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Five Minutes With... Cheryl O'Brien - EA Owner of the Year

Published on Sunday, June 9, 2013 in Stallionzone

Cheryl and Lauries As

In April this year, Equestrian Australia gathered over 200 guests to celebrate equestrian sport's most successful, dedicated and extraordinary members of 2012. As well as acknowledging the top performing athletes and horses, the evening also recognised the sport’s most outstanding individuals in other roles, including Owner of the Year.

To her delight, the 2012 Owner of the Year was awarded to Queenslander Cheryl O'Brien. Well known throughout the Australian Dressage community, Cheryl is the operator of Remi Stud which breeds Hanoverian performance horses . Cheryl owns the beautiful and very talented, imported dressage stallions, Fishermans Friend and Lauries As, plus a wide selection of top quality mares. Her quiet determination to upgrade the standard of performance horse breeding in Australia, incorporating the high German standards, sets her apart.

We caught up with Cheryl to find out more.

Congratulations, Cheryl, on winning the 2012 EA Owner of the Year Award! How did you first become involved with horses?

I was one of those horse-crazy young girls from a totally non-horsey family who had to design their own horse to ride! I was only 8 years old.  My childhood horse was the upstairs bannister in my parent’s house that I decorated with pillows, ropes and used coits as stirrups.  I spent many hours there ‘riding’ my horse and reading my very first horse book “Learning to Ride”.  At 10 years old, during school holidays, my Aunt took me for my first ride on a real horse at a local riding school and from then on, my love of horses became a passion.  I didn’t have my own horse for some years, but I used to ride any old horse in a paddock that I could catch.  Crazy stuff when I think of it now!

When I was 13, my family moved to Lae University in Papua New Guinea, and true to form, I found a horse, and used to ride him whenever I could sneak over to his paddock.  Eventually my parents realised that this passion wasn’t going to go away, and that first Christmas they bought him for me.  His name was Markham Bacardi, he was a grey purebred Arab gelding by Mischief Mine/Sheba Again by Zadaran.  We did everything together.  We jumped, played polocrosse, competed in games, hacked, showed, and were the best of friends.  In fact, he carried me to three Champion Lady Rider titles in as many years.  We were attacked a few times by some locals in PNG while out riding, and even jumped into a sewerage pond together! Oh, those were the days! Sadly, after five years, my family moved back to New Zealand and I wasn’t able to bring Bacardi with me.  I was absolutely devastated, but am happy to say that I visited PNG 10 years later, and was taken to the 100 acre paddock where he was retired.  I saw him in the distance, called to him as I used to, and he immediately pricked his ears and came trotting over to me.  Needless to say, I was a blubbering mess! The memory of your first horse never leaves you.

Fishermans Friend and Tor Van den Berge

(Photo: Derek O'Leary)

How did your love of dressage and breeding begin?

My dressage years didn’t begin until I moved to Australia in the early 1980s, and it had to revolve around family and business.  My first dressage horses were both Thoroughbreds, one was a gelding by Lunchtime, and the other was the beautiful mare, Double Dyed Rose.  Due to business commitments (we owned 24 hour/7 day Roadhouses in those days), I only had the opportunity to compete at the lower levels of dressage, and it wasn’t long before I didn’t even have the time to ride two horses.  And that is when I started breeding horses!

My passion for breeding started as a young child though, and I think I must have driven my parents mad as I bred every pet that we owned – from Siamese fighting fish to guinea pigs, and in later years chickens, parrots and Irish Setters. I still have two Irish Setters originating from my first breeding 35 years ago!

Double Dyed Rose was my first broodmare and she has produced a dynasty for me over the years.  I was fortunate that the stallion I found to breed her to was a registered  Hanoverian stallion called Winterkoenig (imp).  I guess luck played a big part for me in those days having never bred horses before, but this choice of stallion then set me on the road to breeding within a Studbook, in my case the Hanoverian Studbook, something that I firmly advocate to all new breeders. The resulting foal was a black filly we called Remi Winter Solstice (aka Buka) and she had the distinction of being the very first horse in Australia to receive the new Hanoverian brand. That was in 1993 when she was 3 years old.  Buka went on to have 13 foals before she died last year at 22 years of age.  I still have her daughter, Remi Lambuca (by Lanthan), and other descendants, in my breeding program today.

Remi Stud Youngsters

What do you look for when choosing a stallion or mare for breeding?

As previously mentioned, I breed within the Hanoverian Studbook, therefore all stallions that I breed to have undertaken the Stallion Performance Test in Germany, and have been accepted for breeding.  This is no easy task, and therefore gives a strong foundation on which to select a stallion.  Nearly three centuries of recorded history has allowed the bloodlines of Hanoverian stallions to be documented.  Knowing the traits inherited from each respective bloodline is a valuable tool when breeding performance horses.

I breed mainly for the disciplines of dressage and eventing, and all my broodmares are put under saddle and undergo their Mare Performance Tests before being bred. I use this information as a guide when selecting a prospective stallion.  A breeding program should be based on strong foundations, and thought about in generations.  In Australia, the majority of dressage riders are amateurs, and mostly ladies, therefore rideability and temperament are the two most important traits I select for.  I don’t want to breed a horse with spectacular movement if it doesn’t have the temperament to be able to ride it.  That is a recipe for heartbreak!!   

