Where’s Cameron
Many an ex-racehorse enjoys more success off the track than they did on it. AMANDA MAC spoke to Clem Smith about a horse who’s a perfect example.
It’s always a joy to watch Clem Smith ride – there’s a fluidity and precision that speaks of a wealth of experience, more than thirty years of it to be exact.
Brought up on cattle stations, Clem was riding from around the time he could walk. “We came through Pony Club and did campdrafting, mucked around with rodeo for a while, and then we stumbled on an old stockhorse who could jump a bit and it just went from there,” he says.
Fast forward a handful of decades and Clem, who has a rock solid reputation for good sportsmanship and putting the welfare of his horses first, has more than made his mark as one of Australia’s top show jumpers. He has competed nationally and internationally, notching up numerous State, National, World Cup and Grand Prix titles, as well as being a member, and on occasion captain of Australian jumping teams travelling and competing overseas.
Over the years, Clem, a Queensland Off The Track Acknowledged Retrainer, has developed a great appreciation for off the track Thoroughbreds, and I’m curious to know why: “Well, they’re very trainable,” he explains, “and most of the time a lot easier than a Warmblood. They just seem to learn easily and they’ve had a lot of exposure to different things because of their racing careers, which really helps. Many Warmbloods have been born and bred on a property, and haven’t been off the property until they start to compete. Some do cope well with that, but Thoroughbreds have seen quite a bit and if they’ve got the right attitude, it certainly makes the process of training them a lot quicker.”
In Clem’s opinion, Thoroughbreds aren’t necessarily for everyone because some of them can be a little bit nervy. “You’ve just got to be quite calm and cool around them,” he says, and that pretty much sums up Clem’s approach – which would go a long way to explaining the success he’s had with a string of off the track horses including Clarke Kent, Maxi Rullah, Highland Spirit and Ghost Story, horses he has competed with at Grand Prix and World Cup level. “I’ve had 11 or 12 horses in the World Cup,” he adds, “and half of them were Thoroughbreds.”
His love of OTT’s aside, there were a few years when Clem favoured purpose bred horses. But now he is once again building more Thoroughbreds into his team, one of whom is Where’s Cameron, fondly known as Wes.
Wes’s track career was far from exemplary. Sired by Viscount (AUS) out of Eliza Dane (AUS) and foaled in 2012, the bay gelding managed no wins and no placings out of six starts. “I think he was last every time,” Clem chuckles. “He made a lot of noise and went nowhere.”
In 2016, after his racing career had not surprisingly come to an end, Wes got a start in a new life with show jumper Victoria Hoy. He was then bought by Krissy Harris, who, after she was injured, sold him on to Clem last year. “I’d seen that he was pretty consistent in his results, so I bought him without even trying him,” he recalls. “And he was good straight up. Victoria and Krissy had obviously done a great job with him.”
Wes, who has the comical habit of flapping his lips together, is quite the character in the yard. “He’s just a lovely horse to have around,” Clem tells me. “He’s bright-eyed and very easy to do anything with.”
Although Clem has ridden Wes in a couple of 1.30m events, the horse’s sweet spot is 1.20m, something Clem bears in mind. “I thought I’d keep him where he does best, although that might go up and down a bit. We haven’t got him to compete him at Grand Prix – he’s just a good, fun horse who fits in with what’s got to be done.”
A fun horse and a successful one at that. What Wes failed to deliver on the track, he’s made up for in the arena. By mid this year, he’d topped the Queensland OTT Thoroughbred Jumping leaderboard with a total of 1,409 points – way ahead of his nearest rival’s 910 points.
In Racing Victoria’s Off The Track Jumping Series held at Boneo Park in February, the pair won the 1.05-1.10m and came second in the 1.20-1.30m class. In March, they competed in the DJWTS Victorian Government Emerald Series, winning Round 1 with a double clear over 1.10m, tying for first place in Round 2 over 1.15m, and winning the series Final with yet another double clear. At last month’s Royal Queensland Show, Clem steered Wes to a hard fought second place in the 1.20m class, while at Tamworth they picked up 2nd in both the Bronze Tour and the 1.20m Thoroughbred class.
And finally, some expert advice for anyone thinking of buying an OTT Thoroughbred. “I think the first has to be their temperament. If I was going to try a horse that I didn’t know anything about, my first thing would definitely be temperament, and making sure that there were no lumps, bumps or whatever,” Clem explains. “Then, as far as riding the horse goes, we always tend to aim for horses with a good canter, and if they’ve got nice self-carriage, you can be pretty sure they’ll be able to jump to a certain extent.”
Based in South East Queensland, Clem is an Accredited Equestrian Australia Level 1 Coach. For more information visit Team Smith Equestrian.
