Ros Quist is a woman of integrity who makes the most of every day. Turning 81 is simply a number for her and has no bearing on her capabilities. Not one to dwell on the past, she still looks forward to the fun and excitement that each new day brings.

Ros Quist has devoted most of her life to being a horse enthusiast. She rode from a young age, showed Shetlands then turned to dressage. Rising to become an FEI competitor, she is still a highly respected and sought-after National A Level judge.

Rosalind was born near Wollongong. Her father was a mine worker and her mother a devoted family woman to Ros, her sister and brother. They lived in Corrimal, a suburb of Wollongong, where the children attended school and Ros was a competitive sports girl in softball and basketball and also held a state high jump record. She left school early to work in a bakery in Woonona where she made a name for herself in her cake decorating, and in fact remained in that trade until she was 48.

Ros started riding when she was seven years old on a Shetland called Periwinkle. Her girlfriend from school lived on five acres near Corrimal where her family bred Shetlands that they showed at Sydney Royal. Her friend did not like the ponies, but Ros adored them and learnt to ride and show them in hand. She showed them at all the local shows and at Sydney Royal and was instrumental in keeping her girlfriend interested. That was good for the entire family and, as Ros admits, “especially for me!”

From that time, Ros was into horses. She and her brother had horses in their backyard – some from horse sales as well as ex-pit ponies from the mines. There was not always a lot of extra money and so it was bareback to start with and Ros and her brother had many adventures riding all over the Wollongong area.

Once at a Pony Club ride, Ros’s mount was a little fresh and bucked her off, standing on her shoulder and breaking her collarbone. Determined not to go home, Ros hopped on her brother’s mount while he took the naughty one and they rode to Appin, 23 miles (37km) away, where Ros slept the night sitting up against the tent pole because it was too painful to lie down. Her parents came to pick her up, but true to form Ros wouldn’t leave as there was too much fun to be had here. The next day she rode the 23 miles home and admitted she needed to go to hospital. Her father insisted that she feed and water her horse first as it had just travelled so far. She went to the doctor’s and was diagnosed with a severely fractured collarbone.

“She gave her heart
and soul to the sport.”

Ros was always a keen horsewoman and took to playing polocrosse. The horses for polocrosse lived on the back of a block at nearby Figtree and Ros became a member of the state champion team. As with everything Ros does, she gave her heart and soul to the sport and was a very proficient player.

Then she became engaged to Bill Robertson, a popular and successful show jumper she met through the competitions. However, a tragic fall at Kiama Show rendered Bill unconscious and after 10 days in ICU he passed away. He was 21 and she was 18. He had been the real love of her life and it proved very difficult for Ros to come to terms with. She was traumatised and a little desperate for a partner and married then divorced in quick succession. It is a time that Ros chooses to leave behind in pursuit of happier episodes.

PARROTS AND ORCHIDS

Ros met her soul mate, Ben, at the bakery where she was working. Ben was Dutch and moved to Australia when he was 18 and was quite an outstanding baker. He was in fact Ros’s boss at the bakery in Fairy Meadow, south of Wollongong, and they married when she was 28 and moved to Figtree to have more land. Ben who was not only a talented baker and decorator but had a passion for breeding Australian parrots and growing orchids! He had many varieties of parrots that Ros hand-reared and visitors would come from Holland and overseas to see the amazing number of parrots that they bred. Ros loved the Major Mitchell’s cockatoos and taught many to talk.

When Ben died it was a real calamity as there were 250,000 orchids, each of which took three years of growth and TLC before they flowered, and 80 aviaries full of parrots to be sold. Times were tough and she had to sell not only the parrots and plants but also her four beloved horses to secure herself financially. Fortunately, she was able to continue with her riding, and soon became attracted to dressage.

It was a lonely time but Ros battled it out and was always willing to lend a hand and help out friends. Living alone and often riding alone, she had a fall and fractured her pelvis. But as if that put her off! She said it was hard enough getting up and standing but even harder to lay down!

It was not long before she realised that to be competitive and to learn more in the sport, she needed a better horse and so purchased Spoody, by Polarschnee, an imported Trakehner stallion and competed to Elementary level with him. She had clinics with Heath Ryan at this time, riding at Yvonne Downes’, an old friend of Heath’s.

Ros met Maurie Bruce and travelled from Dapto to the Neversfelde stud in Berry for weekly lessons. Maurie and Jane had a great competitive team of horses in Neversfelde Kensington, Neversfelde Samoneinen and Neversfelde Feuer. Ros would travel with the Bruce clan and was apparently quite famed for her washer woman skills, airing Maurie’s undies on the back of the truck for all to see! Ros was always the practical joker. Ros trained with Heath Ryan and with Maurie and Jane.