I have imported two Hanoverian stallions over the past few years, Lauries As and Fishermans Friend, and they were both selected for their amazing temperaments (Fish scored 9 and Ace scored a perfect 10 in their respective Stallion Performance tests).  As I am breeding performance horses, I believe that a breeding stallion should be out competing under saddle, and therefore both Fish and Ace compete all year round, and then breed during the breeding season.  This is the best testament for a successful breeding stallion.  A lot of breeders in Australia tend to select their stallions based on fashion, and to hope to command high prices for their foals by breeding to the ‘flavour of the month’.  Whilst I also use new and ‘fashionable’ stallions from time to time, I am careful to breed these stallions to strong mare lines where I know the temperament is well established.  I believe that the mare contributes 60% towards the foal, and therefore a good mare is vital if you want to have a successful breeding program. 

Cheryl with her Owner of the Year Award

How did you feel about winning Owner of the Year and what makes this Award special to you?  

I was absolutely amazed and very honoured to be given such a prestigious award.  I love being an owner, not just of my two stallions, but I also love to support the new owners of our Remi horses.  What I particularly love is being part of a team that has the same interests, and whilst been professional and competitive, it is also fun.  Both Fish and Ace, and a couple of youngsters, are based with Team Van den Berge.  Tor and Mel run a very professional barn, and we all understand that the success of any competition horse is a team effort.  I wouldn’t have been awarded Owner of the Year if it weren’t for the support of the whole team.  They, and their staff, are second to none! To be acknowledged for something that you love is truly remarkable, but it is a team effort, so not only would I like to thank EA for this wonderful award, but also Tor, Mel and all their staff at Team Van den Berge. 

What do you enjoy most about being an owner and how could other owners get involved with the sport?

Lauries As and Tor Van den Berge

I’m a bit like a groupie at dressage competitions, and love to watch my horses competing. We sometimes take a picnic basket to the competitions filled with cheese, bikkies and other goodies, and not to mention the wine/champagne to wash them down.  It’s nice to make the day a social one.  After all, if Black Caviar’s owners can have such a good time watching their horse compete, why can’t we? I would love to see more people involved in supporting the dressage community, and would encourage anyone who is unable to ride but still wants to be involved, to become an owner.

There are so many horse-loving people who would love to be involved in the horse community, but for different reasons cannot ride now, or don’t have the facility to keep a horse. Perhaps they can breed a foal or purchase a youngster, and have the pleasure of watching it grow up and then compete; or they can purchase a talented horse under saddle and give it to a rider who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford such a good horse. Perhaps there are older people who are physically unable to look after a horse themselves, but have the time and capital to support a talented rider?  There are numerous scenarios, but the one thing I know is – it's fun! It's fun to be involved as an owner, especially without the day to day work and care that goes with owning a horse.     

Another option for someone who just wants to be involved is to purchase a horse as a syndicate.  It is not something that is commonplace in the dressage industry, but I don’t see why it can’t be. It is very popular in the racing industry, and again, I refer to Black Caviar’s owners! What a ride they have been on – and continue to be with breeding now! If anyone is interested in forming a syndicate I am happy to help share knowledge and advice if required.  Let's get together and make this industry as exciting as it is in Europe.

Have I already said that I love being an OWNER?!

What do you see for the future of Dressage in Australia?

Perhaps the EA could form an Owners Support Group where prospective owners can come for advice?  Committees at the bigger competitions could set aside an area for owners to congregate, share a drink or two, and have some fun talking horses. Make it fun and social! General audiences at competitions also need to be increased, so perhaps provide entertainment at the competitions, make all presentations mounted with music, ensure the whole day is entertaining!!  I understand that our hard-working committees don’t need any more work at the competitions, so perhaps owners can form social groups themselves within each State?  I would love to see the whole industry become revitalised but to do so it must be entertaining – and fun! I know I really enjoy it, and I am sure that many others would too if they only knew how to become involved.

Lauries As with his team!

What are your future plans for Remi Stud?

I am really enjoying the ride at the moment with my two stallions, Fishermans Friend and Lauries As, not only at competitions, but also in the breeding barn. Whilst Fish has already been very successful at Grand Prix, Lauries As is snapping at his heels now with many successes at Small Tour.  He is amazing to watch under saddle, and looks to be extremely exciting for the future.  Tor is doing a super job training him, and we are currently planning when he will step out at Grand Prix. He is a talented horse so it won’t be far away. Ace’s progeny are just coming under saddle now and look to be very exciting, and Fish’s oldest in Australia are now five years old, although he has already produced a number of Grand Prix horses in many different countries. He is a very international stallion! It is very exciting to go to the competitions and watch all their babies out competing. We are also now producing foals by Lauries As out of Fishermans Friend mares, so the breeding program is certainly developing. It is very rewarding!  

On another level, we currently have an exciting project underway at the moment called the ‘Remi Stud Young Rider Scholarship’.  This is a new venture we are putting the final touches on at the moment, but it will be announced officially very shortly. We want to support our young riders, so together with other supporters of this project, we are providing a scholarship for a talented young rider every year.  Watch this space for the official announcement! For the more distant future, we are looking to purchase another stallion to add to our breeding program, so perhaps a trip to Germany will shortly be required. Whatever we purchase though, will have big shoes to fill!

Thank you so much for your time Cheryl! Congratulations again on winning the award and we look forward to following the future achievements of Fishermans Friend, Lauries As and all the Remi Stud horses.

If you are keen to become an owner, the Australian Dressage Committee (ADC) and EA are working together to attract and support owners. "We recognise that owners make one of the biggest commitments to the sport," says ADC member Dr Kerry Mack.

"The ADC and Julia Battams hosted an informal gathering of owners at the CDI in Sydney. We expect to make these meetings a regular event. This was very well received and gave us an opportunity to introduce ourselves and ask owners what we can all do to help them enjoy the sport. At the end of the day it is enjoying the sport which will keep people involved."

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By: Jo Johnson/Horsezone


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