Author Archives: Sally

Sally’s Interview on Horse Chats

Not sure how long it will be online for, but here am I being interviewed by Glenda from Horse Chats. This was previously published in 2017, and re-published by Popular Demand.

Sally discusses being open minded with horses, training and riding ‘A Spider Bite’ and other horses

Sally’s Favourite Inspirational Quote:

“Horses should be happy in their lifestyle. They should be sound and happy in their brain and body so that they are happy and willing to work with you.”

Who Has Inspired Sally:

Nuno Oliveria
Sandra Pearson-Adams
Barry Miller

Time Stamps:

00:50 – Horses should be happy in their lifestyle. They should be sound and happy in their brain and body so that they are happy and willing to work with you.
01:48 – How Sally’s sister started Sally with horses
04:55 – Horse racing and track work using eventing principles
07:40 – Being open minded, and willing to learn and adapt to different disciplines
09:11 – About dressage and lightness
11:50 – Sally’s dressage horses
13:10 – About ‘A Spider Bite’
14:33 – Winning Sydney CDI, PSG & Inter I
16:45 – How Ballina Shire Council interrupted Sally plans for her property
23:10 – The happiness and soundness of the horse, think like a horse
31:20 – Competing and coaching
32:10 – Don’t take things too seriously, enjoy and learn from life

Sydney CDI 3* 2017

Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston

We were just thrilled with CC at Sydney CDI – just amazing considering our lead up training to this show!!! I have been mostly working in a paddock on a slope at our new home. Not the best preparation, but CC just put it together.

I had some wonderful help from Sue Hearn at the show. She really helped CC put on her dancing shoes!!!!!!

The old team is back together to prepare on competition day – Peter and Sally. Except Charlie had to come with us… But after a day or so he just fit right in with the top dogs… He had a gangster jacket on and a diamond studded collar.

Here our results:

FEI Intermediate Freestyle (CDI 3*) 68.17% (second)
Prix St Georges (CDI 3*) 66.66% (sixth)

Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston

Greetings from Winni

Here is Kerrie and Fred (Winni) in their lesson. Kerrie says she just adores her. I am so happy Winni, one of our A’Seduction Babies, has a lovely life near Canberra.

SDS Summer Holiday

Charlie trying to help hand-pick CC.

Sally and Peter are temporarily staying in Toowoomba, Queensland, till January. The whole SDS team is. Charlie, the two cats and the two chooks are all coming to terms with this so-called “SDS Summer Holiday”. Soon we will re-establish in the Northern Rivers of NSW, riding again on the BEACHES.

In the meantime, we’ve had some luck with our boy Hefner winning a race at the Sunshine Coast. Hefner does a mix of dressage schooling and hill work and then the racetrack workouts too!!! He’s a pretty happy boy.

Transitioning SDS to rebuild in 2017

Sally Evans with A Spiderbite at Rodrigo Matos Dressage Clinic at SDS

With CC at Rodrigo Matos Clinic at home at SDS, 11.9.2016

Riding my beautiful mare CC is what keeps me going through these difficult times. These are our last few weeks here on our Equestrian Centre that we have built up over many years before it is being taken over by the Roads and Maritime Services. All will then be bulldozed soon to make way for a new highway. Our focus now is on this mediation and court process, to have our life’s work Sally’s Dressage Stables valued for what it is: a working Equestrian Centre where we have trained FEI level dressage horses, where we have bred Warmblood horses, where we have trained students and their horses for dressage, and where we have prepared some Thoroughbreds for racing as well as retrained them for their careers after racing. We will be moving this month to temporary premises before we can start anew and rebuild in 2017.

Competing at Tweed, and Teaching in Nana Glen

CC at Brisbane CDI 2015, Emma Morley Photography

Wish I had some pics of CC as at the Tweed dressage Championships last Sunday. She won the Inter 1 with a 67%, that is her PB. I was very happy with her. And Penny did a 68% in the medium for a very close second place.

I am coaching this weekend at Nana Glen Eventing Clinic. I am taking Peter with me as they have me booked in to a Winery to stay Friday and Saturday night, so I am forcing him to have a break!!! Poppy is coming here to look after SDS. She is bringing her young horse Spida. She came last weekend for a mini boot camp with him. He is a lovely boy, she will have a great future with him.

