Off the Track WA Boyd + Silva Martin Masterclass
What a night we had on Wednesday, with Boyd and Silva delivering an insightful and incredibly encouraging and rewarding Masterclass. While it was super to have Boyd share his wealth of experience, we couldn’t be more impressed with the four Thoroughbreds who were ridden throughout the night. Even Boyd himself said that if he could find Thoroughbreds like those four in American, he’d never ride a Warmblood again!
The first session was all about ‘Establishing the Basics’, with Boyd guiding Double Oh and Platoon through a series of warm-up exercises designed to relax and prepare the horses for the jumping to come.
Both Platoon (ten years old) and Double Oh (four years old) were completely relaxed in the ring with Boyd and didn’t take long to warm up and start popping over exercises.
Boyd’s coaching was the perfect blend of encouraging, direct, and insightful. Tegan and Charlee, both superb riders from WA, were guided through obstacle after obstacle under Boyd and the crowds’ watchful eyes.
Both horses performed exceptionally well, with young horse, Double Oh, impressing Boyd (and the crowd) with his willingness and honesty. A true testament to the Thoroughbred brain and heart.
Following this first lesson, Silva entered the ring to showcase her talent and feel onboard one of WA’s few FEI dressage horses.
After floating around the arena, making every move look effortless despite riding an unfamiliar horse, Silva dismounted, and Boyd stepped onboard.
Boyd attributed much of his success to his partnership with Silva; having a professional set of eyes on the ground to finesse his flatwork and dressage certainly helps.
This session was a wonderful insight into their partnership and how they work as a team to produce their eventing horses.
Boyd and fellow Olympian and idol, Stuart Tinney, then pulled up camp chairs for some quick questions.
Boyd answered with thoughtful responses, praising thoroughbreds for much of his success throughout his career and encouraging younger riders with dreams to be Olympic Equestrians to really devote all their time and energy to it.
The second session was designed to fine-tune for success.
Tegan returned with her well-known mount, Lyrical Discourse, and Isobel followed with Distribute.
Both horses have competed successfully and were more than willing and capable of tackling whatever Boyd threw at them as a challenge.
While Distribute wasn’t as relaxed as the first sessions horses, this was a perfect teaching opportunity for Boyd to showcase his mindset and methods for relaxing a nervous horse.
Isobel rode beautifully, quickly bringing ‘Remy’ into focus with Boyd’s exercises and guidance, while Tegan and Moet were complete professionals, cruising around the warm-up.
Then came the fun stuff, with Boyd setting up some tricky combinations and exercises designed to really test the riders and their horses.
Tegan and ‘Moet’ were impressive, with Boyd often exclaiming after their jumps that he likes this horse.
Isobel and ‘Remy’ were equally as impressive, with the pair really focusing and jumping exceptionally despite the initial buzz of excitement when entering the ring.
The night concluded with one final sentiment shared by many.
“Wow, what wonderful horses.”
We couldn’t agree more. These four horses truly showcased the ability of Thoroughbreds.
Off the Track WA would like to thank Boyd and Silva for what will be a memorable night for many, and Equestrian in the Park for the opportunity to sponsor such an exciting opportunity to learn and show what retired racehorses can do in their second careers.
