Five Minutes With... Revelwood Warmblood Stud

Amanda and Ferrero Rocher (imp) competing at the 2011 Saddleworld Dressage Festival (photo: Derek O'Leary)

Revelwood Midori - a classy three year old mare  - currently for sale on Horsezone

The successful Dutch stallion OO Seven (imp) has been purchased by Revelwood stud

This handsome Smash Hit colt is for sale on Horsezone

D'Dur (imp) is another great Revelwood stallion

Revelwood Martini - honest and flash three year old gelding - currently for sale on Horsezone

Top producing mare by Dutch stallion Uniform - for sale on Horsezone

Quando Quando (imp) is now standing at Revelwood Warmblood Stud

Gorgeous Smash Hit (imp) is siring beautiful and talented foals

Revelwood Warmblood Stud owners and managers, David and Amanda Shoobridge, are passionate about breeding, training and competing with high quality horses.  As testament to their passion for breeding top Warmbloods, David and Amanda are now standing some of the best stallions in the world at their Australian stud!

Amanda is a veterinarian and David is an EA NCAS 1 - both have ridden Warmbloods competitively at FEI level Dressage and Novice level Eventing and have represented Australia at the International University Games in Norway and Ireland.

Revelwood Stud is located on the picturesque Central Coast of New South Wales, approximately one hour north of Sydney's Central Business District and one hour south of Newcastle just off the F3 freeway. It is the ideal location for a stud- big green grassy paddocks all year round, spring fed dams and of course the perfect weather and picturesque scenery.

The 70 acre property is not only home to some of Australia's top stallions, but also broodmares and elite competiton horses. Foals are raised in a herd with special care taken to ensure their nutritional and health needs are met on a daily basis. 

Horsezone recently caught up with David and Amanda to find out more about this busy couple and their wonderful Revelwood horses...

 

David and Amanda, how did you first become involved with horses?

David: I grew up on our family property in Tasmania.  There were always some horses at home and one thing led to another!  I started riding around the farm doing  silly things like jumping in and out of the sheep yards and jumping the small round bales of hay that had finished a paddock (usually about half the size of a normal round).  If it involved speed and jumps then I was interested!   

Amanda:  Mum and I were away on a holiday when I begged to go on a trail ride.  The trail guide took a dislike to me saying that I should really learn to ride before going again or I should choose something else.  Determined to learn and revisit the trail centre, I started having lessons after school and on weekends.  A year later we went back to the same trail company to find that the unfriendly lady had been sacked! 

Have you been involved with other breeds or horse sports besides dressage?
Not really.  We have shown one of our stallions, Smash Hit successfully.  This was in order to qualify him for the Sydney Royal Easter Show – only to find that year the warmbloods had been scrapped from the program!  We have both jumped and evented a little but for the last ten or so years it’s been mostly dressage!

How did you meet and what made you decide to set up Revelwood stud?
We met when we were both at Uni.  As sad as it sounds, we met as we both had colts by the same stallion!  Revelwood evolved through the purchase of Amanda’s first mare Lanefield Beatrice.  From here other mares were purchased and fillies were bred.  We were based in Terrey Hills on 5 acres and agisting the breeding stock on a lovely property in Orange.  When the numbers escalated we knew it was time to buy a larger block so the hunt started.  Amanda was still doing Vet Science at Sydney Uni so basically, the property needed to be within a reasonable commute.  

What do you love most about Warmblood horses?
Their ability to perform.  When a good Warmblood gives 100% and the training is on track, you get a real buzz.  

What makes a great dressage horse?
Temperament, type and movement.  We focus on breeding with proven bloodlines that are known for producing riding horses of the highest calibre.  

What are some of the challenges of training dressage horses?
As a rider, you encounter loads of challenges along the way – some might be communication issues between horse and rider, some might be competition related, some might be injury related... There are loads.  But the most important thing is how you manage these issues.  If it’s training or competition, then get help.  If it’s soundness, then get really good veterinary advice.  

For us, another challenge is time management!  We struggle to fit everything we need to into a day and unfortunately, our riding horses come second to clients who need their mares bred!   

Do you each have a favourite horse?
I guess we always have favourites.  Amanda is besotted with Ferrero Rocher.  He’s the sort of horse Amanda will get off and just be floating on a high!  Destiny is also an incredibly talented mare who is proving to develop enormously giving Amanda some amazing results.  But I think her all-time-favourite is Mon Star.  ‘Meg’ is Amanda’s special horse! David has a soft spot for Highlite who we imported, sold and re-purchased, D’Dur, Florentine and now OO Seven!  Can we have this many favourites???

