My obsession with horses began in late primary school when my dear Nan thought to send me to riding lessons at the Melbourne Showgrounds Equestrian Centre, so I didn’t die on a school camp trail ride. Little did she know what those lessons would unlock! I begged for a second term, and this was granted, that but lessons were expensive for my single Mum and Nan didn’t see it as a potential career opportunity, so after a few terms it was evident no amount of puppy dog eyes was going to get me more lessons - or a horse of my own. This was also the start of my entrepreneurial thinking.
I posed to Mum and Nan that I approach the owner of the riding school, Clayton Fredricks (who’s apparently a pretty big deal in the horsey world, I don’t really follow things like that) to see if he’d do a barter with me: a day of stable hand work in return for a lesson. Mum was bemused and said fine, and miraculously, Clayton said yes too!
I spent the following years happy as a proverbial pig up to my ears in horse manure, riding other kids horses who never seemed to have time to do it themselves, helping on the holiday programs and causing havoc on Ascot Vale Rd when we’d occasionally ride the horses bareback to 7/11. It was a very city version of how to horse, but I loved it.
There was a Clydesdale cross, Les, who I adored and he was my favourite. I rode him bareback everywhere at any opportunity and promised myself when I grew up I’d get a real Clydesdale.
Then I wanted to earn money, so left to work in a bakery, went to uni, got a job and lived my life fairly far away from horses, save the occasional trail ride.
About 10 years ago I circled back to this underlying, and unmet passion. It was always Clydesdales, so I contacted a number of Clydie breeders to see if I could volunteer to work with their horses, to make sure this really was the breed for me. I volunteered at Sandy Creek Clydesdales for about 2 years, attending heavy horse shows and learning how to drive teams of 4 and 5 horses. It was exhilarating.
Eventually, I was ready to find my heart horse, though he never came up on the sales. So someone suggested I put a wanted ad on the Clydie FB pages, which I did. And Gary, a 70-something retired rodeo rider and outback station manager, replied and said he had my unicorn in his back paddock.
Introducing Headleands Lord Lennox (for formal invitations), Lenny by day. Lenny was a then 12 year old registered Clydesdale gelding with much experience under his belt including ridden and driven classes at Canberra and Sydney Royals, visits to local nursing homes and palliative care units with Gary, doing weddings as a cart horse, a stint on The Project and generally just being a pretty epically cool dude.
Lenny was Gary’s last horse, he’d raised Lenny from a foal along with Sonny who had already been sold to another couple. It was a big relinquishment for Gary and we started a firm and fast friendship which lasts to today, Gary recently drove down to Bendigo from Northern NSW to visit Lenny here at my farm. We caught up at the Barellan Heavy Horse Festival a few years back where Lenny competed and we watched the biggest heavy horse road train (I think anywhere, like 40 horse hitch, insane!). Gary didn’t want a quick sale, and I didn’t want a quick purchase, so I travelled up to NSW several times to spend time with Len and Gaz, we visited a nursing home and competed at Sydney Royal together, Gary’s last Royal. It gives me goose bumps writing this even, I know how very special both Lenny and Gary are and how much they meant to each other, and the gravitas of Len being Gary’s last horse. I feel the weight of the obligation I’ve taken on - in a happy and humble way. I promised Gary Lenny would have his second, and last home with me, and that will definitely be the case. Gaz drove in the convoy down to Melb after Syd Royal to make sure Len got settled in his new southern digs. Special sauce.
Then began the journey to connection, which has been more epic than I realised it would be. Turns out owning a horse is completely different to working with other people’s horses! I started out quietly confident, I’ve always been a sensible and sticky rider, I don’t take silly risks but also happy to have a bit of bravado to get through the eeeeeps. I lost my confidence at a heavy horse show in Heathcote. I had the moment of realising I’d never done what I was doing, riding my own horse, no instructor, no buddies on a trail, just out there on my own. No longer a bouncy teenager. And I panicked. It’s been a journey coming back from that moment where nothing actually happened, just my brain caught up to my body and was like, this isn’t a great choice for a nearly 40-year-old…. you are a looooong way from the ground….
Len has literally never put a foot wrong, he’s such a dreamboat horse, thankfully. His chill vibe and side eye has been very helpful in helping me just focus on and move through my own anxieties, because it was very very evident it was all me and not him. My biggest fear? That Lenny would bolt and jump one of the 6 foot perimeter fences on my property. When you meet Len, you’ll see how very unlikely that fear was of ever becoming a reality! But the fear was real, no matter how unlikely.
I won’t bore you with the journey in between, but finally Len and I have come full circle and I’m back to feeling like the rider I remember being. Getting along to BDFEG is part of the goals I have had set for myself for a year or two now. Last week we rode around the camp grounds for ages, had an absolutely loverly time of it and looking forward to the rest of this years adventures. I’m hoping to get out on a trail again before the end of the year, but positive experiences are more important to me than ticking off a goal. So we will continue to go gently and make our way, as we do.
It goes without saying, I’m completely obsessed with Lenny. And Clydesdales in general. He has a FB Page (Lenny the Clydesdale) and many more friends than me. He teaches me so much, I’m humbled by his faith and trust in me. I think it’s mainly because I feed him (food is his fave thing by far), but some days I do feel there’s more to our connection than just the food. Don’t ask me questions about Len or heavy horses if you don’t genuinely want to hear EVERYTHING there is to know about them!
