Chasing the rainbow

With her string of six OTT Thoroughbreds, Makaylah Fenwick is a talented retrainer and successful show jumping competitor, writes AMANDA MAC.

Makaylah Fenwick is a huge fan of off the track Thoroughbreds, and for good reason. The 18-year-old show jumper is making quite a name for herself in the ring, with much of that success down to her considerable skill in retraining off the track horses, combined with her recognition of the Thoroughbred’s versatility, athleticism, and ability to transition to a successful new career once their racing days are over.

Currently with a team of six retired Thoroughbreds, her most recent triumph was at January’s Queensland Off-The-Track Cup Final held at the Pacific Fair Magic Millions Polo and Showjumping Day on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Following their qualifying round at the Sydney Summer Classic in December last year, Makaylah and Arrowfield Stud graduate Rainbow Man successfully battled it out going double clear for the win, ahead of Louise Day and Amoretti in second place, and Natalie Siiankoski and A Golden Alibi in third.

With $75,000 in prizemoney and a field of 18, the competition was fierce and Makaylah reckons her win still amazes her. She went into the event with the idea of having a fun experience, but it became so much more! Not that success is in any way new to her. At last year’s Royal Queensland Show (the Ekka), she won the 2024 Queensland Off The Track Program Showjumping Showcase 1.20m class aboard Grace and Glory, yet another Arrowfield graduate.

In total, Makaylah now has three Arrowfield bred horses, Rainbow Man, Grace and Glory, and Let It Bee. There was a fourth, Jutland, but despite her self-confessed attachment issues, Makaylah recently sold him, albeit very reluctantly. Her three other OTTs are The Garret; Outlandos, who’s proving to be a very capable and scopey jumper; and new boy on the block, Silver Trip.

And let’s take a minute to appreciate the success Makaylah has had with her horses at Equimillion alone. At the 2023 inaugural event, she won the 1.00m Open with The Garrett, while in the 90cm Open, Let It Bee came in 2nd and Rainbow Man took 3rd. Just to prove his versatility, Rainbow Man also secured 5th place in the EVA 65 Junior Eventing. In 2024, Team Makaylah followed up with a win for Rainbow Man in the 90cm Junior event with Let It Bee in 3rd place, while The Garret jumped into 2nd in the 1.10m Open PS.

Inheriting her passion for horses from her mother, Makaylah’s riding career began early. “I started riding pretty much as soon as I could walk. My mum rode so I’ve been riding almost my whole life. I was a member of Mount Sugarloaf Pony Club, and I did do some Pony Club last year just to get the younger horses out and about. But now I concentrate on the open competitions and Thoroughbred events.”

Makaylah arrived at show jumping as her discipline courtesy of some interesting twists and turns. “When I was at Pony Club I had a sports horse, so I was into more of that type of riding. To begin with I wasn’t really interested in Thoroughbreds, but my sister got one and started to get into jumping and really enjoyed it. So, because my mum jumped too, I sort of got pushed into it a bit. Anyway, eventually I liked it and now I’ve taken over – I’m the only one in my family who does it!”

A very successful competitor on the Thoroughbred jumping circuit, Makaylah has produced a team of young horses largely, but not exclusively, sourced from the Newcastle stables of Paul Perry. “We get them straight off the track and then I retrain them. I give them a little bit of a spell, get them back into it with some flat work, then maybe poles on the ground followed by some jumping,” she says. If it turns out that the horse doesn’t have a talent for show jumping, Makaylah then rehomes them with suitable new owners.

However, when Rainbow Man – an eight-year-old gelding by Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom – arrived in Makaylah’s yard four years ago, things didn’t go entirely smoothly. Unlike Grace and Glory, who she says was “very scopey” right from the start, jumping didn’t come as easily to Rainbow. “Although he was pretty straightforward, he was a bit clumsy, he couldn’t get himself over a cross rail to save his life! He just didn’t know what to do with his legs,” Makaylah laughs. “I had to let him work that out by himself.”

But, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect and the gelding eventually got the hang of leaving the rails in the cups. Then, after his surprise win in last year’s Equimillion 90cm Junior class, Makaylah realised that Rainbow Man might have untapped potential. “I really didn’t think he was going to win that class because he doesn’t always have clear rounds. I have to ride him perfectly for him to have a good round,” she explains.

But now, with a track career of 17 winless starts and just three placings (not stellar by anyone’s standard) well behind him, he’s settled into his new life as a show jumper and is absolutely thriving. “He’s a very sweet horse,” Makaylah says “He’s got a lovely personality. I love him.”

With more competitions pencilled into her calendar, Makaylak is particularly looking forward to a Stonewall Equestrian event towards the end of the year. For this competition, she has The Garret in mind. “He’s been doing really well,” she says. “We’re starting to move up the classes, and the 1.3m at Stonewall will be good experience for him.”

But show jumping isn’t Makaylah’s only love. Currently riding track work, becoming a jockey is next on her list. “I want to be able to do both show jumping and racing,” she says, “but for jumping it will probably be the bigger shows like Equimillion and Magic Millions, and I want to go to the Ekka again, it was so much fun.”

And with an ever-increasing number of OTT dedicated events popping up, for which she is very grateful, the future for Makaylah and her team of Thoroughbreds is looking bright.