By Equestrian Life 

Recognising amazing horses and humans across the disciplines, the 2023 Equestrian Victoria Awards took place at the Melbourne Arts Centre on 15 July – and off the track Thoroughbreds were among those to partake in the accolades! 

With the support of Racing Victoria, Equestrian Victoria runs an Off The Track (OTT) award category across the disciplines of Dressage, Eventing, Jumping and Show Horse. This year, three finalists in each discipline vied for OTT Horse of the Year. 

The star of the show on Saturday night was 11-year-old OTT Humble Glory, who took out the overall Eventing Horse of the Year title alongside OTT Eventing Horse of the Year accolades. Owned and ridden by Sophia Hill, Humble Glory (racing name Camon Houdini, by Bernardini and out of Sharpen) was crowned the winner of both titles after a particularly impressive season that included a hat-trick of CCI4*S wins at Werribee, Tonimbuk and Wandin, followed by a third-place finish in the CCI5*L at Adelaide. 

Other OTT Eventing Horse of the Year finalists included Sophie Fox’s Mr Pig (racing name Winnie’s Horse), and Raenor Priest’s Secret Mojo (racing name Secret Mojo) – with the latter ridden in competition by Murray Lamperd. 

In the OTT Show Horse of the Year division, Westminster II (racing name The Arod) for owner and rider Fiona McIntyre was crowned the winner. The gelding faced tough competition in fellow finalists Divinity (racing name Tide Up), owned by Hollie Hildebrandt, and Gregory Gerry’s Coronation III (racing name Lady Jeune), ridden in competition by Ali Berwick. 

Boots An All (racing name Planet Arena), by Arena out of Donette (Archregent), competed by owner Tracey Savage, claimed the OTT Dressage Horse of the Year award from finalists Stage Presence (racing name Persistency), owned and ridden by Rebecca Farrow, and Jessica Morrison’s Afterlife (racing name Afterlife). 

The OTT Jumping Horse of the Year title went to Konquest K (racing name Master Kong), by De Troy out of Verse (Quest For Fame) and owned by Paris Wilkinson. Finalists in this division included Trespasser (racing name Trespasser) for Laura Darvall, and Hot And Spicey (racing name Elevator) for Tinky Konecny. Interestingly, Trespasser is by the same sire – Bernardini – as Eventing Horse of the Year Humble Glory. 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists; it’s always fantastic to see many OTTs out and about enjoying success in the equestrian community! 

This article was written in conjunction with Racing Victoria. To find out more about RV’s Off The Track program, click here. 

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