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Abbie O'Brien - Tasmanian Young Rider

By Suzy Jarratt

“I’m absolutely stoked,” said the young Tasmanian who had just placed second in the Mulawa Performance FEI Young Rider Team Competition. “I scored 67.281% in this Prix St Georges and it was a personal best.”

Abbie Obrien, who turned 21 last week, was riding her 9-year-old gelding, Rajahs Rave, by Regardez Moi. (It’s interesting to see just how many of this stallion’s progeny are competing at these Nationals).

Abbie hails from Penguin, a region of 4,000 people on the Tasmanian northwest coast; in recent times she’s been based on the mainland.

“I went to a tiny primary school in Riana, which is next to Penguin, then to Marist Regional College. I later moved to Geelong to do the horse business management course at Marcus Oldham.” (She was dux of her year).

“I worked for Amanda and David Shoobridge at Revelwood Stud which was when I purchased a three-year-old mare by Fidertanz. We left her at home this weekend so I could focus on Rajah.”

 (‘Home’ for the moment is Boneo Park on the Mornington Peninsula).

“The mare’s been to Dressage With The Stars and the Sydney CDI and she’s just had her first elementary start as a 5-year-old.”

Abbie and 9-year-old Rajah, learnt together.

“I’ve had him since he was four and basically trained him up from preliminary/novice – I’d never ridden above that level before. It was a bit like the blind leading the blind, so to come to this event and do as well as we just have is really exciting.”

She is hoping that in the next class she’ll do even better. It it was just one glitch that dropped her to second.

“He broke in the first medium trot. We’ll try and nail the next test and keep him confident.”

Warming her up at SIEC and training her at Boneo Park is former Danish international, Lone (pronounced ‘Lorna’) Jorgensen, who has helped take this combination through the ranks.

“Thanks to Lone he’s now become quite a solid FEI horse.”

And who are Abbie’s sponsors assisting her to fulfil her dressage dreams?

“They’re called my parents!” she said. “My dad has Mader International in Tasmania and I do a bit of work for them here.”

(This company, based in Penguin, is one of the largest ambulance and special vehicle manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region.)

It’s unlikely that Abbie will be taking her horses back to Penguin, although she has made the trip in the past.

“Rajah was with me for two years in Tasmania and we bought him over here a couple of times for the Young Rider Championships and Interschools Nationals. It’s very expensive taking horses on the boat across the Bass Strait.

“And for fifteen hours, for safety reasons, you’re not allowed to go and check on them, you just have to hope they’ll be in one piece on the other side.

“Because I want to continue and advance my training it wouldn’t be fair to have them in Tasmania and keep putting those extra miles on them.”

Abbie is very serious about her dressage aims and would, of course, like to study overseas.

“I’d love to train with Carl Hester. I admire the way he teaches, how the horses he produces are very soft and the tactful way he rides them.”

In the meantime Abbie has to work hard – almost all she earns goes on agisment and lessons.

She has no boyfriends and is quite happy that way.

“I live on my own with a six-month-old golden retriever and a pet bird – it’s a parrot, by the way, not a penguin.”

STATE BRANCHES