Western Australian (WA) rider, Deon Stokes, is one of those unique riders who competes successfully in both dressage and eventing. When you live on the western side of Australia and are serious about competing at an elite level it's not easy, especially if you have to travel to the east coast of Australia for events such as the Saddleworld Australian Dressage Championships. There are five riders that are doing just that and Deon is one of them.
On the 7th October, after a weekend of eventing, Deon and his team unpacked his truck and repacked it ready for the colossal journey. Somehow he managed to find time to answer some questions for me - they reckon it's the busy people who get things done!
"We have to travel approximately 8000 kilometres (round trip) and have a budget of between $15,000 and $18,000 to make it all happen. The horses cope quite well with the journey but it's important that you understand what you're getting into and that you properly plan it – stopping points, time travelled, the availability of yards and that sort of thing. It'll take us about three days. There's no question that it would be simpler if we lived on the east coast and it is a possibility that we are considering! For the time being though, WA is home and we do what we need to do to ensure that our horses get the chance to be shown at the big national comps."
The main reason for doing the trip is to give the horses the exposure at the national shows. This year Deon will be bringing three horses to the Nationals - Royal Oak II (Royal Olymp/dam sire, Welt Hit II), Bellario (Belissimo M/dam sire, Wolkenstein II) - both these stallions are owned by Kate Barton from Narbethong Equestrian Park. The third horse is a young chestnut gelding by Regazzoni - Evenfall Capulet (better known as Cappy). Cappy is owned by Gill Botten from Maitland Park Equestrian Centre.
The two stallions have done this trip a few times. Deon is proud of their previous results. "In 2010 and 2011 they did really well at the national young horse shows so we want to show people that they are progressing up the grades and still doing it well. Also because they're commercial stallions, we have to get them over so the rest of Australia can see them, they're pretty impressive!"
Deon and Royal Oak II at Sydney CDI 2011 Photo: Peter Shaw Photography
Royal Oak II will be competing in Small Tour, while Bellario and Evenfall Capulet will be competing in Medium/Advanced. This is quite impressive as Deon has brought the stallions on from 3 year olds.
Although Deon competes in both dressage and eventing, he really doesn't have a preference. He seems like a pretty 'Matter-of-fact' sort of guy.
"I have a team of eventing horses and a team of dressage horses. I think the two disciplines complement each other and I have no plans to only do one, it depends more on horse power as to which one comes out on top!"
Other than the distance, the hardest thing about competing in WA is the number of competitors.
"It's hard to gauge how you would score in a bigger class when there are always the same horses in the classes at home. So far, when ever we've headed east, we have always got similar scores as at home and finished in the top 5 so that's always pleasing. I have to say, it's great competing in a bigger class with lots of quality horses and still know that you are doing the right things at home."
In regards to training, Western Australian riders are lucky to have Glennis Barry (nee Scott) head over about once every 4-6 weeks. Glennis not only has been a very successful FEI competitor but is also a highly respected trainer. There is no fuss about Glennis. She expects her students to listen and ride to their best. Each times she heads to Western Australia, Deon has 2-3 lessons on each horse.
"Glennis is definitely direct and straight to the point which is great. I need a trainer that's going to say 'Deon what are you doing?!' It makes me think. She expects a lot of me and that helps me to keep making it better. She's always clear on what she wants to achieve and most of the time focuses on the training scale in order to achieve it. She's helped me get this far with success so it's definitely working for us."
Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to see Deon ride the two stallions. They seem to have a very harmonious partnership. I suppose that's why Bellario was awarded the highest score possible for rideability in 2011 at the Sydney CDI - a perfect 10 from the guest rider. It was a pleasure to watch.
You can see Deon compete with his impressive team of horses at the Saddleworld Australian Dressage Championships which runs from the 25th through to the 28th of October. All information, including ticketing, can be found at www.dressagensw.com.au/nationals
Deon's trip to the Saddleworld Australian Championships would not be possible without the team around him, partner, Sara, parents, friends and staff, owners and his main sponsors - Horseland Maddington, Virbac and Milne Feeds
Article by Scott Pollock