Snap for Sale

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A'Seduction, in canter training at SDS

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A’Seduction, March 2016

For sale …. My yummy 4yo Snap Decision nearly 16.1 now, very lovely laid back attitude. Beautifully trainable. By A’seduction out of Don Herr bloodlines mare. I must sell him as we have the Pacific Highway coming through our place. 0402078882

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A’Seduction, March 2016

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A'Seduction, in trot training at SDS

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A’Seduction, March 2016

A Snap Decision (Snap) born 2011, by A’Seduction. March 2016

A Micro Holiday with our Dear Friends

Patti on Penny and Nick on Leg, Patches Beach Feb 2016

Patti on Penny and Nick on Legs, Patches Beach Feb 2016

Last Friday, it was the perfect afternoon for the most lovely ride on the beach.

Our beautiful friends from the USA, Patti and Nick, visit us every year, and they made history this time with a ride on the beach, riding Miss Penny and her Mommy, Legs!! Penny still knows and loves her Mum and it was very special to see her enjoy her company on such a gorgeous day……

In this next amazing pic there is Peter fishing and right in the distance are Patti and Nick riding along the edge of the waves.

You see, I said to Peter that whilst our friends were riding, we could have like a ‘Micro Holiday’……… yep, you might be thinking very funny Sal, but it is true and we actually did have a nice little break, just from every day grind.

Our Micro Holiday on Patches Beach

I also took these very hilarious snap shots of our super dog Charlie, and it was just when he was standing right next to me and we were both watching Peter in the ocean fishing, and as I looked down at him, his ears were fluttering out from his face because of the wind, and as the end photo shows, it looks like he is about to Take Off, Flight 810 due for Hawaii!!!!!

Charlie

Our year ahead

Sally’s Dressage Stables at dusk, February 2016

Here are some pictures of our place taken from our front veranda, what a scene, just a bit of a reminder that we will not be here on this beautiful place for too much longer as the RMS is going to buy our place and we will have to move and set up again somewhere else.

The one of A Snap Decision is with Carissa riding him just the other day. Snap has got his Father’s laid back attitude, and yet is showing so much potential, he will be such a Star!!

I will be offering him and A Heaven Sent for sale soon. Both are super horses and have fantastic attributes to train and compete through to Grand Prix. Pretty soon I will do some video of both and they will be on the market. This is mainly due to the RMS taking our place for the new highway from Sydney to Brisbane.

I think that I might even have to give the Sydney CDI a miss this year due to the many different pressures we are going to endure. Maybe some good will come out of this!!

A Snap Decision with Carissa, January 2016

A Secret for sale

Secret, warmblood gelding, by A'Seduction, Sally's Dressage Stables

Secret by A’Seduction as a 3yo in 2015

This is our last young boy by our grand Prix stallion A’Seduction. He is out of a Trakehner from the F-line. He is rising 3yo and about 15.3 hands now, which will make him a peeerfect height for competition, I think he will make around 16.2.

Secret is his name, and he has been under saddle and showed us that he has a very sensible head on his shoulders and therefore training him should be a fun journey.

He is for sale at the present moment for $15,000.00. I would like to do some more training on him over the Xmas break, maybe just some in hand work and a bit of lunging, then next year back into riding him. He is very sweet and a very nice mover, in his trot he seems to like to give the medium trot, you know “show off” stuff. J

If you think you might be interested in this fellow, please feel free to give me a call on 040207 888 2.

We also are training our racehorse over the summer break. I have been doing a lot of beach riding on him, he really enjoys this. It’s quite funny as the bush track we ride out along has got plenty of entertainment, a kinda like de-sensitising of the racehorse. We have seen wallabies, a big grey kangaroo, a huge goanna, snakes of course – it would’nt be an Australian Bush without, and last few weeks we have had black cockatoos flying over us, about 15 of them, and then on the beach we have seen the eagles. Well I guess I get to see them not so much Hef, our racehorse, since he is looking at the sand and surf….. We have even had 2 hornets fly past us, going extremely fast.

We are racing this Saturday, fingers crossed!!!!!! He should be the most trained and quietist race horse heading out onto the track, nothing should scare him!!!!

Peter Evans leading his racehorse to the track

Peter and our racehorse Hefner

Far North Coast NSW Dressage Championships

Penny (A Heaven Sent) by Grand Prix Stallion A'Seduction, in training at Sally's Dressage Stables in 2012

Penny in training at SDS

Last weekend we went to the Far North Coast NSW Dressage Championships. I competed in the Advanced with Penny and did the Small Tour with CC. The girls went really well and Pen came a close second and third and C of course won both her classes. She did do a really good PSG, even scoring a 9!! and she got some supa comments from the judges.

