Five Minutes With... Team KEA's Rochelle & Greg

Greg and Rochelle after winning Australian Champion Colt with Angela Duperouzel’s Judah El Maraahn

Challenger Jacaranda

Rochelle and Christina King - Andrews

JA Eloise Australian Champion filly

Allesandra & Rochelle, Greg, JA and Angela Rogers

FEI Small Tour Horse, Challenger Aachilles, is currently for sale on Horsezone! View listing here

The tribe!

Rochelle and her dogs Arke and Icebear

King Equestrian Academy (KEA) is an exclusive, Dressage and Arabian show horse training facility, nestled in the Hawkesbury valley just 45 minutes from Sydney. 

KEA Horse Training Stable combines four of Australia’s Leading trainers under one banner - Rochelle and Christina King - Andrews, Greg Andrews and UK Import Kate Westerman.

The team at KEA has one objective: to make winning and enjoying your dressage and show horse a part of your lifestyle. With their support, you have access to all the opportunities in the dressage and Arabian show horse world at your fingertips - plus they are so close to Sydney you also get a sea change in one short trip!

Horsezone caught up with Greg and Rochelle to find out more about this talented and dedicated couple.

How did you become involved with horses?

Greg: I became involved with horses through my dad, who was a stockman. He gave me my first horse when I was four years old!

Rochelle: On the way home from school, my brother Adam and I used to feed our lunch sandwiches to an old horse in a undeveloped housing estate. We soon started climbing the fence and sitting on him. That began a love affair for both of us from the tender age of five. Starting out I helped Adam with his Arabians (and so met Greg!). My first super dressage horse was an Arabian mare, then when I was sixteen I got a job and a loan and bought my first Warmblood, a Hannoverian stallion named Challenger.

Have you always been into dressage and showing?

Greg: I was given my dressage horse Challenger Jacaranda as a gift from Rochelle! Rather a sly gift when I don’t really ride anymore. I used to campdraft and do stock work before showing Arabians.

Rochelle: No other sports for me. I’ve always been a dressage princess! Unless you count riding at top speeds with my 6 brothers and sisters as a sport when we were kids? Bareback!

What makes a great dressage and/or show horse?

Temperament first and always. For the Arabian show horse they have to want to show off and still have the ability to  focus solely on their handler. We say temperament because at the end of the day no one wants a horse that makes life unpleasant and if they don’t want to work it’s not so much fun to come to the stables to train with them! For dressage we like superb conformation, particularly well set necks and excellent coupling. If the horse has natural suspension on top of a trainable, rideable temperament and great conformation, life is so much easier for the rider!

Favourite horses that you have worked with?

Greg: Judah EL Maraahn, Marcella el Saba and JA Eloise.

Rochelle: My first love Challenger and my current horses Challenger Jacaranda And Challenger Jamellia.

If you could each own any horse in the world who would it be?

Greg: Marwan El Shaqab

Rochelle: Owning Valegro wouldn’t be too bad!

What would you each consider as the most outstanding achievement in your equestrian careers?

Greg: With the Arabians probably recently winning several Australian Championships for owners who have struggled and strived and bred these horses themselves. It was the most incredible buzz to take their horses to the top and to see the totally thrilled joy on someone’s face for achieving their ultimate goal!

Rochelle: Amongst all the wins and great scores, the first phone calls when I got on a squad would be my favourite ‘I am doing it ok’ moments!

What makes KEA a bit different to other training facilities?

When we first set up KEA, we had a goal that no one we worked with would have to learn things the long way around or the hard way, basically we wanted them to skip all the mistakes we made! We never want our owners to feel alone or worried. One of the best things about KEA is amongst our students there is a very strong team feeling. They give each other a full support that we love. We often see students and clients making friends and meeting at shows to help each and support each other. It is such a very hard sport and can be so taxing physically and emotionally. Often the financial side can be the hardest so having mates that you can chew over problems or laugh with makes it so much better. We are here to make the journey easier. We have a deep belief in looking after people so they are safe and well on the way to their goals.

What do you enjoy most about training horses and giving lessons?

Rochelle: Oh what a great question! What do we love about training horses? Being amongst these beautiful creatures and in the gorgeous outdoors and seeing them improve every day .Sometimes it’s great to take a pic when they come in and then one at their first show and you can really see how hard we have worked! Being a coach is a deep responsibility that we take very seriously, from the actual lesson itself to mapping competition strategies and feeding plans. Coaching is one of my most abiding passions.

Rochelle, what are some of the challenges you face attending such a variety of events with a young baby thrown into the mix?

Hahaa!! The million dollar question! Having baby Allesandra meant more to us than anything we have ever experienced with horses, and boy, it really shook things up at the stables! We suddenly needed so much extra help, every time we compete we must have someone to help with baby, every time we teach or ride or train any horse we need a baby sitter. The challenges seem inexhaustible! Particularly in light of the fact that I would like to be with Allesandra every moment!

We did cut down from a large business to somewhere between boutique and mid-size!  After two years of competing every weekend and not much sleep with baby, we decided to focus only on dressage competitions and Arabians and of course baby! We now feel that we can manage. I started competing again last week, only to be beaten by my daughter, Christina who scored 72% and I was way behind on 71%! We now have three lovely friends - who incidentally are clients and students - Carmel, Kristen and Kati, who Allesandra will happily play with while mummy competes.

Horse-related goals for the future?

Greg: I have had offers to train and compete in Europe, however, we are waiting until Allesandra is older and I then hope to compete at the European competitions.

Rochelle: I would like to enjoy competing in Australia and begin to take training stints in Europe again when baby is old enough to come!

Horse sport you'd love to try?

Rochelle: Reining for sure! I took a Quarter Horse colt in training before becoming pregnant with Allesandra and trained him by watching a few comps on you tube! Looked super fun – sort of western dressage!

If you have spare time how do you relax?

We love to go into Sydney and explore with the girls, eat great lunches or if we can’t get away, sit on our verandah and watch the sun go down over the mountains.

What would you each be doing if you didn't have a career with horses?

Greg: I think I would be a cattleman.

Rochelle: After loving having the two girls so much, I’d probably be a super mum of ten babies!!

Thank you so much for your time Greg and Rochelle! We wish you and your family all the best for the future and look forward to hearing of many more successes!

Quick Links

• Visit the KEA website for more information on training and lessons
• View Challenger Aachilles advertisement on Horsezone