For Nina Harris, no hurdle is too great when it comes to her love of dressage. Based on a remote Northern Territory cattle station with her two Thoroughbreds, training takes place on a dirt airstrip and competitions are a 670km trek north. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
In Australia, it’s not unusual for equestrians to travel great distances to compete at the elite end of the sport. Thousands of kilometres are clocked up by Aussies driven by Olympic dreams; elite events are few and far between, and travel is part and parcel with gaining qualifications and putting selection scores on the board.
However, there are many riders out there who might not have Paris on their radar. They simply want to train their horses to the best of the ability, have fun, and see where that journey takes them. For these riders, competing is an exciting and fulfilling part of that journey, and heading down the road to a local show provides not only something to aim for, but a way to measure progress and an opportunity to catch up with friends.
So, what do you do when that local show is 670km away? Well, dedication and drive are not just for Olympic hopefuls.
DUNMARRA TO DARWIN
Dressage enthusiast Nina Harris lives on a 400,000-acre cattle station at Dunmarra, a Northern Territory locale marked by nothing more than a roadhouse. It’s an hour and a half southwest of the township of Daly Waters, a popular stopover for those travelling up the Stuart Highway to Darwin and best known for its iconic outback pub.
Growing up on Queensland’s Fraser Coast with equestrian facilities available, Nina’s older siblings rode, however her family moved before she was old enough to take up the reins herself. The opportunity to ride didn’t present itself again until her early 20s, when she was able to buy her first horse and finally head off to pony club; riding was a hobby that she loved, and she particularly enjoyed eventing.
“That career involved all of
two starts, the first of which
he tried to dump the jockey…”
A love of the outback eventually saw Nina move from Queensland to the Northern Territory to pursue work on a cattle station in 2016, and it was there she purchased her next horse – an off-the-track Thoroughbred named Legendman (Love Conquers All x Legend of Spring), aka ‘Olly’.
Olly was once a city slicker, having had two trials at Rosehilll Gardens in Sydney – however, with sub-par results, it was off to Alice Springs to train under Greg Connor for the remainder of his racing career. That career involved all of two starts, the first of which he tried to dump the jockey and finished ninth of 10; the second, seventh of 10. He retired in 2016 without a dime to his name.
Olly was given to Nina among a number of mustering prospects at the age of three. He turned out to be super quiet and was fortunately a better station horse than a racehorse. Nina and Olly spent a few years mustering together before Nina moved to Dalby in Queensland to work at a feedlot, with Olly remaining her workmate.
Moving back to the Fraser Coast, it was here that Nina decided to take up the sport of dressage with Olly. Beginning at Preparatory level, they progressed to Novice in the space of few years with minimal coaching and also had success at agricultural shows. In 2020, Olly was named champion off the track Thoroughbred at the Fraser Coast Dressage Championships.
In 2021, Nina moved back to the NT. Of course, Olly came with her and their dressage journey continued. In the last 12 months, they’ve attended four competitions: three dressage events in Darwin plus Katherine Show. Darwin is 670km one-way and Katherine is 350km, with Nina trekking down 30km of dirt road before she even hits the Stuart Highway.
Nina’s hard work paid off, and at the recent Darwin Dressage Club annual awards, she received the reserve champion off-the-track Thoroughbred trophy in the Novice division for her efforts with Olly. She now has her sights set on reaching Elementary level and plans to compete at Darwin more next year – and with a great coach in Nicole Mutimer from the NT Institute of Equestrian Sport now helping her, she says she’s starting to see better progress. Of course, given her location, even receiving coaching takes a little more effort for Nina.
“We don’t have phone service here, so I can’t do lessons via Skype or anything like that; I have to travel to Darwin for lessons. I do sometimes video my rides and send them to Nicole for feedback. She is always more than happy to read a long-winded text message from me to help if I’m stuck or need advice!” explains Nina.
More recently, Nina purchased a second Thoroughbred, Jimmie Jim (Bel Esprit x Midnight Sun), who she is also training in the dressage arena. Jim raced under the same name – Nina says she like to honour their race names and retains them as their show names – and he was a little more successful than Olly with 38 starts for a win, nine placings, and just over $50,000 in prizemoney.
