Cavalia's Newest Horse Found through Horsezone!

Jo and Rod saying farewell to Gus after dropping him off at Cavalia

Jenny Goodwin loved the Sydney Cavalia preview show

Gus looking for cuddles

The amazing Cavalia show mesmerised Brisbane audiences for nearly two months and now it's Sydney's turn! 

Horsezone's Jenny Goodwin went along to the media preview show and was very impressed, saying, "It was so easy to relax and be transported into the magical and fantastic world of Cavalia! For 45 minutes we were treated to a perfect combination of Cirque Du Soleil style performing arts with death defying trick riding, liberty work and an amazing bunch of horses. Lots of them! There was everything from Paints and Percherons to Lusitanos and Appaloosas. Cavalia is a true celebration of the beauty, strength, speed and gentleness of horses and man's relationship with them."

On the topic of the many and varied breeds in Cavalia, the latest equine to join the show is none other than one of our very own - an Australian Stock Horse who made his debut on opening night in Sydney! Most exciting of all for us, the newcomer was purchased from Horsezone's Communications Manager Jo Johnson and her partner Rod Flynn.

"We are thrilled that Rodvale Augustus, aka Gus (named for Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove because he's so cool like Robert Duval!) has joined the team at Cavalia!" said Jo, "Rod bred him (Rodvale Fair Dinkum x Alchera Lady) and he was always a special horse, big and handsome with a beautiful temperament. I often said he had 'star' quality and Rod would roll his eyes! After seeing the movie 'War Horse' I thought he was very like the main horse that played Joey and decided he would be a perfect movie horse, however, before he went off to grace the silver screen he was snapped up by Cavalia, which is even better."

"The horses at Cavalia are treasured and treated like total VIPs so Gus has fitted in very well. He loves people and is always up for a cuddle, he's become a firm favourite with the grooms and riders."

"Gus made his debut on opening night in Sydney and for those who do the stable tour (which I highly recommend) please say a big 'hi' to Gus! He's going to end up a long way from rural South East Queensland, where he was born and had lived until going to Cavalia. He will travel the world and proudly fly the Aussie flag. Hope he sends us postcards!"

This is not the first horse that Rod and Jo have sold to the entertainment industry, in 2005 they sold two geldings, Mr Darcy and Skylark, both by Rodvale Fair Dinkum (Mr Darcy is a full brother to Gus) to the Australian Outback Spectacular show. Both horses are still going strong and remain stars of that show.

More about Cavalia

Cavalia’s horse training is based upon a philosophy of understanding horses, rather than making horses understand the humans around them. The tone of the show, embraced by the entire company, is one of mutual respect, kindness, patience, and trust. Audiences have found Cavalia exhilarating in scope, yet touching in the compassion shown by both horse and human.

Cavalia features 47 horses hailing from Canada, Europe, Australia and the USA and 36 riders, aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians from around the world. Under a 35-metre-tall tent, the two and four-legged performers share the colossal 50-metre-wide stage in front of a constantly changing 60-metre-wide digital screen, drawing spectators into a dream-like world.

Quick Links

• Watch ABC interview with fabulous Cavalia rider, Fairland Ferguson and see footage of Gus at Cavalia
• View videos from the Cavalia preview show
• Visit the Cavalia Photo Gallery
• Buy tickets to the show