Adamant he’d given up riding for good, Roger Fitzhardinge by chance crossed paths with Bloomfield Vision. With his passion for riding reignited, he’s now picking up the reins again to see where the journey takes him.

“Perhaps it is a delusion
of grandeur – or a
late midlife crisis!”

EQ LIFE: So, after considering hanging up your riding boots forever, you have decided to buy a new horse and continue riding. Can you tell us what changed your mind?

ROGER: Perhaps it is a delusion of grandeur – or a late midlife crisis! Or perhaps I’m lost for words as to why. Bloomfield Vision found me, as weird as that may sound – and not being that sort of person that thinks horses necessarily find you – I truly believe that is what happened in this case.

My life originally started with competitive sailing, and I think genetically I’m a very competitive person. I produced several Grand Prix horses and many, many show hacks who were crowned champions at royal shows. Early on I dedicated my life to eventing and was shortlisted for the Olympics, however, following a spinal injury, jumping and the forward seat was aggravating – and so I made the switch the dressage. The mental as well as the physical process that goes into producing a dressage horse has always enthralled me.

The last horse I had, Amerigo, by Alabaster, I managed to get to Grand Prix, but he was quite a lazy soul; quite talented, but a little introverted. Being of a mature age, I eventually found him quite hard work and lacking enthusiasm, and despite him being up to all the Grand Prix movements, he no longer excited me. I rode less and less, and then unfortunately Amerigo got Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and became quite ill; about four months ago he was sadly put to rest after a bout of laminitis.

I was quite saddened at not having a horse, yet nothing really enthused me to want to ride. The lack of fitness on my part, my changing body shape, and aches and pains from arthritic joints didn’t encourage me to get out and find a new horse. I found myself finally via a good friend who loved sailing and has a wonderful 45-foot yacht. My attention turned from horses to sailing (well, sailing… and pottering around the Sydney Harbour, swimming, enjoying great food and drinking champagne) and it was, for two days every week, like heaven.

All the same, there was still something within me that simply loved horses and dressage. My life is spent coaching, which I simply adore, and when I coach I feel that I’m actually sitting on the horse and riding while voicing opinion. My mind often thought that I would love to find a beautiful, trainable and exciting horse that I could perhaps put all my experience and coaching skills into that I’ve gained over the years. I did look at many, but none of them really touched me.

I was at a property going to coach and as I walked to the arena, a very beautiful brown horse walked over to the edge of his yard and put his neck over the fence and said to me, ‘I think you should come and give me a pat’, which I did.  That was very cunning of him, and a big mistake on my part. He was absolutely beautiful, full of confidence but gentle and quiet; I inquired who it was and it was simply of course there for some training – not for sale. I was informed that it was owned by Cheryl Ludlow. A few weeks later at the Sydney CDI, I saw Cheryl and commented on what a beautiful horse she had. I didn’t even know its breeding.

“Bloomfield Vision is a
four-year-old by Versace…”

A few weeks later a friend asked about a horse for sale that I may know, in the vicinity of where I lived. On describing the horse, I thought I knew which one it was, but I was wrong – it was actually Cheryl’s horse, Bloomfield Vision, who had come on the market. I rang Brett Peel who was training Vision at the time and asked if this old man could hop on and have a ride.

“Do you think he would suit me?” I asked, and he simply said, “I don’t see why not”. The next day I went round and watched him lunge and ride the horse, as it’d had a few days off. It just made me smile, and I just loved the feeling that the horse gave me. I put on my boots and hardhat after getting rid of the spiders, and had a ride… feeling totally at home and at ease. Even though the horse was very green there was just something special about the communication. A few days later I caved and bought him, and I feel very privileged that his horse came across my path.

Bloomfield Vision is a four-year-old by Versace (Vivaldi) out of imported KWPN mare Anouk (Jazz). The lines that are in his breeding include Krack C, Ferro, Flemmingh, Ramiro Z and Purioso, and he was bred by Axel Renz at Bloomfield Stud. The mare Anouk produced the licensed KWPN stallion called Fellini (bred before the mare was imported from the Netherlands) and is also 7/8 brother to European stallion Dark President.

EQ LIFE: So now you have bought Vision, what are your plans and how are you going to go about training this horse? 

