Rangataua horse wins Taihape Trophy

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 248, 28 June 1988, Page 10

Rangataua horse wins Taihape Trophy

A ten year old ex shepherd's hack-called Telford has won the Samways Cup for the most points scored in showjumping in the Taihape region. Telford notched up the most wins, 11 in all, in the area and also had placings in Bulls Tauranga and Taupo. Gavin and Paddy Jones of Ohutu Grazing are the horse's owners and Heather Montgomery is the rider and trainer. Heather went looking for a horse to ride four years ago after a n

eleven year break from riding and was offered Telford by the Joneses. She said h e definitely wasn't a dumb horse but that he just had "no education". Telford is out of a standard bred mare by an Anglo Arab horse. "Once we'd been to one show I got the bug," said Heather. She said he went from nothing to just knocking on A Grade showjumping at the end of last season. That was after the horse had the 1987 season off with complications arising from a broken

tooth. Heather said she has just finished paying the vet bills for that episode. "When you have horses you've got holes in your shoes. The horse has to have new shoes though," said Heather. Telford and Heather's other jumper "Daddy's Girl", her father's thoroughbred mare, are enjoying a well earned rest until training starts for next season, about November. The training involves working the horses six days a week, with one day a week of

jumping. Most of the work is dressage type training though Heather and her horses specialize in showjumping. She said dressage training teaches the horse to listen to commands and to approach jumps correctly. Heather describes Telford as a small horse, just under 15.1 hands, with a short stride and a lot of character. He is rated as one of the toughest horses to ride in show jumping. Heather's two coaches, both top riders, have been reluctant to try him out, she said.