Ros was also involved in organising a fundraiser when Maurie and Jane first headed overseas with Kensington. She made an amazing cake for the occasion, artfully depicting both Maurie and Kensington. Ros also worked tirelessly with the local dressage clubs on the committees and as president of South Coast Equestrian Club.

As her interest in the sport grew, she embarked on becoming an official judge, which she attained with ease and continued on until A Level, the highest she could achieve at her age. Spoody was subsequently sold as a showjumper and continued to be a very good horse for a friend of the Bruces. Sterling Lexington was then purchased and he went on to Advanced. Roz was still judging a lot and was quite passionate about her education and expertise in this field.

DETERMINED TO RIDE

It was during this time Ros was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. Maurie and Jane had just offered her the ride on Samoneinen and she was preparing to compete at the Canberra Classic. She was determined not to miss the opportunity and rode a few weeks after surgery despite some post-operative issues. She was competing at the Canberra Classic in an Inter I test and scored over 62%, despite having had only a few rides.

Lexington was sold and she bought Valhalla Flemmingh from Victoria. He was a Novice horse when Ros bought him and with careful and methodical training ‘Flynn’ made it to FEI Small Tour. Ros competed him at Prix St Georges and lnter I in her seventies.

She was finally able to sell her Dapto property for subdivision and bought a townhouse in Berry, but still keeps her horses at Neversfelde stud. Ros was always around to lend a hand and never missed the chance to travel to shows with Maurie and Jane and the successful team.

“The fractured ribs and
collarbone almost seemed worth it…”

Flynn was a great horse and was competitive, but an unfortunate arthritic change rendered him no longer rideable. A few years later after Flynn had retired, Ros was trying to mount her young horse when he bucked and she hit the deck. It resulted in broken ribs and another fractured collarbone. However, she felt she had made it to heaven as there were so many ambulance men there to give her drugs, hold her hand and lift her on to the stretcher! It was all surreal and the fractured ribs and collarbone almost seemed worth it for the attention she got from those men! Always one for making light of her problems, Ros was the first in to help others. If there is one thing Ros is not, it is needy! After a few false starts, she found a suitable generous soul to ride safely and continue to learn.

Now at the age of 81 years young, Ros has bought an ex-showjumper, a Thoroughbred from the Priestley family, and she is training him in Elementary and Medium work and loving every ride. On asking Ros why she continues to ride dressage at 81, her reply was simple…

“I love horses. I love the feeling when they start to understand and feel my communication. I love the simple improvements, and I have nothing to prove to the world but to feel the satisfaction that we are understanding each other more,” she enthuses. “I adore to wake up and realise I have to ride. It’s something that inspires me. It’s simply thinking mentally with the horses. I am not strong. I am not looking at national championships and my attitude has become mellow. There is no hurry. I have been there and done that and am proud and lucky I have, and now I only need to please myself. It’s truly a wonderful feeling and I so adore the small positive steps.”

It was only a year and a half ago that Ros had a second mastectomy, but it didn’t stop her from riding within days! She has had multiple skin cancers operated on and stitched up but again back in the saddle with barely a day off. Even after her cataract operation she rode the next day despite being hardly able to see.

‘I LOVE THE HORSES’

On asking what she has gained from riding and why she is still so involved and keen, she says she doesn’t really know. “All I can say is that I love it. I love the horses, the riding and the care of them. I get up in the morning and can’t wait to get to the stables. It’s not done to keep fit, although it helps. I love the challenge of the training and seeing how to work out ways around the problems you come up against in training a dressage horse. I love the lessons I have and, as they say, you are never too old to learn. Look at me, I’m learning every day!”

Given all the setbacks that Roz has been through from relationships and battling cancer, I asked her if they had had a profound effect on her life.

“I simply deal with what I am dealt. What else can you do? There is always someone worse off and I have good friends around me; I never look back, only forwards. I keep myself busy at all times and I love to help out whenever I can. I judge a lot and that certainly keeps me in the swing of things. I study and watch so many tests and I love the discussions on what all judges pick up on. My health issues never get in the way of my life. I do what I can to be helpful to others and I have to be honest and say that wine is a good friend! Above all, I simply love the association with horses and dressage and I try to improve my skills every day.

“When it comes to judging, I love to be positive and reward the good I see. Judges are often looking for the mistakes. It’s not a positive way and you do need to see those mistakes, but you need to be encouraging to help get the mistakes sorted. It really is my life and I am in awe of the good horses and tests and only wish I was 20 again for more things than just dressage. I always think to put the bad things in life over to the left and the good things to the right and I am always heading right!”

For Ros Quist (Rosalinde Schneider Quist as her friends refer to her) her life is about fun and enjoyment. Horses keep her this way, and her vibrant attitude is pretty infectious. Nothing stops her joy of living every day to the fullest, and a glass of wine in the evening when all is done brings out the best in Ros. What a life and what a woman, and she’s far from slowing down! EQ

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