ROGER: The most important thing for me is, there is no pressure at all about producing this horse. He is mine to enjoy and if I simply want to go for a walk in the field, that’s what I’ll do. I can take my time and I can teach the very good basics I know I have in my head, and that I know are so important for the production of a dressage horse.

With Vision having such a delightful attitude and nature towards his work, hopefully my ability to train him along the right way will come to the fore. You never know what will happen along the way, but that’s the same with life. I am no longer gung-ho; I think I have a fairly natural instinct of balance and ability to be able to ride, but I will be very careful never to overfeed him or have him too full of himself, and never be too brash, and put him on the lunge for a while before I get on.

I think the most interesting thing about having a new horse like this, and having been able to ride him already and feel quietly at ease and confident, is that it will encourage me to get fitter and stay healthier for a longer time. I think the problem with becoming older is that you become a little careful with what you do with your life. Mobility becomes less, and for some people the thought of getting on and riding again would be too scary. With two new knees, a spinal fusion and fairly advanced arthritic changes in my wrists, it had to be a very special horse that I would even think about getting on!

Of course, in the back of my mind I’m still competitive. I want to see how far I can take him in his training, however, as far as showing him or competing on him, I’m realistic and realise that my body shape certainly isn’t endearing to his. I already have another horse that I bred, called Arctic, who is in training with Megan Bryant, and she’s doing a great job with him. I love going and helping Megan with the horses and with Arctic. I love watching him work, but I don’t think at this stage he’s the horse for me. I’m realistic; he’s a little quirky and little too much for me. At this stage, to have such a generous soul as Vision, my enthusiasm to get fit, healthy, lose weight and ride again has been lit up.

EQ LIFE: Is there anything that you will do differently with this horse compared to the other horses you’ve had?

ROGER: Indeed, there will be a lot of things done differently. Number one, I am in no hurry and I have nothing to prove. Number two, I’ll be very careful and make certain that my body is in a good way and I feel confident to ride, and if any day I don’t feel that way, I simply won’t. Three, I’ll always have good people around me that are willing to help and keep an eye on me and, if necessary, ride the horse in between my rides. Four, not having any pressure on me to compete means I feel that I can do a great job in taking my time and teaching this horse: the honesty of basics, the art of adjustability, and probably what excites me the most is the confidence and harmony between the two of us.

“I am in no hurry and
I have nothing to prove.”

I can no longer be strong, as I don’t have great core stability and my wrists hurt as a consequence. I have to teach him to be light. I have to teach him to carry himself and carry me in a very easy way. Let’s hope that my decision to buy this horse will see those things come to fruition. No matter what happens, I will enjoy the journey and I will be exceedingly cautious along the way, making certain I stop at every stop sign and give-way sign at each crossroad.

I’m not a thrill seeker anymore, and I’m not in a hurry. I’m going take on the challenges in a different way than I once would have; I’ll discuss them and find other ways around any problems that may arise. Having worked a bit with the para riders, I realise very much so that strength is not paramount. Understanding and connection and communication is of the upmost importance. You cannot be threatening. You cannot be strong and demanding; you have to find good ways of communication and producing confidence and willingness.

I am not advocating that it is a great thing for an older, experienced rider who hasn’t been riding for some time to take on a four-year-old, however, what I do have, as I said, is great people around me that can assist and help.

EQ LIFE: Do you have big plans for the horse’s future?

ROGER: I think if you have big plans, it always falls a little short. I have absolutely no plans for this horse, it’s a matter of what happens, happens. I hope he will give me great joy and pleasure, and as I said, there is no hurry, there is no pressure. I don’t particularly want to compete but will see where the journey takes me.

I’ll do my best at developing a good partner and a great friend, as well as a good dressage horse. We will see if I’ve chosen wisely and I’ll be the very first person to say, ‘I was really good friends with this horse, and now not so good friends so maybe it’s time to move on’… if the going gets too tough, I won’t hesitate to find a better rider for him, as I think he’s very talented. I love being around him and I think vice versa, and we will see where it goes.

With the number of horses that I’ve had and trained and started with, there is no question at all that this is by far the best product I have begun with, and so now it’s up to me to see what I can produce. That’s probably a little scary, but who knows what’s around the corner and whatever it is, you learn to deal with it in the best way you can, and you can’t beat good old experience… here’s to having a go! EQ

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A Smarter Way to Compete – Equestrian Life, May 2023