Jim came off the track in 2019 and after recovering from a tendon injury he went to Racing Victoria Acknowledged Retrainer Nikki Cook at Shory Park, before finding his way to the NT. Nina’s coach Nicole had Jim in training and suggested he might be a good second horse for Nina. He was reportedly a bit of a rogue during his racing career (his race record includes a “difficult to load” warning) but in his second career he’s proved far more mellow.
“Instantly I fell in love and pretty much told Nicole that I would take him after knowing bugger all about him really,” laughs Nina. “I was already sold on his colour and height. I had to ride him first, but I knew he would be a keeper. Nicole gave me a few lessons for free, which I was grateful for, to make sure we were a good fit. He was bloody beautiful to ride… I travelled to Darwin to pick him up about a month later.”
Despite hailing from a cool climate, Nina says Jim is able to sweat well and thankfully has had no issues with the heat. They’ve already competed at Preparatory level together and scored as high as 78%.
Nina believes that horse breeds are similar to dog breeds in the sense that there are no bad ones, just bad owners. “That might upset a few people, but it’s bloody true!” she says. “I’ve had a few different breeds of horses over the years, but I do love my Thoroughbreds. They are so versatile. You can train any horse to do anything you enjoy doing. Thoroughbreds are just a bit more affordable to most people, due to a larger turnover from racing… it means we get the chance to make our own dreams a reality.”
STATION LIFE
Jim and Olly lead different lives to the average dressage horse. With 400 acres to roam, it’s a natural lifestyle and they somewhat dictate their own training schedules.
“They have access to whatever paddock they choose depending on what gates are open at the time,” explains Nina. “They run with five other horses, four mares and a gelding; they are both lovesick over one of the mares. I feel so lucky to be able to have my horses ‘be horses’. I know that not many people have this luxury. They can live in a herd and just do what horses do.”
“I feel so lucky to be
able to have my
horses ‘be horses’.”
However, there are some drawbacks to their lifestyle. “Jim is what my coach likes to call ‘a part-time grazer’, so keeping weight on him is tricky as he burns more energy wandering from clump of grass to clump of grass, unlike the other horses that eat as much as they can before moving,” says Nina.
“Because he raced for a longer period of time, he is used to having his food delivered. Olly came to me as a three-year-old… the first few years he had to learn to eat like a horse again and fend for himself, as they only got fed the days they were worked. Such is station life when you’re a horse.
“The other downside is the nicks and scratches from the trees, and the bites and kicks. I don’t rug them at all during summer as it’s far too hot, but I use light rugs during the winter competition season. I do worry they will get caught up on something being rugged, so I keep it to a minimum.”
“Every now and then
they do go exploring…”
Nina explains that her horses are fed twice a day so then generally hang around close, even with 400 acres to roam – although every now and then they do go exploring for a day or two. “The riding schedule revolves around them and when they come in. Some days they feel like dinner time should be at 3pm and that’s still a bit too hot for me, so they eat and head off again!” laughs Nina.
Nina says she only usually rides early in the morning or late in the afternoons to avoid the worst of the heat. “If I think the temperature will make me too hot and uncomfortable, I just won’t ride. In saying that, none of us get to compete in perfect conditions, so sometimes I do ride at a slightly hotter time, but only for a short period, to acclimatise both myself and the horse for those humid, hot and sticky competition days in Darwin.”
Nina explains that a benefit of station life is that horses are exposed to a lot of noisy activity. “Olly has been exposed to a lot of choppers, motorbikes and cattle going everywhere at times and has been rock solid since the first day, handling it better than some bush bred horses. He was mustering in between dressage competitions in previous years!
“On the other hand, Jim hasn’t been mustering as this station doesn’t use horses, but he is still pretty unfazed by the chopper and cattle in general. The station atmosphere has certainly helped the horses when competing, although Jim still needs time to get use to the agricultural show scene as the show rides and busy arena is still quite overwhelming for him.”
‘RIDE LIKE A KID’
Nina met her partner Barty while working on a station and she says he’s her biggest support when it comes to her dressage aspirations. A former successful saddle bronc rider, she says he’s an excellent horseman and also her horses’ farrier.
“At least I get five minutes
not eight seconds!”
