12-year-old bay Gelding Collude might not have excelled on the racetrack, but in this week’s Andrew Hoy Off The Track Masterclass at EQUITANA, he will have his time to shine.
Trained in country Victoria by Michael Madden, Collude raced 17-times and won a grand total of $6,522 in prizemoney.
Following his retirement in 2015, he was given to Lisa Coffey to work in her track rider program.
Coffey soon recognised his talent as a jumper and his former trainer Madden claimed Collude was “The best jumper that he has ever had”.
Young rider Charlotte Flood met Collude by chance when visiting Coffey to borrow a saddle. The track rider program was in a break and Coffey mentioned that she thought Collude would have a great future in eventing.
Once the then 14-year-old Flood rode Collude for the first time that day, she knew he would be her next best friend.
With the help from some amazing coaches, including Robbie Allen, Jenny Crowley, Simon Tainsh, and Scarlett Blakeley, the pair have gone from competing at Pony Club Grade 4 at the start of 2016, to the Melbourne Three Day Event in the Junior 1* this year.
In the first 12 months of working with Collude, despite good work and feed, he struggled to gain muscle over his back. With the help of equine physio and chiropractor Pearl Cazabon, and equine nutritionist Erika Gough, Collude’s shape completely transformed.
Flood is thrilled to have been selected to work with Andrew Hoy at EQUITANA this week and is looking forward to seeing how far the pair can grow together.
“We are super excited to have the awesome opportunity to be involved in EQUITANA 2018 with the support of Racing Victoria’s Off The Track program,” said Flood.
“I love working with Collude, his chilled temperament, willingness, and trainability is outstanding. And I can’t wait to work with many more retired racehorses in the future.
“As you can see, Collude is surrounded by a team who loves and looks after him – he is very special.”