Brett Parbery (above) is well known in Australian equestrian circles as a world class dressage rider but next month Brett will step outside his comfort zone as he takes part in his first one day event at Wallaby Hill in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
We caught up with Brett recently to find out if he nervous about his first eventing outing.
“No I don’t think I’m nervous, I'm just hoping to really enjoy myself. I’ve got quite a few dressage commitments in the week leading up to the event but I’m really looking forward to throwing ‘my’ eventer on the float and heading off to my first event.”
The horse Brett will be riding is a seven year old TB called ‘My Thai’ who is owned by Karen and Stuart Tinney. “We told Brett he could ride My Thai as long as he taught him flying changes,” laughed Karen Tinney, adding “we are really looking forward to watching how they two of them go in their events.” Ridden by Stuart at pre novice level (the pair won their last start at the NEGS one day event last year) Brett has decided he will start his ‘eventing career’ at preliminary level.
“My Thai is a pretty easy horse to ride,” said Brett. “Although he’s TB he moves a bit like a warmblood and has a great canter. He seems straight-forward to jump, especially cross country which is good for me. He gets a bit keen into the show jumping fences but he doesn’t seem to get too upset if I don’t always get to the fence on the right stride.”
Stuart Tinney and My Thai
Brett has been putting in some cross country practice at Wallaby Hill in the past few months but not as much as he would have liked. “When I first had the idea of trying my hand at eventing I didn’t have that many dressage horses on the go and thought I would have a bit of time to dedicate to my eventing. However I have fairly recently taken on riding some of the Mulawa Performance horses, which is really exciting but it means I am pretty busy on the dressage front and only have limited time to get in some jumping practice.”
What makes a rider who has enjoyed huge success in the dressage world at top international level decide to give eventing a go?
“There a couple of reasons behind why I wanted to try eventing. The first one was that last year was been a pretty big year what with the push towards the Olympics and everything that goes with it. I thought that if I could include some eventing into my week that would help to freshen things up a bit. The second reason was that I really enjoy being involved with the eventers as their dressage coach but have always felt that after I have helped them in that phase I’m a bit of a spare wheel. By learning more about all the aspects of eventing I hope it will give me a better understanding of what they do, which in turn will continue to build my relationship with these guys. There is no doubt that the eventers are great fun to be around and I just want to be part of that.”
For more information about the Wallaby Hill event and how to get there click HERE
Wallaby Hill one day event takes place on 9th-10th February and www.an-eventful-lfe.com.au will be there to capture all the action.
