FOR THE LOVE OF THE HORSE
We do it for the love, passion and pride.
These special horses take us everywhere and give us everything. Nothing is more important to us is their care on and off the track and setting them up for a lifetime of happiness past the post.
WE'RE HERE FOR THE HORSE
There is so much time and care to creating a jumper to take on the track. From the hours of education and schooling, trials and tickets. It doesn't happen overnight. Every bit of it is worth it. They try so hard and give it their best every single time.
Growing up hunting with Egmont Wanganui Hunt there was always such a large presence of thoroughbred jumpers both still actively racing and retired being absolute stars on the hunt field. So, it was without hesitation when Harvey Wilson rang and offered Password (Bill) to Jon in his retirement. I didn't hesitate at all. Not only had he been trained by Harvey, who we had both followed keenly as Master as kids, he was also by Zed out of and Al Akbar mare (Baltas), both stallions who have proudly stood at Grangewilliam Stud owned by my sister Jane and her husband Mark Corcoran.
Bill arrived after having a spell post racing at the Wilsons property looking amazing and has his life after racing in such an incredible manner. He was very quickly out being a clerk of the course mount for the final jumps racing date at Egmont Race Club where he has also been a course winner. Since then, he has clerked for both Jon and I at New Plymouth Raceway with much admiration from the racegoers, and attended Waverley A&P show in both show jumping and hunter jumping.
While we have several thoroughbreds come through us for retraining (and retaining) we are always appreciative of the trainers contacting us to take jumpers. There's just something special about the way they are prepped for the races and just how professionally they take to life after racing.
Password has most definitely cemented his place here at Hunter Road Stables. He is going forward to be one of the mainstay clerking horses and looking forward to hitting the hunt field in the 2025 season. We appreciate Harvey and Anne still taking interest in how he is going and still being so interested in their horses post racing, that is something that makes jumps racing so special is the investment the trainers and owner have post racing also . We really do hope we make them proud with his life after racing.
- Sarah Brosnahan
Retired Jumps Spotlight - PASSWORD
Retired Jumps Spotlight - MORLICH
My name is Alex Chambers-Steward and I’ve been eventing for roughly 15 years. Even though I’ve had multiple OTTB, Morlich is my first OTTB that has had a jumps campaign. The difference is evident, with Morlich being leaps ahead in the retraining process already although only being off the track 4 months. Being lucky enough to experience how a few of the jumps trainers operate it’s clear that they are great horse people who put a lot of time and effort into their horses and that makes their transition into eventing so much easier for the horse and riders. They already have a good understanding of the fundamentals of jumping and as these trainers are masters of their craft, it translates into their horses ability to jump and their technique. As a bonus many of these horses have experienced much more than just going around a racetrack, with them being confident when hacking out, in different environments and going to shows, with which some have already done as cross training for their jumps racing careers. And this makes them extremely confident and comfortable when retraining them for eventing. Currently, I’m getting Morly out and about to different places for XC schooling and hacks and his previous education and great nature has shined through in these outings. I’m hoping to get him out to a few SJ days and a Derby day and hopefully squeeze in a horse trial before the end of the season. I am super excited for his future.
