Chris Burton and Holstein Park Leilani - winners at Aachen
It was an emotional scene at Aachen when Chris Burton won the CIC 3* DHL Prize for the second year in a row. Obviously the win was a great achievement for the Australian rider who only fairly recently moved to compete in the northern hemisphere but it was also his final competition on a horse that has brought him much success – Holstein Park Leilani.
Although Chris’ riding talent obviously has a lot to do with the success of this chestnut mare by Lander, he is always quick to point out that the owners, Jade Findlay and her mum Jean, have played a pivotal role.
Jade Findlay offered the role on Leilani to Chris in the middle of 2008 when she was pregnant with her daughter, Piper. The plan was that Jade would take the ride back on the mare, who was about to move up to 3*, after her pregnancy but one thing led to another. Only two years later, Chris and Leilani were competing for Australia at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. The pair finished in 48th place but this was just the start of what was to come.
At the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky Photo: Toni-anne Collins
IN 2011, Chris packed up his horses and moved to the UK in a bid to make the Australian for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Jade and Jean, along with several other owners of Chris’ horses, supported the move, although it was a costly exercise. It wasn’t just the financial aspect as Jean points out but also the fact that they would not have the same involvement with their horse.
“Although we intended to go overseas to watch Lani and Chris for a few events, it obviously wasn’t going to be the same as being with them at all of the events in Australia. We always enjoyed the social aspect of ‘Team Burto’, socialising with the other owners and friends and that too wasn’t going to be the same. On the other hand, Jade had worked so hard to start Lani’s career that we really wanted to see how far she could go”
Jade had ridden all of her life but her passion for eventing started at the age of 19, when she went to the UK to work for Christopher and Jane Bartle at the Yorkshire Riding Centre. Christopher is of course now the coach of the German eventing team but, at that stage, was at the height of his own riding career.
Jade returned home to Australia and was competing at 3* level by the time she was 23. One evening, when browsing through a Belcam Stud catalogue, a chestnut mare caught her eye but she wasn’t to see Leilani in the flesh until her then owner, Amanda Lancaster, brought her for some training
“She was pretty horrible to ride and very fat” remembers Jade, who recommended that some jumping exercises may help her rideability. Impressed by the horse’s ability once she got to know her better and compete her, Jade bought a half share with Jean and together they eventually bought Amanda’s share to own Leilani outright
When they started competing at 2* level , Jade decided she needed some help with Leilani’s show jumping and went to Chris Burton for lessons. The rest is history with Chris taking over the ride and in 2011 the decision was made that Chris would campaign Leilani overseas.
At the London 2012 Olympic Games Leilani and Chris were one of only 9 horse-and-rider combinations to complete the track inside the optimum time
Their good performances in World Cup competition at Sydney and at Kihikihi, New Zealand were followed up by a third in the World Cup at Le Haras au Pin, France and being agonisingly close to a 4* win at Les Etoiles de Pau later that year. However it was at Greenwich Park, when Australian Olympic team members Chris and Leilani made the London 2012 cross country course look easy, that people really started to take note of the talent of this partnership.
However it was already decided that Leilani would soon return home. Badminton, the course Chris described as ‘being made for Leilani’ was to be her final event in 2013 and Jade went to watch, flying out straight after Sydney 3 Day Event.
“Lani did a cracking test and led after the first day which was super exciting and that night was the cocktail party at Badminton House, which is just the most phenomenal house you’ve ever seen. Going into the cocktail party that evening as the leading team was pretty cool” admits Jade
“She did a great job against the best horses and riders in the world and I was thrilled with her finishing in 10th place but Burto was a little flat afterwards – I think he thought she’d conquer the world at Badminton – and he begged us to let her go to Aachen. I thought about it for a while then, because it was a one day event and not a three day, plus it is such an awesome event, I said go for it”
Leading after the first day of dressage at Badminton
Jean had been unable to make it to Badminton as her mother had died only four days before they were all to leave so she and her partner Herman hopped on a plane to Aachen. After each phase she rang Jade in tears with the emotion of what was happening as Leilani scored a personal best in the dressage to lead on a score of 35, jumped a clear show jumping round and was the fastest horse on cross country to win the event. It was Jade’s turn to cry as she watched the cross country
“I was having a little party at home and watching the live streaming. Burto was almost crying in the Finish Box, mum was too and I was bawling my eyes out at home. It was just an absolutely fairytale ending”
Leilani’s eventing career may be over but another one is about to start. She is of course a mare and the plan is now to breed from her when she returns to Australia in August, just in time for the breeding season. At one stage Jade considered breeding her in the UK but has now decided that the safest way, at her age of eighteen, is to flush embryos from her and hopefully breed some lovely foals that way here in Australia.
“I still haven’t really decided which stallion to use yet” she says “I’m really interested in looking at German thoroughbred stallions. They are bred as sport horses rather than for racing and from what I’ve been seeing in Europe, they are still really keen on competing 7/8th thoroughbred there. So I think that’s where I’ll start to look and my friend Chris Bartle will be getting a call to recommend some German stallions!”
It has been an amazing experience for Jade to own a horse that has achieved so much, although she admits there have been times when others were in doubt
“For many years people told me she was a piece of rubbish and to sack her. I just always knew in my heart she was a special one. She is so incredible. She has never taken a step back, she’s just got better at every competition and she has the biggest heart”
“Just being part of the whole experience is something I will never forget and I’d really recommend being an owner to anybody who has ever thought of doing it. It was a bitter sweet start to the relationship – owning the horse but not riding her but I have a beautiful daughter because of that and I have had the most amazing time with this horse”
Jade has a lovely daughter, a valuable mare who has brought her an 'amazing time' and her own horses such as Oaks Cordelia, seen here,coming up the ranks Photo: Amanda Young
