From racehorse to performance horse and everything in between

The Equestrian Experience

It’s a family affair for the thoroughbred-loving Richardsons of Vantage Hill in Scone, Australia! Nikki (Olympic eventer), Blair (5* eventer) and son Charlie (junior eventer and show jumper) pre-train up to 250 potential racehorses each year.
Huge advocates of life after racing, the Richardson family are experts in turning off-the-track thoroughbreds into elite sport horses and compete four of their own in their six-horse eventing team. Join them as they share their recipe for equestrian success, which includes a little family rivalry and a honed eye for picking racehorses with performance potential.

• Host Amanda Ross spills the beans on how she was rooming with Nikki at a Pony Club competition when Blair and Nikki met for the very first time. While the ensuing love story is history, how do two very accomplished eventers feel now that their offspring is poaching Dad’s horses…and beating him?
• Hear Blair’s advice for the best age to start training a thoroughbred for eventing and his formula for taking them to 4* level and beyond.
• What’s the Richardson’s litmus test for choosing a horse off the track? Find out what you should be looking for on your trial ride and the key to finding a thoroughbred with the potential to make the transition to a high-performance or pony club home.
• The youngest Richardson shares a cautionary tale for those first few rides on your new ex-racehorse, while everyone weighs in with tips for bitting, gear and the dos and don’ts of mounting.
• Blair tells us the story of how he was working pre-trainers with Olympian, Shane Rose, the day Shane received a near fatal kick to the head that put him in a coma. While it’s a grave story, you’ll be captivated by the comedy of errors to rush Shane to hospital, as you uncover exactly what Brad Pitt has to do with it all!
• Plus, great tales from a George Morris clinic, some Aussie versus New Zealand fact finding and the question we all want to know: can eventers ever pick a race winner?

All this and so much more in this episode of THE EQUESTRIAN EXPERIENCE.