The Safest Trick Riding Horse Of Them All…

His latest trick…G6 in one of his most important roles ever, he carried a blushing bride on her wedding day.  This day would prove to be one of the most significant days in her life.  Photo courtesy of Ann Killeen.

15/10/2011 Hello Everyone and Welcome Once Again!

Have you ever heard anyone say you can’t, or more to the point, you shouldn’t ride heavy horses?  Well people have been telling us at Heavy Thunder Down Under National Heavy Horse Magazine for many, many, many years.  Lots of people have even laughed at us for promoting the heavy horse under saddle.  And do you think we believed them?  No way!  Why?

Because you can ride them, as we have demonstrated in so many of our blogs!   And Emily Wright agrees with us who also says, “Yes you can.” 

Hmmm…Now who is Emily Wright you might be thinking?

Well, Emily is one of the partners of the professional trick riding team High Velocity who believes, “the heavy horses wide set hip and shoulder combined with their ability to stay calm and focused on where they are putting their feet, even in a stressful situation, makes them the safest trick horse to trick ride on.”

Trick Riding…A Brief History

Trick riding has a fascinating history which began a long time ago with the Russian Cossacks.  These people were originally East Slavic people who hailed from semi-military communities in the Ukraine and Southern Russia. 

The term ‘kazak,’ which is where the name Cossack comes from, has been interpreted to mean adventurer…And adventurous they certainly were. 

The Cossack soldier would literally “trick” the enemy into thinking he was being dragged by his horse.  The particular manoeuvre, known then as the Cossack Drag, is now known as the suicide drag. But as soon as the soldier was in striking distance of his enemy, he would right himself in his saddle and attack.

‘Hmmm…Tricky,’ you might say.

Absolutely, but tricks like the Cossack’s used to perform in battle have lured people like Emily into the trick riding scene.   Trick riding is a huge and fascinating industry and she has been trick riding now for over 10 years. 

You would call Emily an adventurer as she has encouraged the use of the heavy horses within the Australian Trick Riding Industry.   

Emily has simply been blown away by heavy horses and their amazing ability to move with such ease allowing them to perform brilliantly as trick horses.  But the transition wasn’t an overnight one as Emily has loved the Quarter horse type. 

But, sadly, she has also witnessed some horrendous accidents experienced by trick rider’s riding light horses.  The light horses have fallen over during shows and injured not only themselves but their riders as well. 

 So how did Emily get involved in Heavy Horses?  The answer to that question is pretty simple.  She happened to be friends with Priscilla Morley from Kamilaroi Percherons.  Over time Priscilla inducted Emily into the world of heavy horses. 

But nothing ventured, nothing gained and Emily found then bought the very kind and honest Australian Draught Horse G6.  But G6’s introduction into the Trick Riding discipline wasn’t a gentle one.  Emily arranged for the gelding’s first appearance at the 2011 Canberra Royal Show.  After just 5 weeks of training. 

G6 was confronted with fireworks, thousands of people and side show rides to name just a few of the challenges any show horse would normally face.  So how did he handle the event?   To Emily’s delight, like a seasoned pro, not bad for a horse broken in at 7 years then turned out for three.  

When Emily finally took delivery of G6  he had been gelded for only three months…At the ripe old age of 10 years old.  G6 is now 11 years old.  But such is the nature of the heavy horse as they are mostly very kind animals.

Heavy horses are also known to be very morish.  It is a common belief in the heavy horse world you can’t just own one.  You usually wind up with more than one in your paddock.  

They are now becoming morish in the world of Trick Riding as a whole.  Jacinta Maurer from Western Australia uses two heavy cross horses in trick riding.  Both of these horses are Clydesdale infused horses.  But getting back to Emily, she just loves her Percheron, Shire and Clydesdale cross horse G6.

The name G6 really suits the horse as he moves so well and has so much power.  For those who may not know, a G6 is otherwise known as the Gulfstream G650 and is a jet aeroplane boasting twin engines.  So let’s hope G6 flies you to the moon Emily in the nicest possible way and may all your Trick Riding dreams come true.

So dare we say heavy horses are the safest trick pony of them all?  We do! And we at Heavy Thunder Down Under National Heavy Horse Magazine don’t believe heavy horses are one trick ponies either. 

Please go to our home page at www.heavythunder.com.au for more information on these awesome animals.   Whilst they may be heavy horses, they are a large horse capable of being used in many more disciplines than they currently are. 

Please also go to www.heavythunder.com.au/ridden-shires-and-heavy-horses  for more information about ridden heavy horses.

Thanks for joining us once again and we’ll look forward to your company next time. 

Cheers

Paul and Jann