to seek out some sun. “Nelson saw the snow and went, ‘No thanks, I’m from Queensland, this is not on!’ So we went south for the winter to Ocala, Florida, where it was much warmer.” While Wellington, Florida is a dressage and jumping mecca, Ocala – with access to more wide open spaces – is fast becoming the winter destination of choice for the eventing crowd. “In the winter the ground is still good in Ocala, it’s not frozen so you can actually go eventing,” explains Hayley.
With the northern hemisphere summer now almost upon them, Hayley and Nelson are relocating back to Pennsylvania, and Hayley is excited to set up a permanent base for Dunedin Sport Horses at Journey’s End Farm in Glenmoore.
“Pennsylvania in the summer is beautiful. I’ve got an amazing facility to base out of – not far from Boyd’s place – so I’m going to set up shop and start doing my own thing there,” says Hayley, explaining that Katie lives nearby and is looking forward to visiting her horses.
In terms of training, Hayley says she’s been spoilt for choice in the States. “They have an amazing approach to training over here where everyone is so enthusiastic and willing to get people in and really invest in good training. The access to it is so readily available, especially the winter season in Ocala where everyone’s in the one spot. You have clinics with a hundred different amazing people, and you pick and choose where you want to go.” To date, Hayley has had lessons with Boyd Martin, Peter Wylde, Ian Stark and Bettina Hoy. “While I was in Florida, I had some lessons on the flat with Bettina and the next test we did we came third in the Advanced with a dressage score of 28 – so that was awesome.”
“My advice would be
absolutely to do it!”
Being born in the US, Hayley’s American venture has been simplified due to having a US passport – one of the main reasons she chose the States – however, now having been there some time she recommends it for those considering an overseas jaunt. “My advice would be absolutely do it. I wish I’d done it sooner and could not recommend it enough. And if anyone else does want to head over here, they should reach out… I’m happy to help in any way!”
MORE THOROUGHBRED BLOOD
Alongside Nelson, Hayley flew another horse over to the States named Dunedin My Goodness, a six-year-old homebred by Warmblood stallion Ucello and out of a Thoroughbred mare who is related to both Class Action and My Happiness.
“She’s a marathon, not a sprint, but I believe she’s going be a really good horse,” says Hayley of the mare that is set to be her next focus. “She’s a sensitive mare and just needs a bit of time and attention, but I’m willing to put that in. She did two Intro events before we put her on a plane, so I hope we made the right decision!” she laughs.
“She lost a year or two with Covid and flooding, and then when we flew her over, they had a pretty crazy trip to get here as there weren’t many options post-Covid – they travelled from Sydney to Chicago via Melbourne, Hanoi, Doha and Luxembourg, followed by a 12-hour drive to Philadelphia – so we’ve given her a long time to settle in. Nelson hit the ground running and was completely unfazed, but Dunedin My Goodness found the trip a bit more tedious.
“She’s very, very bold and is going be exciting to crack on with now. Hopefully she can follow in her uncles’ footsteps. I’m looking to syndicate her and another horse, so if anyone wants to be involved with horses in the US and can’t fly over themselves there are syndicate opportunities over here.”
“I might have to come back
and grab another Aussie
Thoroughbred or two I think!”
ROSE-COLOURED GLASSES
Hayley, now 29, has always evented Thoroughbreds and says she loves the fact that they are such triers. “Nelson was a bit wild at the start; they can be so over-enthusiastic about everything, and you’re constantly having to try and curb that enthusiasm or channel it in the right direction. However, when you’re out on course or at the end of a three-day, that’s exactly what you want. They’ve got such big hearts and a lot of the time they’re just such genuine triers. You’ve just got to work with them and then they’ll try for you; I love that. I don’t like riding lazy slow things, so Thoroughbreds are right up my alley!”
Hayley’s plans are to stay in the States for the immediate future, meaning Australian Thoroughbreds might be a little harder to come by. However, as she points out, with her family still based in Australia she’ll be heading back at some stage to visit. “I might have to come back and grab another Aussie Thoroughbred or two I think!” she laughs.
Hayley says Nelson is a complete personality and loves to be the centre of attention. “He hates other horses and is quite happy in a barn or paddock totally by himself. He loves people and other animals; he’s best friends with my chocolate Labrador (Holly, who also made the trip from Australia) and loves stable cats. He’ll try and steal your egg rolls and lolly snakes; he loves human food. He has terrible ground manners, to be honest, and I completely pander to it because I adore him. He walks like a speed train wherever you go, and he has the wiggliest top lip and is constantly in your pocket, pulling your zipper up and down. He wants to be your pet and he’s been such a good sport about being carted across the world and around the country. I think he’s quite liked being in the limelight and doing his thing. He’s been brilliant.”
Hayley’s original plan had been to sell Nelson – in fact she tried to many times over the years, but no one wanted him. “He probably wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea at the start, but now he’s just such a cool dude, so I’m glad no one bought him. I have maybe had rose-coloured glasses with him the whole time, but I think he’s just the best thing since sliced bread.” EQ
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