Retired thoroughbred racehorses continue to excel following the Pony Clubs Association of South Australia’s (PCASA) State Championships at Monarto in June sponsored by Thorough Care SA.
A mix of 25 unraced and seasoned retired thoroughbred racehorses represented more than a quarter of the entries, and thrived in their new disciplines including; dressage, cross country and show jumping.
And PCASA’s Debbie Cook said that will continue to grow with the help of their partnership with Thorough Care SA.
“I think there are so many good retired thoroughbred racehorses out there that we’re going to see more and more of them competing,’’ Cook said.
“Especially we’re now working together to get them out there. It’s great to see horses doing something else after their racing career ends.
“From an eventing and show jumping point of view there are a lot more thoroughbreds than warm bloods competing.
"You need the speed, stamina and a bit of fire at that level and the retired racehorses really come into their own,’’ she said.
Cook said there was some stand out performances including Trudi Day’s ‘My Mugatea’ and ‘Dark Assassin’, who was a four-time winner during his racing career and has been successful in multiple events over the past year under the care of Alana Miojlic.
“Trudi Day’s My Mugatea has been fantastic,’’ Cook said.
“They bred him, raced him and then got him back after racing and he’s been a standout.
“Dark Assassin has also been amazing; Alana actually her broke in a while back and he has been absolutely fantastic. He’s so calm, so relaxed and he wasn’t a bad racehorse.
“They started at the bottom progressing up and he’s not far off Grade 1,’’ she said.
Cook said steady rise in numbers of retied thoroughbred racehorse was increasing opportunities for both participants and animals but wasn’t without it’s challenges.
“Buying horses especially off the track is really difficult, you just don’t know what they’re going to come off the track like,’’ Cook said.
“Some only have three of four weeks re-training, the programme and support we’re getting is fantastic, but you still don’t know what you’re getting.
“Alana has been riding a long time while Trudi has grown up with thoroughbreds and has a very different background when it comes to racehorses.
“A lot of kids ride thoroughbreds as it’s an affordable way to get into the sport.
"You can buy a horse for $500 or $1000, but you also need the skills to be able to handle a thoroughbred and turn it into something.
“The hard thing is to retrain them and teach them not to go fast all the time, but pony club offers that horsemanship and lessons in a controlled environment that can really help these horses,’’ she said.
