Behind the Stable Door - Aussie Jumping rider makes presence felt in USA

“Behind the Stable Door” is a new series focussed on the backstory of riders and their horses that have enjoyed success in major events.

Australian showjumper Rowan Willis reflects on what is probably the biggest win of his career in the Longines Grand Prix at the CSIO 5 * Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Ocala, Florida earlier this month. Riding his own chestnut mare, Blue Movie, he went double clear and his final round time of 47.46 sec was enough to win the $US265,000 event. He beat some of the best riders in the US including Devin Ryan and Laura Kraut. Fellow Aussie Scott Keach and Fedor finished 8th in the event.
Equestrian Australia's High Performance Director Chris Webb said the win capped off a huge week for Australian riders on the international stage; "We had Jamie Kermond place in the Longines Grand Prix at the Hong Kong Masters last week and now this brilliant result for Rowan all in the space of seven days. The great form of our jumping riders augurs well for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 in the US in just over six months time."

It must have been a great thrill to win the CSI5* Grand Prix at Ocala recently?

“Yes, absolutely! I have wanted to come and compete in the USA for a while and could have only dreamed of starting off with a win as big as a 5* Grand Prix (GP). I always knew that my horse is very special having already won 3* and 4* GPs and was definitely capable of doing something like this, but actually winning the GP felt unbelievable.”

Take us through the final winning round and how Blue Movie felt?

“I was first to go in the jump-off which is always difficult, as you have to decide how much risk and speed to take in order to be at the top. But luckily Blue Movie is naturally very fast, I usually have more work making her wait than letting her go. She felt incredible that day, she always puts all her effort into jumping and is very careful. On Friday everything just seemed to be in place for a great win. When she is on form, she is very hard to beat.”

Explain a bit about your preparation leading up to this win?

“My horses arrived in Florida at the beginning of January. They had a bit of downtime at the end of last year and then just some weeks on the water walker but no riding. They had time to acclimatise and were showing at HITS in Ocala for two weeks prior to the big win doing one or maximal two classes per week. That way they started to become jumping fit again but still stayed fresh enough for the bigger shows to come. That seems to have worked.”

What are the plans beyond this event? What’s next?

“Right now I am at the CSI5* in Wellington. After that my horses will have a little break before the next big event, the one million dollar GP in California in March. The week after that I will be back in Ocala for the one million dollar GP there. I would love to compete at the GCT in Miami, but a lot of things will have to fall into place for that to happen, so we will have to see.

In April I plan to return to England to compete a couple of horses I left there, giving these horses in America a bigger break.

If everything goes well, I would like to go and compete at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada. Then of course, the World Equestrian Games are this year in September in Tryon.”

How are you feeling in the longer term about WEG this year and how focused are you on that?

”It’s definitely an aim, I hope I will have two horses capable of competing there. My plan in spending this year competing in America was to have the best preparation for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon. I will have the opportunity to compete in Tryon prior to WEG and compete against the top American riders weekly, who I feel are one of the strongest nations at the moment.”

Australian riders have had plenty of success of late on the international stage including Jamie Kermond and Billy Raymont in Hong Kong. How fulfilling is it for you to see that?

“It is great to have a few Australians doing well internationally at the moment, Scott Keach also finishing 8th in the 5*GP in Ocala from a large field mostly consisting of previous championship medal winners.”

Tell us a bit about the owner(s) of Blue Movie?

“I bought Blue Movie when she was five together with my parents, David and Elsa, and my sister, Renée as well as Michael Jackson and Warren Coventry from my hometown Armidale. Michael and Warren were actually there last week when we won, which was great.

My family lives in Australia, but we usually meet up somewhere in the world once a year, mostly for horse related events. They are very supportive of what I do from afar. Michael and Warren would also come and find me about once a year on one of their many adventures around the world.”

How long have you been based overseas?

“In March I will have been overseas for 19 years. It is unbelievable how quickly time passes. I was only 19 when I arrived in England to start working for Fred and Sue Welsh, with whom I stayed with for 14 years, before I set off by myself.

I do miss Australia but unfortunately to compete at the top level in this sport you have to be based in Europe or America.”

Article courtesy of Equestrian Australia