Amanda Ross knows a thing or two about managing major championship campaigns. A Sydney 2000 Olympian with Otto Schumaker and a short-listed rider for the Tokyo Olympics with Koko Popping Candy – as well as the reserve for three World Equestrian Games – she says it’s all about preparation.
“One of the hardest aspects of equestrian sports is that selection is announced quite late due to the fragile nature of horses,” explains Amanda. “It would be lovely to be in the position of other sports where the team was announced a month or two in advance, so you can get together as a team and prepare – it would take that last-minute pressure off.”
“You just have to
keep doing what you
would normally do.”
Amanda says that once you reach the elite level, it’s all about knowing what works for you and your horse – and sticking to it. “As an equestrian athlete vying for Olympic selection, you just have to keep doing what you would normally do. By the time you get to Olympic level and you’re in the running for selection, you know the routine and you know what works. You don’t make last-minute changes. You also have to prepare to be going, regardless of the actual selection outcome, so that nothing’s left to the last minute.”
Preparing as though you are going does perhaps mean dealing with a greater level of disappointment if it turns out you’re not on the team – but as Amanda explains, it’s the only way to manage the process when horses are involved. “You need to prepare as best you can so that you can just step on the plane and be continuously moving forward.”
TRAVELLING FOR MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Planning for travel with horses for an Olympic Games – or any overseas campaign – requires careful planning, especially when it comes to feed and supplements.
A Kentucky Equine Research ambassador, Amanda explains that she first connected with KER products when planning a trip with her horses to the UK in 2013. “I had asked for some advice on what to feed overseas, and everybody recommended KER, because they’re a research company – they’re not just selling feed and supplements – so they actually come up with the answers for a whole range of different issues and situations.
“They’re extremely good at travelling horses and they have supplied feeds at many Olympics and World Championships. They also have representatives & alliances with feed companies all over the world, so replicating your feed when travelling is entirely possible. When I was travelling, I looked at which KER products were available in the UK in comparison to what was available in Australia and transferred my horses onto those feeds and supplements six months before I left.
“Prior to the 2018 World Equestrian Games, I had everything in my flight bag for Zarzy [Koko Popping Candy]. This included all of her KER products, in particular Nano-E®, Restore Paste™, and Drink-Up™. The latter being a product that helps encourage horses to drink, and I would never go anywhere without it when I’m travelling. Nano-E® was a really big one too; it’s a natural-source vitamin E antioxidant supplement, which is essential in supporting muscle cells under the stress of travel.
THE NEXT GENERATION
The Brisbane 2032 Olympics will be the first in Australia since Amanda competed at the Games in Sydney. Just eight years away, Brisbane presents homegrown riders with quite a unique opportunity to compete at a major championship without travelling overseas. However, in the meantime we have Los Angeles 2028 followed by the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany – as well as the 2030 FEI World Championships – all requiring Australian-based riders to pack up and travel should they be selected to compete.
As a nation, having riders gain experience at major championships is important in terms of preparing for future success – however, as Amanda explains, the current Olympic format makes that experience more challenging to come by than once was the case: “There are only three riders now that are going to be selected – plus a fourth travelling reserve – and it makes it a lot more difficult.”
The Olympic scoring system in eventing means that a three-person team is without a drop score. Any fall adds significant penalties to a team, as does a substitution – which may be required if a horse fails the second trot-up. In short, any mishap and a team is out of the medals.
“Our High Performance funding relies on us being successful medallists,” says Amanda. “This means there’s an awful lot of pressure on those three riders to be extremely consistent at top level. Gone are the days where you had four competing in a team with a drop score, plus an individual starter. In the past, a country could enter an individual who could very well win it, but could also implode! Now, there just isn’t room for that risk anymore.
“It means that in the end only three people gain Olympic competition experience. In another sport, there could be a team of 12 people that would have an Olympic experience – whereas in equestrian sports we’re just not being able to pass that experience on anywhere near as much as we used to.”
With that being the case, helping Australian riders gain international competition experience similar to what they might need to expect at a major championship is important. In March, Amanda travelled to New Zealand for the Oceania Eventing Challenge at Horse of the Year where she was the Chef d’Equipe for the junior team.
“It was the first time we’ve been to the Horse of the Year show – previously [when the Oceania Challenge has been held in NZ] we’ve gone to Taupo CCI4*L, which is exclusively an eventing competition. In contrast, Horse of the Year is a pop-up show and they have every discipline you can think of.”
“We’re just not being able to
pass that experience on anywhere
near as much as we used to.”
Amanda feels that attending this sort of event is closer to what you’re likely to experience at an Olympics or World Championships and it is therefore invaluable experience for younger riders.
“The stabling [at Horse of the Year] was essentially under a covered sheep shed. There weren’t any power points and there was only one stable for 12 riders’ tack, so we had to problem solve a lot. In addition, part of the cross country course ran through the main arena; because they were using that arena every day for other disciplines, the jumps could only be brought in for a couple of hours after all the action was finished, so everybody could have a look on the Thursday night and Friday morning and then they were taken away. So that was a different experience.
