From the arena to the racetrack

When the worlds of eventing and racing collide, the results can be impressive. Many Australians who began their life training and riding horses in the eventing arena – often at international level – have made a successful transition to the fast-paced racetrack.

TIM BOLAND

Tim Boland’s connection with horses began at Avondale Pony Club, north of Sydney, where he shared a pony with his sister. His family also owned a property in Tumut, NSW, where Boland spent school holidays and rode as often as he could.

By the age of 14, he’d discovered eventing and dreamed of representing Australia. Hard work, determination, good trainers and family support helped Boland achieve that dream and he was shortlisted for the World Equestrian Games in 1994.

“To be part of the Australian team and to receive that level of coaching was a privilege. I learned from a lot of people and developed systems that I still use today,” said Boland.

He has been competing for almost 40 years and has collected an array of eventing awards and titles. But Boland’s focus has shifted from the eventing arena to the racetrack. He owns Limitless Lodge, a pre-training, breaking in and spelling centre for racehorses on the NSW Central Coast. The business is named after Boland’s best horse, Limitless, who won NSW eventing horse of the year in 2001 and 2003 and won the Melbourne CCI**** in 2003.

“I began working with horses for various trainers in the late 1990s and initially worked with problem horses – those that would buck and couldn’t go on the racetrack. I did that for some time until a trainer asked me if I was interested in pre-training. I asked what that involved and he said it’s doing what you’re doing but with nicer horses!” said Boland.

During pre-training, all racehorses at Limitless Lodge undergo dressage training.

“It enables the horse to become more rideable. You need to get inside the horse’s brain and see what makes them work and dressage helps that process,” said Boland.

He has pre-trained Group 1 winners including Winx and Chautauqua. Winx came to Boland from the yearling sales on the Gold Coast and after a few weeks in the paddock, he began breaking her in.

“She was a quiet, straightforward filly. She kept herself to herself and was a pleasure to ride and she was super athletic – but nothing told me she’d be a champion at that stage,” said Boland. He is hopeful that he will be able to work with Winx’s $10 million foal.

“It’s an honour to be given these horses because they go through the ring for a lot of money. Some of them have issues but you know that if you spend time with them, you’ll get a good outcome,” he said.

LUCY YEOMANS

Lucy Yeomans’ first Welsh mountain pony, Token, fostered her love of horses. She did pony club, gymkhanas, dressage and cross-country and her talent and dedication eventually saw Yeomans become a reserve member of the Australian eventing team.

She competed to four-star level, the highest international eventing level, but much of her career has been spent around the racetrack and Lucy was part of the team that trained Gold Trip to his 2022 Lexus Melbourne Cup win. She was an assistant trainer with Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace but is now training in her own name alongside co-trainer Lloyd Kennewell.

“I moved to racing because you can’t really make money in equestrian although for a long time, I did both,” said Yeomans.

“The general knowledge and skills in handling horses is the same and whether you are eventing or racing, you have a deep love of horses and get real enjoyment from watching them progress.”

Her new role brings Yeomans a greater say in day-to-day decisions affecting the racehorses under her care. Her working day begins with trackwork at 4am and she then closely watches the horses work on the gallops, treadmill and on the water walker. Yeomans also carefully plans each horse’s program.

With 30 to 35 horses in work at Kennewell Racing’s Cranbourne location, there’s little time for Yeomans to spend on eventing, but she’s happy to be making her mark instead in the racing world.

“I have some old horses in the paddock but I don’t event anymore. Now and again, I hop on a horse for trackwork, but I’m more likely to watch other people ride now and that’s OK,” she said.

“I’ve been a professional equestrian and in the racing industry I’ve worked with some good people and I’ve taken knowledge from each of them. I’d hope to be regarded as a proper horsewoman.”

GREG EURELL

Show-jumping great, Greg Eurell, was only 20 when he was selected to compete at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Australian team then boycotted the games for political reasons but four years later, Eurell earned a place on the equestrian team for the Los Angeles Olympics.

That was the start of an illustrious show-jumping career that took Eurell around the world, but he has perhaps enjoyed even greater success as a thoroughbred trainer. He trained 2011 Cox Plate winner, Pinker Pinker, and celebrated his first Group 1 win in 2006 when Apache Cat won the Australian Guineas.

While his equestrian experience was invaluable, making the switch to racing involved Eurell building his reputation from the ground up.

“After the Olympics and competing in Europe I had to make a living because my wife was pregnant and I had bills to pay. I’m a plumber by trade so I went back to plumbing and lasted a month away from the horses!” said Eurell.

“I knew I needed to do something with horses that didn’t involve travelling all the time, so I moved to the gallopers and it’s been a wonderful life.”

He began breaking in and pre-training and was trusted by trainers including George Hanlon, the Freedmans and Bart Cummings who respected his horsemanship and equestrian experience. Today at his training centre in Cranbourne, he and his team work 60 horses every day.

“There are similarities between training a horse to show jump and training a horse to race. You have to learn their personalities and I could ride a horse and feel what they needed,” said Eurell.

“Training racehorses is a lot like coaching a football team – you have to tap into each player to get the best out of them.”