Not A Good Year

The death of Matthew Dowsley’s WEG Dressage team horse, Cinderella, earlier this year, was a cruel blow. Whilst the years spent training Claudia and Francis Harper’s charismatic mare were certainly not wasted, it is for Matthew, a case of starting at the beginning again. And now the equine influenza outbreak has struck another cruel blow to the rider and trainer who so inspired the nation at the Aachen WEG last year.

“It’s hideous really, we were just starting to get things back together and everything has come to a halt. We are in the Purple Zone and up to this point since the outbreak, people have not been able to come and train with their horses. We have six horses here, but we usually have from ten to 15. At least the horses here are benefiting from the extra attention, and the garden and paddocks are looking wonderful, but the situation is grim. I am looking at doing interstate clinics and am very available at the moment”.

Matthew went on to tell us of a promising four-year-old he has by Sandro Hit out of a Rubenstein/Weltmeyer mare. “He is really promising, but at this stage you never really know whether they will make the grade do you? We have just got Rodney’s (Martin) horse out of quarantine last Thursday and what a drama that was. He is a four-year-old by Falsterbo out of a Weltmeyer mare that Rodney imported, and then took overseas to train and he arrived at Eastern Creek on the 2nd August. He has been in there almost two months, all at our expense, including tests and you are being charged like you are staying at the Ritz! He was vaccinated before he went overseas and again before he returned and again the other day before he came out. We don’t have flu here and it would be good if it stayed that way”.