Former apprentice jockey Libby Halliday has found her happy place, rehoming off the track thoroughbreds on her Mount Gambier property.
Some of the thoroughbreds she’s retrained have gone on to be much loved pony club and show jumping horses, and there’s a special few that she’s kept to compete on herself.
With the support of Thorough Care SA, Libby took a team of four horses to the inaugural Thoroughbred Sport Horse Association National Championships in New South Wales on the weekend, and two of her horses – Libadee Park Fourdee and Libadee Indy Park – took out the top two places.
“I was stoked,” said Halliday about Fourdee being crowned the Slipper Grand Prix winner.
“I went up there without a lot of expectations and just wanted my horses to jump well in what was a big trip for them. So for them to come out with the results they got - they jumped their hearts out for me and I couldn’t be any more proud.
“Little Fourdee I got from Bob and Kane Post down in the Mount here. I took her on and gave her a chance to see where things led.
“To start off she didn’t give me much of a feel for jumping, but the bigger the jumps got the better she jumped and she’s just turned into one ripper little handy horse who I absolutely adore,” she said.
“Indy Park was another one I took on from trainer Daryl Dodson up at Bordertown. I was offered her and I was like, what have I got to lose, I’ll give her a chance,” she said.
“To begin with she didn’t give me much of a feel for jumping either, she went through every rail that we jumped. But once she picked it up and started competing she has been magnificent.
“I’ve only had her the past twelve months and she’s skyrocketed and gone above expectations, and she’s going to be very nice for the future,” Libby said.
The connections that Libby built with trainers during her two years as a jockey has also opened the door for her to take on a number of former race horses, her natural affinity and horse handling skills serving her well.
“My passion is off the track rehoming and that’s what I really enjoy and what I love,” she said.
“The way that I roll with things is that I don’t believe in working them every day. I like them nice and fresh and sparky so they want to be keen to jump so they enjoy it, and they’re more careful that way. So mine probably only get worked twice a week and on the weekends as well.”
Libby currently has 15 horses in total and 11 of them are thoroughbreds. When she’s not caring for them you’ll find her doing track work six mornings a week for a host of South East trainers.