This Sunday we have the TVEG Power of Pink Day, a day to remember Sue, as she always did this event to raise money for breast cancer. So we are taking the 2 girls again and doing the same classes. And the EA has given an excemption so we are allowed to dress up in our pink outfits and compete!!!!!! This will be good fun.

For Sue

Sue, Sally and CC

It is with a very deep and heavy dark heart that I have to say a final goodbye to a very dear friend of mine, Sue Macdonald. Sue was the co-owner of our beautiful FEI mare CC, who competes under the name of A Spider Bite.

Sue absolutely loved CC and came to every competition with me for the last 5 years. In 2012 Sue bought into a half share owning CC with me. Well, that was just the beginning of a tremendous lovable journey for Sue, CC and me, and it also included all of my team of horses here at SDS. Sue helped me to transport and prepare the horses for all the shows and CC was a major part of this production.

I will miss Sue very very much. Sue gave us all the will to be positive and just Go On!!!! with LIFE.

Sue Macdonald

Sue, Sally and CC

Michaela on Sydney, Sue and Sally on CC

Sue, Sally and CC at “Power of Pink Dressage” of the Tweed Valley Equestrian Group in 2013

Arena

This is our little Arena we bred, and now she is doing very well just started with the show ring.

Leannda Scott now owns and trains and competes Ellie. Her show name is ‘Keeping Secrets’.

“We took her up to Maryborough Show Horse Council Country Hack Championships on the weekend and she was amazing. She got Champion Newcomer Galloway, Runner Up First Season Galloway, and then got 5th in her open. She is such an amazing little horse. Everyone keeps telling me she looks amazing going and I finally saw that this weekend,” says Leannda.

Brisbane CDI 16-19 July 2015

Finally some new professional pix from our CC, taken by Emma Morley at the Brisbane CDI.

Out competing with them all

Sally Evans and Godspeed (Scuba) out competing

Sally and Godspeed (Scuba). Photo: Emma Morley

Okay, all well, just forget about me and the Sydney CDI, as we just should not have put the mare on the float. Well, I have learnt a big lesson, folks, don’t go to a big show just for the sake of it… when you have a terrible cold. As I was so sick that I believe that Spider Bite felt this lacklustre energy from me, and, well, history says it all, we did not even run into a placing, we fell way down with our scores. Horrible horrible horrible…

The only good thing to come out of this was the chance I had to have some lessons from Mary Hanna. I thoroughly enjoyed these and Mary gave me some great ideas with CC. Since then we have done a couple of PB scores at Small Tour. And all this training has folded into my other horses at home in training and in competition. Then to polish off a show to remember (or not), on the way home I have done something to my ear and I am having hearing issues, blah blah blah…

Onward and upward is the only place to go!!!!

In late May, we had a lesson with Brett P, and it’s always great to touch base with him, as he always has some good ideas for training. Brett still says to me, be confident on her as she will shine at the Grand Prix.

Then, finally, after some setbacks with a sarcoid, my beautiful mare Penny had her first ever Medium starts, and she was beaten in the first one by one of my students, Amelia, riding Always A Star. And then in the other test, Penny scored a 66% and won.

On the weekend just gone we attended the Grafton Dressage Championships and Penny won both Medium tests and took home her first ever Title!!

We had driven down to Grafton with my great team of students and friends to help me as I had the 3 horses entered. We had GODSPEED in the Novice, A Heaven Sent in the Medium, and of course, Spider Bite in the Small Tour. So I had driven out with 2 in the float and Lynne had driven her new campervan down south to the event. We had the maiden voyage together. Kristie had come from Lismore too, and Sue of course had driven down CC in her Luxury motel on wheels, with her husband Rob. So a wonderful team of super lovely people, and it was a team effort to take 3 horses away overnight and compete both days. To our great surprise… each horse won each test they were in and we came home with 3 CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!! What a super show for us all. 3 championship woolen rugs from wonderful sponsors of this great country event.

Thanks Grafton Dressage!!!

This weekend I am feeling very brave and am doing a debut start on A SNAP DECISION. He is a super lovely sensible youngster by A’Seduction out of a Warmblood mare of DomHerr bloodlines. Snap is only 3 ½ years old, Baby days.

Then I will be riding Russian Lights to have his second dressage start. He is a 15.2h Thoroughbred gelding and I give lessons on him at home. But I will have to sell him and find a great owner for him. He will make someone a neat jumping/dressage/hacking competitor to have some fun on.

