Sonja Johnson and Belfast Mojito on course at Melbourne 3DE 2013 Photo: Equine Images
At this year’s Melbourne International 3 Day Event Sonja Johnson had a disappointment on the first day when her most experienced horse, Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison (Ben) had to be withdrawn due a foot abscess, leaving her with just one horse, the younger horse Belfast Mojito, to ride.
After many years at the top of the sport Sonja has learned to take these things in her stride. The next day, as we sat with her and her dressage coach (and one of the world’s greats), Harry Boldt, she said “That’s horses. We'll do what we can and Harry thinks the younger one may have a bit more talent for dressage anyway”
I had just seen ‘the younger one’, Belfast Mojito (Mojo), happily smooching around his stable at the event and looking after all the gear.
“We can’t put anything in Ben’s stable” Phoebe, Sonja’s mum, told me “But Mojo doesn’t touch a thing. He happily leaves everything arranged in his stable and carefully moves around it”
Mojo was born in 2002 in Kojonup, Western Australia, bred by Sally Robinson to play polo and polocrosse. His sire, Blacklock Mikado was an Australian Stockhorse and his dam was an unregistered thoroughbred mare called Brunette. Brunette was a successful polocrosse horse that competed at a number of polocrosse National Competitions and was a hearty, athletic mare. As neither parent was over 15.3hh, it was a surprise when Mojo's legs kept on growing to top out at 16.2hh
Rebecca Bell, a veterinarian, was living next door to Sally’s property and she fell in love with Mojo the minute she saw him as he put his head over the stable door to see who was visiting (little did he know that it was the vet coming to castrate him!). Over the years Rebecca watched as he grew up being trained for polocrosse and, thinking he had potential as an eventer, she suggested that Olympic silver medallist Sonja Johnson have a look at him.
Rebecca and Mojo share a moment together during an event
Sonja was very excited by the heights he jumped during her first ride but he failed the vet check so, after months of rest and other sales falling through, Rebecca decided to treat herself to a birthday present in September 2008 and bought Mojo. She intended to ride him herself but for the next year or so, Mojo would hang his head over the fence requesting more rides than Rebecca could offer as she had a busy life and a family of four young children. It broke her heart to see him waiting in the paddock every day, so she eventually decided to offer him, once again, to Sonja but this time Sonja would be his trainer and Rebecca would remain his owner/guardian
Mojo began eventing with Sonja Johnson in March 2010, winning his first outing in Capel Preliminary. In less than three years he won his 1st CIC 3* at Lakes and Craters in 2011, was second in the CIC3* at Camperdown in 2012 and 12th in his first CCI3* Sydney International 2012.
Sonja says that “Mojo is a bit of a dag. He pretends he is Mr Perfect and so proper and aloof which is indeed pretence. He is actually the naughty little boy who gets everyone else in trouble and then with an angelic look says ‘no it wasn't me’.
He will sneak out the smallest gap and disappear. This can be concerning! Bucking is not really his thing now. Causing me embarrassment apparently is”
Sonja had a wry and slightly embarrassed smile on her face at Melbourne 3DE when Mojo threw in some unwanted airs above ground during his flying changes in the dressage test but she simply brought him back to earth and continued on to finish the day in 7th place. It was onwards and upwards from there with a clear round with only 1.2 time faults on cross country day and one rail – the very last on the show jumping course – depriving them of a CCI 3* win but still a fantastic result for the young horse
Rebecca loves watching her horse compete but also really enjoys having him back home at their Australian Stockhorse Stud between campaigns
How many event horses could do this? Having a break at home with mum, Rebecca and doing some Natural Horsemanship
“He comes back to his home farm in Kojonup for rests and spells as often as possible, where he gets a chance to chill out from his duties and relax with all the other horses. We feel it is critical to the horse's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual welfare to be with other horses, socialising and having a role to play in the herd.
We are on an incredible learning journey with Mojo and have great appreciation for the opportunity to have him excel in the sport of eventing. We would like to show other owners and riders that supporting the horse in all aspects of their well-being, helps them to reach their full potential while remaining a 'happy' horse”
Making some school friends (above) and winning ribbons at Mt Manypeaks Pony Club with his mate, and fellow 4* eventer, Ben (below)
Mojo, and Ben, even do the occasional pony club duties with Rebecca’s children. There are not many top class event horses that are happy to trot around pony club classes but Sonja’s horses seem to enjoy it! Maybe it is the Australian Stockhorse breeding that makes Mojo appear so laid back but Sonja says don’t be fooled by this “He is very gentle but when he powers up he is lots of horse”
View Sonja and Mojo's full cross country round at Melbourne International 3DE 2013 here
In July the Australian eventing selectors announced the half yearly squad review and Sonja with Mojo was listed on the 2016 Rio squad. Sonja and Mojo now head to the Australian International 3 Day Event to compete in the HSBC Adelaide CCI4*
Sonja’s great horse Ringwould Jaguar, now retired, who won silver at the Hong Kong Olympics, bronze at the Aachen WEG and had many more wins to his name is probably one of the most famous of Australian Stockhorses – maybe Belfast Mojito is set to follow in his hoof prints?
You can stay up to date with Mojo’s eventing career and find out more about the foals that Rebecca and Simon Bell are breeding out of his sister 'Belfast Blondie' (out of the same dam) and 'Blacklock Manu' (full sister to his Sire) on the Belfast Mojito facebook page
Many thanks to Rebecca Bell for the use of her photos
