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August 2007 • VOLUME 24 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine On the Comeback Trail - A Story of Triumph against the Odds http://www.cyberhorse.net.au/cgi-bin/tve/displaynewsitem.pl?20070708znicole.txt http://www.nicoletough.com.au/Website.htm Thanks to Alison Harman for suggesting this story This is the story of the heart-warming comeback of Nicole’s
wonderful horse, Glencoe Manhattan (Milo) – the horse which, as she
puts it, “lost the plot” and blind bolted into the surrounding fence of
an indoor arena during the intense heat of the ill-fated Ulla Clinic
for State Squad members in January 2005.
 Glencoe Manhattan (Milo) Many of us remember the infamous Ulla clinic which was held in the hottest part of Queensland’s year, mid-summer January, in 2005. With many horses feeling the heat, everyone seemed concerned about welfare issues or perhaps ongoing problems as a consequence of heat exhaustion. Following the clinic there was talk of a horse that died, a horse that was hospitalised and a horse which suffered a horrific injury. There seemed to be a backlash from many who felt that the clinic was ill-fated when the organisers pushed on despite the very horse-unfriendly weather. It was difficult to get any straight answers about the outcome and very little was reported on the EFA’s website. Successful Queensland FEI rider and Level 2 EFA NCAS Dressage coach, Nicole Tough tells her story about the demise and comeback of her favourite horse and I am sure there are a few lessons in the tale. “In December 2004, former world number one dressage rider, Ulla Salzgeber, was invited to take on the position as Australia’s National Dressage Coach. It was great news for Australian dressage and the riders were all very excited to have the opportunity to train with this highly successful International trainer. As part of Ulla’s invitational tour, she conducted three clinics throughout Australia with the objective of assessing our most talented combinations, to select a National Dressage Squad that she could develop with a view to making Australia more competitive on an International scale; specifically the 2006 World Equestrian Games and the 2008 Olympic Games. “Historically, all matters to do with selection seem to be controversial and the pressure felt by the riders at these clinics cannot be underestimated. With the benefit of hindsight, I believe that this pressure affected the judgement of organisers and riders when it came to horse welfare and this normally paramount aspect of the ‘code of conduct’ for the sport, was seriously compromised. “At the time of the January clinic, Manhattan (aka Milo) had just turned 8 years of age and had four Prix St George starts to his credit. My coach, Traci Manca, and I were planning on an Intermediate 11 start at the completion of the 2005 season, but this was on the proviso that everything was still going smoothly and Milo was coping with the work. “It was most unfortunate that the scheduled days of the Ulla Clinic saw weather conditions hit the extreme and quite unprecedented – even for the hottest part of the year. Temperatures soared to 44 degrees with 88% humidity, and local non-equestrian club sporting activities were cancelled due to the potential health risks. The timetable had not been planned with any allowances for contingencies and there was no flexibility from the organisers of the Ulla Salzgeber clinic, who steadfastly refused the riders’ requests to break up the lessons, that was having 4 lessons before 10am and 4 lessons after 3pm, therefore avoiding the hottest part of the day. “There was much concern and confusion amongst the riders and many of us felt torn between our responsibility to our horse and our ambition to make a favourable impression with Ulla. We should have refused to ride to avoid cruelty issues and possible horse health problems, but most of us feared the consequences of not taking part, having been selected to be part of this “closed” clinic. The pressure was on us by all governing forces, and it seemed ‘the show must go on!’
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