Sue and I have entered our mare Spider Bite (CC) into the Prix St Georges test, just to give her another hit out before the Brisbane CDI. And to top the day off, I am riding Karleah, Lynne’s pony mare, in the Medium. We have a goal set to compete her at the Qld State Pony Dressage Championships in October.

I’m busy, hardly have time to scratch myself, hehe!!!

Scuba at Summerland Dressage Club April 2015

Scuba and Sally Evans competing at Bangalow 18.4.2015

Scuba and Sally at Bangalow 18.4.2015, Photo: Emma Morley

Here are some pics taken of Scuba at the event of Summerland Dressage Club at Bangalow from Sunday. He competed Novice and won 2nd place with 68%. All photographs in this post are taken by one of my students, Em, she is a professional photographer. Lynne and Jacquie, both students of mine, were there too and they were a great help for the whole day.

CC did a very nice Inter 1 gaining 67% that day too. That was after her 2 days at Caboolture where she did a 69%. We were very pleased with her as she is starting to handle all the movements of the Inter 1 now. CC had only done her third ever Inter 1 at Orange CDI in February this year, so it was nice to give her a chance to have some more practise at it.

Warmblood gelding by A'Seduction Scuba after competing in dressage at Summerland Dressage Club, Bangalow NSW on 18.4.2015

Scuba 18.4.2015, Photos: Emma Morley

Scuba and Sally competing at Summerland Dressage Club, Bangalow NSW on 18.4.2015

Scuba and Sally at Bangalow 18.4.2015, Photo: Emma Morley

Scuba under Sally competing at Summerland Dressage Club, Bangalow NSW on 18.4.2015

Scuba and Sally at Bangalow 18.4.2015, Photo: Emma Morley

Scuba and Sally competing at Summerland Dressage Club, Bangalow NSW on 18.4.20155

Scuba and Sally at Bangalow 18.4.2015, Photo: Emma Morley

My Students Lynne and Jacquie helping with Scuba, Bangalow 18.4.2015

My Students Lynne and Jacquie helping with Scuba; here they have just unplaited him. Bangalow 18.4.2015, Photo: Emma Morley

Last edited 3.5.2015

Preparations for Sydney CDI 2015

CC and Penny with Micha and I at the beach yesterday afternoon

CC and I with Penny and Micha at the beach yesterday afternoon

Have to start concentrating on CC to prepare for the Sydney CDI 2015. We are in the Small Tour classes, and Boy what a strong field!!! Apparently record entries again for this year’s event. So pack your bags and come down for a little hol and watch all these wonderful riders and horses. It’s an exciting event!!! 7-9 May at SIEC Horsley Park, we compete on the Thursday with the Prix St Georges and the Intermediate 1 on the Friday and then we have to qualify to get into the Intermediate Freestyle on the Saturday night.

Our travels to Victoria

It’s been twice in the last four months that I have seen the sites of Romsey in Victoria. They seem to be cold, dry and sometimes windy, those type of breezes that just go straight through you, too lazy to go around you… and dry, did I say dry, in the horse paddocks, the grass is long and appears plenty of it, but almost a light brown to grey colour. But yet the horses all look very well, especially two lovely Thoroughbreds, Tosca and Peg.

Iris and Tosca at their place in Romsey after dark, 2014

This is the place where ‘Iris’ lives… For way over 10 years now Iris has sponsored me by completely looking after the Sally Evans Dressage site. She not only puts up all the updates, but Iris has totally designed the site right from scratch. Any time day or night I will email through more results or pictures to be posted and within a day it’s there!!! Today this site is amazing!!! I just love it.

I mentioned twice I have visited Iris in the last few months. In December of 2014, Sue and I fly down to stay with Iris, and this was for me to attend and sit my B level dressage judges accreditation. And for this exam, I needed a person to write for me, in every single movement of 25 movements for 26 horses for this exam at Werribee. That is 650 comments…!!! That’s quite a lot of hand writing to do. Iris said, “ oh yeah, I’ll do it for you Sally”, and I said, “do you know what you’re going to be doing? It’s going to be full on, horse after horse and I need to put a comment in for every single movement for each test”, “ I can do it “. And I have to admit, that Iris was terrific, so efficient and kept right up with me and all the things you have to comment and say, she gave me confidence. I passed my exam!! I highly recommend Iris for any further writing!!! So for the 3 days we were there, Iris looked after us and shared her wonderful Vegan cooking with us and we met Tosca, her ex-racehorse, who she is training for dressage. And he is a sweetie too.