Which horse would you love to own and why?
I guess the obvious answer to this would be Totilas... But maybe not?  The expectation put on his rider to perform would be intense.  And as a sire he has not proven himself yet – time will tell.  Maybe Vallegro or Utopia would be pretty cool to own?! Or really, there are loads... But we’re really happy with the horses we have now!

What would each of you consider is your biggest achievement with horses so far?
Probably the most rewarding thing is seeing all the horses we have either bred or been part of their development, go on to great things in the competition arena.  The goal is to produce sport horses that are capable of being top level competition horses... So when any of our stock gets out to a competition and does well, that’s one step closer to achieving what we set out to achieve!

What's the best thing about Revelwood Stud and breeding Warmbloods?
There are a lot of good things.  Being able to change and develop our breeding program through the use of embryo transfer and the importing of top quality stallions and mares is great.  Also, by importing mares we are fast-tracking our timeline and expanding our gene pool.  But the best thing is looking at a great group of foals at the end of the breeding season!

Tell us about your stallions?
This season we have imported the Olympic stallion Quando Quando and purchased the successful Dutch stallion OO Seven.  Both stallions are recognised as being brilliant stallions in Europe so to have them in our country is a real buzz.  Quando Quando has been ranked in the top 3 of the FN rankings – something no other stallion in Australia can boast!

D’Dur and Ferrero Rocher have also been valuable acquisitions for us.  We purchased D’Dur from Gestuet Groenwohldhof with the intention of campaigning him.  For many years we have been managing the breeding of Ferrero Rocher for his previous owner, Jenny Rapson.  When Jenny approached us with an offer to buy him, it was an opportunity we wouldn’t let pass.

The Riverside foals are looking absolutely stunning and have wowed world wide breeders who have visited our stud.  It’s a pretty nice feeling to be told that we’re breeding horses that could stand out in a crowd wherever you are in the world... That’s a good feeling to have!  

The first of the Smash Hit youngsters are now under saddle and look sensational.  They have brilliant temperaments and seem very willing.  They are nice ‘lady’s horses’ generally with striking good looks and compact conformation.  

Amanda, you've had a very successful weekend at the Saddleworld Dressage Festival - tell us about that?
Ferrero Rocher and Destiny were absolutely brilliant.  Ferrero Rocher won an Advanced class and came second in the Prix St Georges.  He was absolutely awesome and gave me a great feeling.  Destiny also did very well coming second in the five year old class.  It’s a long drive to and from Melbourne so when things work out well it makes it worthwhile!  

What are your goals for the future of Revelwood Stud, your horses and other associated businesses?
We have another business called Waterview Park.  This is a business that imports and retails frozen semen to Australian breeders.  It’s a great way to develop and maintain fantastic connections in Europe.  Each year we diversify Waterview Park a little – whether it be new breeds (we now import some Welsh Pony semen) or sourcing semen from new areas such as France.  It’s great!  

For Revelwood, we want to consolidate our stock a little as we have reached a point where we have too many horses on our property... And after spending years and years developing it, we’re not moving!  Over the next few months we will have some of our favourite broodmares and youngsters up for sale here on Horsezone.  These horses wouldn’t normally be offered for sale – there are some very exciting opportunities for buyers!

We want to focus our efforts on offering the Designer Foal (embryo transfer) program for this and maybe next season and also offer breeders access to an extraordinary group of stallions here in Australia.

One item in your tack/grooming box you can't live without?
David:  My Peter Horobin Liberty saddles.  They’re just the best!!!  Amanda:  My own drawer of ‘Amanda only’ things...!!  

How do you like to relax?  
David:  I really try and get to Thredbo each year for a few days skiing.  I get to turn the phone off and have a bit of fun!

Amanda:  We manage to take a short break each year.  Earlier this year we hired a campervan (a horse truck without the horses!) and drove up the east coast of Tasmania with some friends.  Holidays now need to be family friendly!!

Do you like little dogs or big dogs?
Amanda:  I like cats! David:  I am a dog person.  Medium sized!  Amanda had Great Danes when we met – you can’t really get much bigger than them!  Super dogs, but a little big for us now.  We have a Border Collie, a Dalmatian and three cats!

 

Thank you Amanda and David for your time! We wish you a happy and safe Christmas season and all the best for you and your horses in 2012!

Quick Links

• View all Revelwood Warmblood Stud horses for sale on Horsezone
• Visit the Revelwood Warmblood Stud website for more information on all stallions