Clarenden Regent | Chilled Out Reggie and Keira
Bred by Clarenden Standardbreds in Victoria, Clarenden Regent was born in 2007. By Modern Art USA, this bay gelding first began his pacing career in 2011. With several wins in his first year, along with consistently placing, Clarenden Regent looked to have a promising career. It was not until 2014 that this horse moved to Western Australia, racing his first trial at Byford. Trained briefly by Ross Oliveri before moving into the stable of Colin Vigar, he raced for a total of 78 starts throughout his career to accumulate 15 wins.
Retiring in 2016, ‘Reggie’ began his retraining process with Bayley Thomas.
“He started to saddle like a star.”
Once confident that Reggie was ready for a new home, Bayley sold Reggie on to Alex Hince before moving on to join the team at Zia Park Equestrian and Riding School. Although a super addition to the Zia Park team, Reggie unfortunately suffered from seasonally allergies that triggered headshaking, resulting in his return to Bayley for rehoming.
“Reggie came back the usual superstar he always was,” writes Bayley.
In the meantime, Keira Meldrum was on the lookout for her next horse. Having owned a standardbred previously, she was eager to find another willing horse with a great work ethic and temperament.
In 2023, after contacting Bayley to enquire about Reggie’s Facebook advertisement, Keira purchased Reggie and began their partnership.
“Reggie is the cutest, chillest dude ever. Every time he sees anyone come up to his paddock, he nickers and talks to you. He is super brave and has never put a foot wrong in any situation I’ve put him in.”
Together, Keira and Reggie have been working on strength and balance with plenty of pole work and small jumps. They have also participated in dressage, where they won the Best Performed Off the Track Horse award.
Keira has set her sights on attending more jumping clinics and tackling another dressage event in the future. Currently, she is focused on establishing his canter and balance and most importantly, having fun!
We are sure to see more of Clarenden Regent and Keira as they continue to work together and enjoy each other’s company.