Iris and Peter at Inglis Thoroughbred Sales at Oaklands, March 2015

Then just last weekend, Peter and I went to the Inglis Tried Racehorse sale at Oaklands, Melbourne. We were going to buy a new racehorse for ourselves to train, but the 2 that we really liked were sold for just out of our budget range. And we were very obedient to our exact type of horse that we wished to have, cause really we could have easily bought home a couple of them.

Peter and Iris with Tosca at their place in Romsey, March 2015

And this trip Peter had the time to share with Iris and her horses feeding them, changing rugs, as they are both very spoilt horses. And we enjoyed some lovely home cooked meals in the gorgeous almost European picturesque cottage.

THANKS IRIS so much, you’ve been a wonderful supporter of me and my horses and my riding over so many years, and I really appreciate all the enormous time you have spent on the site, or being at events or at home and taking beautiful photographs of our horses.

Iris taken a photograph of Sally Evans riding A'Seduction at SDS, 2010

Iris taken a photograph of Basil and I in the mirror at our place, July 2010

Russian Lights (Villa) competing in dressage

How good is this new boy going!! He had his first ever day out yesterday and was brilliantly behaved and went oh so well!! One can see he is still green at this dressage game, but he kept it all together and went super. He is now well on his way towards a successful life as an equestrian horse. Here he is ridden by young rider, Poppy Ellis-Southwell.

‘Russian Lights’ price has gone to $4,750. Potential all over him.

Below is the link to his Preliminary 1.3 test

And here is the link to a snippet of him warming up before the test… can hear Peter chatting in the background to one of his friends about football of all things.

Upcoming events

Vilayet in his racing days at Lismore race track, Dec 2012, who will now be known in the dressage arena as “Russian Lights”

This coming Saturday is the last of the twilight series. Our clever little ex-racehorse, Villa, will be having his ‘Maiden start’ in a dressage competition. We have given him a new name to commence his dressage career… ’Russian Lights’, a name that I think really suits him. We came up with it because he is by the stallion Fantastic Light and his racing name was of Russian origin.

Peter and his racehorse Vilayet studying the form guide, March 2014

Peter and Villa checking out the racing form !!!

The following weekend, I am off on a road trip with Wendy to go judging at Hastings Valley Dressage Club. This should be good fun, Wendy and I always have a great time when we go off judging together. I sat and passed my B level judging last year and now Wen is going to go for hers this year, so we will probably see her at some of the CDIs, as she will be Shadow Judging. Good Luck Wendy xo

Oops, I forgot to throw in the date of the 20th, as we maybe going to a Racehorse auction in Victoria, yes!! you heard right, we are now looking for another racehorse to play with. Well, I don’t mean literally play with, I mean serious to train as a racehorse, as we have our Owner/Trainer Licence. This horse, whether it is a mare or gelding, needs to be easy to ride as I will probably be doing most of the work on the racetrack and I would also want to be able to ride it on the beach. So it does need to be reasonable to ride, and I will probably give it more dressage training as well. This racehorse will have the most unbelievable life as our racehorse… very spoilt… a beautiful grassy paddock to go into every day… lots of treats… beach rides… pampering body treatments…

April, Easter long weekend, I have been invited to coach and lecture at the Dressage Unravelled clinic at Caboolture.

NOW we are into the start of 3 weekends in a row of Dressage Competitions, going with Spider Bite, and Heaven Sent and with GODSPEED.

12 April Caboolture 1 Star Event with Spider and Heaven
18 April QSEC Event with just Spider
19 April Bangalow NSW with all 3 of them

26 April NADEC Gold Coast with the girls!! The final hit out for the Spider before we do ‘Meditation on the Beach’ and pack up the new gooseneck of Sue’s and head down the Pacific Highway for the Sydney CDI on 5-10 May. I will get to have my birthday at home for a change instead of on the road. You know, I just don’t know how many of these CDIs I have been too, I think we competed at one of the first ones at the new ex Olympic Venue at SIEC, and I think I have also competed at one of the first ones ever started at Lochinvar, yes folks, that was way back!! Oh man its great to advance forward in years of experience!!!!!!

22-24 May Toowoomba Championships, we maybe take all 3 of them, as Anne will be back and so that means that Scuba will have his own Chariot and driver.

30 May QSEC again this time for both girls. Spider will need to be preparing herself for the Brisbane CDI, where we will have our new Intermediate Freestyle, and QSEC is the venue for this.

31 May Bangalow Member Championships for the two younger ones, being Heaven Sent and GODSPEED.

Penny and Sally Evans in a lesson with Brett Parbery.

A Heaven Sent (Penny) and Sally, April 2014