For Kylie Slockwitch, horses have always been more than a hobby. They have been healers, teachers and quiet companions through some of life’s toughest chapters.
Thrown onto a horse at twelve and told to ‘just ride’, Kylie caught the bug early. Her passion for horses deepened in her early-twenties, when her brother introduced her to a giant standardbred called Mustang Sally, whom she ‘brushed, rode and loved to bits’ at every opportunity.
After prevailing against some health challenges and surgeries, Kylie ventured into horse ownership on different breeds of horse connected to the trail riding school she was involved in, before circling back to standardbreds.
It was an unsure, fresh off-the-track standy named Hutch who won Kylie’s heart right from the start. “Aside from my surface encounters with Mustang Sally, I didn’t really know anything about standardbreds”, Kylie explains. “But as soon as I saw Hutch, I knew I had to have him.”
Raced as I Need A Rest, now known as Hutchelberry Finn in the show ring, Hutch had only been off the track a week when Kylie took him home. Hutch lacked trust in people and Kylie didn’t push him. Instead, she showed up at his paddock each day and sat. Quietly. Without any pressure or fuss. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him and Hutch made his tentative first introductions.
Despite the slow start, once Hutch’s walls came down his connection with Kylie was immediate and enduring. Within an interrupted first year of ridden training, around a pause for Kylie to conquer some health challenges, the pair had notched up a collection of awards, including Kylie claiming the HRCAV Champion Rider Level 4 title aboard her trusty steed. Since then, they’ve won the SPPHAV State Show Jumping Championship at Intermediate level three times and placed in showing, dressage, navigation rides and horse trials across HRCAV.
But things have not always gone smoothly. Kylie’s had more than her fair share of physical setbacks including hypermobility, significant surgeries and a major fall that left her with a broken leg and neck. For someone who now rides with only one working finger on her left hand, everything she does is guided by feel.
“I don’t ride conventionally. I use light rein pressure, treeless saddles and a lot of trust. I don’t take lessons, as my style is difficult to coach, but my horses and I understand each other and have a lot of fun getting out there and changing perceptions”.
These days, Hutch shares the paddock with three more standardbreds, each with their own quirks, stories and successes.
There is Ethernet, also known as Maggie, a 14.3hh roany bay mare who is such a character and eager to get going that she’ll even try to self-load herself whilst tied to the float, if Kylie is too slow.
For the first couple of years as a partnership, with Kylie riding and caring for Maggie on behalf of her friend and owner Jess, Kylie would take Hutch and Maggie out together to competitions. Despite Kylie’s health struggles, her standies have always been so kind and willing that managing them on her own at big events has been an enjoyable experience.
Kylie’s collection of beautiful and talented standardbreds grew when she brought home Native EtchedInInk, affectionately known as Mickey, a striking buckskin paint standardbred who was a stallion until he was five
“Mickey is the most loving horse I’ve ever met”, Kylie gushes. “I took him to Lilydale Show a couple of years ago and he saw two ladies in wheelchairs and a small child in a pram. He dragged me straight over to them all for cuddles on the end of the lead rope, head in laps, everyone crying at how sweet he was and marvelling at how he just stood so calmly before moving gently from person to person”, Kylie recalls.
“Mickey’s very special. Not just because it’s always been my dream to own a purebred coloured standardbred. I truly believe he came to me to heal my soul after I lost one of my mares. He’s so much like her and I feel we both needed and were meant to find each other”.
The youngest of the herd and most recent addition is Gracie’s Flying Spirit, a bay paint standardbred with the same grandsire as Mickey, named after a beloved family friend. At just five, Gracie is clever, curious and very much ‘in your face’.
“Gracie’s an extrovert and the biggest stickynose I have ever met!”, Kylie laughs. “She once climbed into the side door of the float because I was loading Mickey and she didn’t want to be left behind!”
“I have sat on Gracie a couple of times, but haven’t started her properly under saddle as yet. Given how smart and quick a learner she is, I am really excited about our future together”.
Each of Kylie’s horses has come to her in a different way, but all four share the same core qualities: softness, honesty and a desire to please.
“I don’t put up with crap,” Kylie laughs, “but I also don’t demand perfection. With standardbreds, I’ve always found a willingness to meet me halfway. They just want to do the right thing and they always look after me”.
With vast experience with the breed, Kylie takes a long-term view with every horse. “Twelve months is my baseline. That’s about how long it takes to get a standardbred balanced, trusting and comfortable enough before we even think about progressing the canter.”
For Kylie, patience is part of the process. “Today, people want things instantly. Everything’s quick and designed to be easy. But training horses takes time and isn’t always linear. Not just with standardbreds, but any developing horse.
“The beauty of a standardbred is that they give so much in return. They are remarkably smart, capable and caring. I couldn’t be out doing what I love the most if it wasn’t for my standies looking after me.
“I hope more people consider the joy of bringing a standardbred into their life. They really are the best!”
