The eventing community is reeling from the death of Rachel Watts, who was tragically killed in a car accident on Sunday 20th March near Melbourne, Australia
35-year-old Rachel was an integral part of the Australian eventing community for many years as super groom to some of the best in our sport, including Shane Rose and Chris Burton
Born in central Victoria, she grew up in a family that rode for pleasure and her passion for eventing began at Pony Club. After completing high school, she completed her Diploma in Horse Business Management at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong, receiving The Marvis Wardell Award for outstanding contribution to the equine course on her graduation
Rachel then went on to apply the same outstanding standards to her life in the horse industry, first working for Nick Roe and then Shane Rose. She joined Shane and Niki’s team at Bimbadeen Park in 2006 and in 2013, she told us “I had sold all my horses and decided that this would be the perfect time to head overseas and explore the competition scene on the UK and the European circuit”
This led to Rachel working for Australian eventing rider Chris Burton and during this time, she kept us updated with her life in the UK through her popular blog on An Eventful Life and we often caught up with her at big events in the UK and Europe
In 2015 she returned to Australia and Bimbadeen Park, from where she accompanied Shane and his horses on their many big adventures, including the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In late 2021, she finally decided it was time for a change and left Bimbadeen Park to begin her new role as Associate Lecturer in Equine Management at Marcus Oldham College, where her journey first began.
“Rachel may no longer be an employee at Bimbadeen Park, but she will always be family” said Shane and Niki Rose on their social media at the time “We have been blessed to have her on our side for all these years and wish her all the best for her exciting new role at Marcus Oldham College. Thanks for everything Slaps”
We have all been blessed to know you, Rachel
Rachel’s family will be organising a service in the coming weeks, saying “We will welcome everyone who loved Rach to help us celebrate her wonderful life”
Late last year, we did our last ever interview with Rachel when she talked about her career as a top groom. We can think of no better tribute than her own words
