Falling ‘totally and utterly in love’ with standardbreds a decade ago, Kylie Gleeson is still pinching herself after a whirlwind two seasons with ‘one in a million mare’ Mazza’s Delight (known to her many fans as Suzie).
Kylie spent many years admiring beautiful Suzie, standing in the neighbouring paddocks of long-time harness racing participants Frank and Marilyn Cauchi.
Despite being bred to pace and broken to harness, Suzie never reached the racetrack. Some twelve years later, Suzie found herself moving across the road to start an exciting new chapter as a riding horse.
“Suzie hadn’t been taken anywhere and she had limited life experience”, Kylie reflects.
“A credit to Frank’s skills, Suzie had a beautiful, soft mouth, kind temperament and she just took everything in stride.
“Suzie’s show name, Mazza’s Delight, is in honour of Marilyn, who has been front-and-centre across Suzie’s journey and takes a keen interest in everything she does”.
“Right from the get-go, as soon as I saw Suzie’s movement, I knew she was going to be outstanding. I immediately thought of my friend Sebastian (Bellamy), who I’d been working with for several years.
“I knew Suzie would be perfect for Sebastian to campaign. He’s such a terrific horseman; a soft, encouraging rider and someone who’s super motivated, professional and hard-working”.
The ultimate team, Sebastian and Kylie have each played a part in putting Suzie on the path to success, along with working collaboratively to campaign several other standardbreds.
“As a vet nurse for nineteen years, I’m really across the rehab side of things and preparing things like diet plans, re-muscling and I used to do a bit of the initial backing to saddle before I became injured.
“Seb would then take the reins and establish trot and canter work and do a lot of the polishing and refining. I’d prep the horses for the shows, Seb would ride them. We’d split the prizes and I’d take the rugs one year and he’d take the garlands. It just works and it’s been exciting to share the experience with him”.
Echoing Kylie’s appreciation for their partnership, Sebastian is eager to reflect on ‘one heck of a journey’ since taking Suzie’s reins.
“I’ve worked with a lot of standardbreds over the years, including taking my old boy Norm up to Level 3 in HRCAV, but Suzie really is something special”, Sebastian explains.
“Suzie just hit the ground running and ticked all the boxes quickly. This was quite the achievement for an aged, ex-broodmare who was broken to saddle so late in life and a fantastic example of why you should never write-off or underestimate an older horse!
“Quite soon after Suzie and I started training together, the Little River Show popped up on our radar. Despite being super green and still refining her canter, Suzie went out to claim Reserve Champion in the Open Hunter classes and won all of her standardbred classes, including Champion Ridden”.
Energised by such an encouraging first outing, Suzie’s showing career launched into full-swing.
Since her debut two years ago, Suzie has been awarded countless titles. These include the Barastoc Supreme Ridden Standardbred Exhibit (2023 and 2024), the Standardbred Pleasure and Performance Horse Association of Victoria Supreme State Champion Ridden Standardbred Exhibit (2024), Champion Ridden Standardbred at the 2024 Canberra Royal and the esteemed Alabar Hero Series State Final Winner, achieved just four months after Suzie was broken to saddle.
After so much success, Suzie has become quite famous on the show circuit.
On a mission to ‘get Suzie out in front of new eyes and show more people just what standies can do’, Suzie’s training was diversified and Sebastian set his sights on HRCAV and conquering the dressage ring.
“As Suzie had successfully competed at Royal level, she had to go straight into Level 1 for HRCAV showing and Level 3 for dressage”, Sebastian explains.
“Even in the higher levels, HRCAV judges absolutely adore Suzie. We’ve received so many lovely comments about her cadence, soft frame and how kindly and willingly she goes around. The biggest compliments have been about the connection we share, which I think really highlights what the judges are looking for.
“This feedback is very encouraging for standardbred owners, because it shows that judges don’t care what breed of horse you’re riding; if you put the training in to perfect the horse’s paces and balance, there’s no reason you can’t be competitive”.
A self-proclaimed ‘lover of an underdog story’, Kylie is thrilled to see ‘standardbreds come into their own and attitudes changing’.
“I get a kick out of taking a horse nobody else wants, working hard and proving them wrong”, Kylie chuckles
“Being so versatile, standardbreds are everywhere; endurance, royals, even barrel racing. To see the breed doing so well, and to play a part in this, has been very special.
“There’s no one specific thing I love most about standardbreds. They’re so smart, athletic, hardy and can turn a hoof to anything. I think it’s a combination of many great traits, all rolled into one fantastic horse”.
