This week Living Equine had the pleasure of meeting Christan Trainor of Glenhill Sporthorses, and Trainor Equestrian. Wow what an inspirational woman and fellow Equestrian for aspiring youth to be inspired by! I was lucky enough to be given a tour of Christan’s property that she owns and runs with her husband, Scott Britnell. Accompanying me on my visit was Ffiona Erskine of Ffire Photography, and once again, the photos taken speak for themselves!
Christan moved to Australia just over a decade ago from the US. In the US, she established herself as a reputable Equestrian rider, reaching and competing at 4* Eventing, and FEI Level Dressage. She also made the longlist for the US Olympic Team. Christan made the move to Australia after meeting her Aussie hubby, and only had the one OTT horse to continue her equine endeavours with. The property where Glenhill Sporthorses and Trainor Equestrian is run from, was built about 5 years ago, completely from the ground up by Christan and Scott, and they continue to be the only two workers keeping the daily cogs rolling, and excelling.
Days at Glenhill Sporthorses and Trainor Equestrian, start at 6 am for the morning feed up of 40 horses, and at the moment, lessons, horse training, vet checks and visits, and foaling are all a daily occurence; all followed by an arvo feed run at the end of the day of all equines. I personally know what kind of effort and sheer hard yakka is required for all these tasks to be conducted each and everyday, and it is of true credit to both Christan and Scott for being able to continue running their businesses. From speaking to Christan, I can see that the drive, like with many Equestrians, comes from a deep passion and love for what they are doing. The fact that Christan finds the time to be Secretary of Eventing NSW, and together with Scott, run the Southern Highlands Jump Club off their own bat, only exemplifies how much they really love horses, and are therefore able to share that with fellow Equestrians from grassroots and beyond.
One of the main focuses at the moment for them both, is breeding. In place is quite a remarkable breeding program, that Christan and Scott have established with their vet, Andrew Argyle of Wollondilly Equine. The breeding program originated from Christan breeding what she wanted to ride. Once the foals she was breeding were snapped up quite quickly by the buyers, she knew that the buyers were backing her breeding philosophy. The foals still continue to be sold very quickly to this day, and I was lucky enough to meet some of the newborns standing, and snoozing in the yard with their ET Standardbred Broodmares. One of the other key features of the breeding program, is that the Warmblood mares are the stars! Sure some of the best stallions in the world are chosen to breed to, such as Totilas, but the mares are accomplished performance mounts in their own rights before their embryos are collected and transferred into recipient Standardbred Broodmares, where they are brought to term, and then born and raised by their adoptive mums. The Standy Mares make great mums, and tend to cope well with the relentless strains of motherhood; keeping their condition well. Two of the youngest foals born recently, are Glenhill Totil Star (Totilas x New Star (Negro)), and Glenhill Starlette (Secret x Furst Heinrich). Totil Star will stay on at Glenhill, and Starlette is due to be sold any day. There are already 20 foals planned for the 2020 season, so if one of them spikes your interest, I suggest getting your interest known fast!
Upon asking Christan about her opinion on Thoroughbreds after racing, she simply replied that any breed can do anything with the right training. Whether it is Warmbloods being purpose bred to compete in the Olympic disciplines, or Thoroughbreds enjoying careers in other disciplines after their racing careers, the correct training can get them there. Christan also commented on how purpose bred horses can perform expected movements and tasks in elite competiton, with minimal strain and stress, and I couldn’t agree with these two points more.
Towards the end of the visit, I was honoured to witness Christan riding her performance horse, CJP Zikonic, or fondly called Ziggy around the stables. Ziggy is one of the performance team, set to be campaigned in 2020. He is a 6 yo Warmblood, and quite a treat to witness around an arena. It is no surprise to hear that he was Sydney Dressage’s Open Preliminary Horse Of The Year for 2019. I look forward to following Christan and her performance team’s progress and results throughout the year.
Thank you so much Christan for spending the time with Ffiona and I. I truly appreciated everything you are doing at Glenhill Sporthorses and Trainor Equestrian at the moment, and are planning for the future, and I really hope that everyone can enjoy reading this article. The photos only touch the surface of the inspiration gained!
Feature Image and Article Images courtesy of Ffire Photography
-Skye Pickering Dip. Horse Business Management.