“I think some of the younger riders were surprised by the basic facilities. As a team – myself, senior team Chef d’Equipe Stuart Tinney and team vet Nathan Anthony – we’ve done plenty of trips, and we got everybody together and said, ‘Look, this is what happens when you go to an Olympic Games or World Championships… the World Equestrian Games facilities at Tryon [2018] were only half-finished!
“Everybody thinks that when you go to the Games, it’s going to be an amazing experience – which it is, but not as you’d expect. You’re going to an event without your usual support group of people, you’re not in your own truck with your own luxuries, and if something goes wrong, our High Performance athletes are mentally and physically trained to still be able to perform at their best.
“Unless you’ve actually been overseas and in that team environment to see how different it actually is to an everyday competition… I don’t think people understand the pressure that our top athletes can actually work through and still deliver a performance.”
Taking that into account, Amanda says the Oceania Challenge was a great way to help prepare the next generation. “It was the most realistic thing that could happen, and everybody grew… the next day after our little team speech, everybody came out with their best foot forward and an attitude of, ‘whatever happens, we’ll find a way to make it work’. Those combinations, they’ve been on a plane now, they’ve learned how to work in a team, they’ve learned how to ask for help, and to band together and problem solve. It was incredibly important.”
Amanda explains that horse and rider can show great potential competing here in Australia, but a bit part of success at a major championship is merging that potential with successfully managing the trip.
“It’s surviving the whole trip… going from country to country, using different types of transport, having all the correct papers, just getting there in one piece… there’s just so much that goes into travelling horses overseas. It’s crucial to be super prepared and do your research. Speak to people that have had lots of experience, that’s the key to a good trip.”
THE TEAM AT HOME
Switching from eventing to show jumping a few years back – and already holding her own at World Cup level – Amanda is now based in Moorooduc on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and is enjoying coaching, as well as training her two horses, Heronwater Quercus and Yulong Emperor.
Earlier this year, Amanda was devastated when forced to retire Romeo – her handsome off-the-track Thoroughbred – due to a knee fracture sustained in his stable. Amanda says her recent move to Moorooduc actually came about as she wanted to ensure she could have Romeo on site to carefully manage his recovery and ensure paddock soundness for a happy retirement. “So far so good… it’s nice having him and Zarzy retired together at home,” she says.
These days, Zarzy is a lady of leisure and Amanda is the proud owner of the Thoroughbred’s 16-month-old foal named Wednesday, by Eurostar – the stallion who represented Australia at the 2022 FEI World Championships with James Arkins in the saddle before being sold to the US.
“If she takes the best from
both her parents, she should
be very cool little horse.”
“Zarzy was known as Batgirl, the Black Bat or Black Witch, so I thought, ‘What do you call the daughter of a witch? Wednesday!’ Wednesday lives in Red Hill at a good friend’s place, and she’s growing up with my friend’s yearling. She’s just doing the growing thing at the moment. She has a nice, lean, athletic-looking conformation and if she takes the best from both her parents, she should be very cool little horse.”
Querky is a five-year-old mare by Cera Cassiago, and Amanda owns her in conjunction with veterinarian friends Angus Wilkinson and Micki Bache, who bred her. “She’s a very exciting mare and is showing great potential to be a super show jumper, but at only five she’s still got a little way to go… even though she thinks she’s amazing and wants to do everything now! I’m hoping she will be a World Cup horse in the future.”
Amanda always tries to have a project Thoroughbred in her stable, and for the past 12 months that has been Yulong Emperor, aka Haz. Well-bred by Galileo, the gelding was trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ireland before coming to Australia and then retiring from the track aged eight.
“He’s been a delight and a lovely horse to have around, and now he’s ready for his new home. He has a beautiful canter, he has nice paces, he’s a good type and a nice person. I’d love to keep them all, but because I don’t have my own property, I’m just not in the position to. My contribution to the off the track cause is to be able to produce a horse and educate it, so it’s ready for a new equestrian life after racing.”
Amanda continues to use KER products with her horses at home – both retirees and competition horses alike. She explains that Romeo and Zarzy are on Gold Pellet™ to ensure they are receiving all the vitamins and minerals they need. “They are also on EO-3 ® oil [rich in omega-3 fatty acids]. EO-3™ is great for so many things, in particular joint inflammation, and so Romeo gets it for his knee. When he was first injured, he was on Triacton® as well, which is very good for any bone issues.”
“Querky and Haz, they’re on Low GI Cube as a feed, which is produced by Barastoc [who has had an exclusive partnership with KER since 2001], and they are on EquiShure® as well. Haz is on Bio-Bloom® HF and his feet look amazing. Querky gets Gold Pellet as well, and in summer, Haz would always have Restore™ and five grams of salt, as he’s a big sweater. Sometimes with the Thoroughbreds, I also use B-Quiet® because it now comes in a pellet so it’s really easy to feed. So, I really do have a full rainbow of KER products at home!” EQ
This article was written in conjunction with KER. You can find out more about their product range here.
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