S P OT L I G H T
Top of his game
T
he Ryan brothers started their riding life at Maitland Pony Club. Dad Rod was a vet who along
with mum Sue, believed riding would be good for the boys. Although not a natural in the hack ring, Heath began his competitive career at Sydney Royal
Well-known for his success in dressage and eventing, it’s hard to imagine there's an Australian rider who hasn’t heard the name Heath Ryan, writes REBECCA ASHTON.
when he was 12 in his Pony Club’s team of four. “They were short a rider. I was on a little grey pony and I was put in the middle of the team so no one could see me,” Heath explains. The wild child turned up with bot eggs on his pony to the dismay of the other parents. Heath’s most memorable pony was a little mare called Widgiewa, bought sight unseen. “She had quite a big head and would travel on the forehand with her head down because that’s just the way she moved, so I would win dressage tests,” he recalls. “She was so genuine. She would jump a round and not stop. That was a godsend to me.” The mare took him to his first National Pony Club Eventing Championships. At the age of 18, Heath headed off to the UK for a six month stint to gain his BHS Assistant Instructor qualification. “I didn’t even know what an AI was but I thought it was a good idea and it would be fun.” Although there were pubs at night and cricket on the weekends, the daily riding was regimented and precise. Heath laughs: “Back then, the English didn’t believe in washing horses, thinking they’d catch a cold even in the middle of summer! So you had to curry comb the horses and the instructor would count the number of curry comb dust prints on the wall. I think you had to have 15. I realised if you put dust in a bucket you could dip the curry comb in that. At 19 you just know too much!” But the young Aussie wised up and wanted to get more out of the situation, so he buckled down and worked hard. There was a moment of realisation that Heath took forward into the rest of his life: concentrate on the work and just that one skill can help you achieve
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