“As a saddle bronc rider, he once travelled from northern WA to SA for a rodeo, did his eight-second ride and then back to work. Some weekends he would squeeze in two rodeos, leaving work on a Friday afternoon, picking up his mate and they would drive all night to ride, then back to work Monday. This is why I travel the distances I do… at least I get five minutes not eight seconds!” laughs Nina.
Barty has not only been an inspiration for Nina, but also a wealth of wisdom. One of his pieces of advice to Nina is to ‘ride like a kid’.
“When I go for a ride,
I allow my inner
child to come out…”
“As an adult I worry about all the things that could go wrong: falling off, getting hurt and losing confidence being the main ones. So, when I go for a ride if I allow my inner child to come out to play, we just go and have fun and not worry about my horse being collected or me having the perfect posture. I can just allow my body to be where it naturally needs to go with the horse,” explains Nina of how this phrase applies to her time in the saddle.
“It feels good to me to be on a loose rein and be able to direct my horse where I would like to go. Then he is happy and obliging… well sometimes it takes a bit more encouragement, but that’s the fun and the challenge in it. As soon as I focus on a job or an obstacle, I forget about all the other stuff and focus on getting the job done. Just like cattle work, where once I start focusing on the beast, I do whatever I need to do with the horse to get the job done. Then I look back at all those ‘scary’ things I did that could have ended badly and realise I did it without a drama.
“Riding out in the bush has built so much confidence with my horses. I trust them more and more each ride. I still do my actual training: my collected work, leg yields, lengthen strides, and transitions at certain markers, but I can incorporate all of that while I’m out bush bashing.
“When I’m riding my tests, I just ride the dressage pattern. Similar to what I do in the bush, where I pick a tree and think to myself, ‘OK I’m going left at that tree’, then subconsciously I prepare my horse to turn left at that tree. I had already made the plan; the horse was aware that we were changing something, and I guide him in that direction. It’s no different to a half 10-metre circle down the centreline. I know what I have to do, I prepare my horse for the movement and just ride it. If it’s not perfect, who cares; let’s now focus on the next move.
“When you’re playing in the bush you’re always looking for your next obstacle, instead of getting stuck on what you’re doing in that moment. It’s a lot of forward thinking and ‘where to now’. Not ‘what is happening’ or ‘what has happened’. I just set him up to do the movement I want the best way I can, and ride what I get.”
Nina’s first dressage competition with Jim last year was the first time she had even ridden in a real dressage arena with him – the closest thing she has at home is the station’s dirt airstrip. “We hadn’t had a lot of practice doing corners or 20-metre circles, but like the saying goes ‘fake it till you make it’!”
OUTBACK OPPORTUNITIES
Nina is passionate about inspiring others to do what they love regardless of their location. “Being so remote it is hard to keep motivated. That’s why I started my Facebook page. To not only inspire others, but to connect with like-minded riders who are also remote in one way or another.”
Thoroughbred Racing NT (TRNT) Off The Track is the official not-for-profit organisation committed to assisting the rehoming of off-the-track racehorses in the Territory. They offer a range of grants throughout the year, which Nina says have been brilliant for riders like herself.
“TRNT have a lot of clinics throughout the year that I can’t get to given my location, but they have provided me with an allowance for lessons. I will be able to have six lessons, three on each horse with my coach Nicole, so that is a really big financial help for me,” she explains.
Providing opportunities for riders living remotely is important. Earlier this year, 16-year-old fellow Territorian Lalwa May competed overseas on the Australian team for the World Clubs Tournament in France. A show jumping event, the Aussie pony club riders rode pool horses and achieved excellent results. The NT also sent a team – which included Lalwa – to the Australian Interschool Championships in Victoria, where the young riders again competed on borrowed horses with success.
“It opens their eyes and
hearts to bigger dreams.”
“I think it’s brilliant they are allowing these homegrown stars to compete at such major events,” says Nina. “By giving them these opportunities, it opens their eyes and hearts to bigger dreams and opportunities for them to excel in the horse world.”
Despite the tyranny of distance, Nina is making the most of her opportunities and is driven to produce her two horses to the best of her ability. She’s proof that no road is too far to travel, and she believes anything is possible if you’re prepared to put the work in: “If you want something bad enough, no one can stop you.” EQ
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