Fi McIntyre
Victorian equestrian Fi McIntyre is one of the originals when it comes to the retraining and rehoming of thoroughbreds. It has been her passion and focus since she was a teenager and for more than a decade she has been involved in an official capacity in this vitally important space for the Australian racing and breeding industry.
Fi currently has 19 retired thoroughbreds at her property at Murgheboluc and during the peak times of the year she rides up to six horses a day. She has no staff and runs the operation with the help of her dedicated partner, Jonathan Lumsden, who is also an accomplished horseman.
A long-time ambassador for the Racing Victoria Off The Track program, last month Fi took out the prestigious Godolphin Thoroughbred Care and Welfare Award. It was the crowning glory in a life dedicated to proving and promoting the virtues of the thoroughbred beyond the racetrack. Jo McKinnon spoke to her for this week’s edition of Behind the Stable Door.
Fi congratulations on winning the Godolphin Thoroughbred Care and Welfare Award, what did it mean to you?
It was a huge achievement for me. I see it as a very prestigious award being national and with judges coming from around Australia, and incredibly respected in the industry. It’s the highest award I have ever won.
It’s been many years in the making. How many years have you been working with off-the-track horses in this more formal context now?
It would have to be at least ten years now. It’s quite a long time and it has been more about doing more for other people than myself, and branching out to others and helping people that are taking on the horses.
In that time frame, how many horses would you have helped transition into new homes?
I’d say 30 over that time.
How have you found the journey thus far?
Great! Within that time frame, the horses that I work with coming off the track are easier to work with than back in the day and I attribute that to the breaking and pre-training and doing a lot more with them. The horses that have come through have been delightful to work with and so trainable?
So is that a reflection of the improvement of standards of horse management on the racing side?
Yes, it has to be. I’m certain that people realise if you give them those foundations, they race better – and they are safer for track riders and more responsive if you give them those foundations to build on.
Are there any horses that have gone on and made you particularly proud of the role you play?
Apart from the two Bart Cummings’ horses I have kept myself (Sirmione and Precedence), they will always be my most cherished horses. They have been brilliant. It’s just bringing the joy and happiness they give to people and families they go to. I get updates all the time and I’m very proud. One of the horses that came from Chris Waller could have been rehabbed and gone on to race, but Chris said he’d done enough. He won $1.4 million in prize money and was almost eight years old and they sent him down to me from Sydney which was lovely. He was always to be rehomed. I rehabbed and spelled him and started retraining him and I still have him. He’s the best fun, I’m having the best time with him. I’m having an absolute ball with him. He’s not a show horse, he’s a classic all-rounder and he’s absolutely brilliant and I’m proud of the journey he’s overcome. His leg was rescanned before I started working him and he was good-to-go, he’s jumping and doesn’t bat an eyelid and just does his job. He’s just amazing. Then there’s probably a lot of the horses I have been working with that are horses that have had injuries and it’s starting to show people that even though they have these injuries, they can have longevity and go on and do things and it’s really heart-warming to share their stories.
There’s a lot of targeted marketing about thoroughbreds making good competition horses, but would you agree that horses like him help shape the view that they also make great pleasure horses just to hack out on and enjoy as well?
Yes, for sure. I have been hunting him. Normally it’s fast-paced and thoroughbreds can get on their toes. He was great from the first time and would just bowl along at whatever pace I wanted to go at and then slow down and walk on the end of the buckle and there would be kangaroos hopping around and he didn’t care. He’s not a competition horse, he’s a pleasure horse and divine to do things with.
Now there are more well-promoted events for off-the-track horses showing what these horses can do, how is that impacting the work you are doing and the marketability of them?
I am contacted constantly by people looking for off-the-track horses. People have really locked into off-the-track and want horses to compete. Initially, they wanted to have these events to help drive demand and I can really start to see that working. It’s absolutely constant. I don’t do it as a full-time thing, but there are a lot of people reaching out to me. Interestingly a lot of people are looking for eventers now too.
So do you think the perception of thoroughbreds is in a good place at the moment? Has the reputation of the thoroughbred improved in recent years, especially now there are more middle people like yourself between the racing stables and people wanting to find one for themself?
I can definitely see a shift or swing back in favour of the thoroughbreds. I tend to see it at competitions. Being on the Equestrian Victoria Show Committee, we are starting to split off the track classes and heights because the people are there. I was interviewing riders last night at the Melbourne International Three-day Event and a lot of the riders said thoroughbreds learn so fast, whereas warmbloods take six times longer. It was good to have that articulated. What happens is a lot of the time they are given away straight from the track or they are very cheap and not everyone has the skill set to establish their training straight up, so it’s important for people to continue to tap into people like us that can help get them get started – and started on the right path.
How are you finding breeders and trainers embracing you and the role you play?
I don’t go out looking for horses at all. I have a lot of trainers and owners coming directly to either rehome a horse or get some advice. I get calls not just about whether I can take them, but they are looking for pathways and advice, so I think it is getting more and more embraced. There is a suggestion out there where some people think we are funded, but that is not right, I am completely self-funded apart from horses coming through the Reset Programme for Racing Victoria. I have to say to people, I can’t afford to take them but I have facilitated a few requests to find forever homes for them. It’s a big commitment for people to do that. I have followed their journey and it’s hugely satisfying.
A retired thoroughbred horse can bring so much meaning to someone’s life on various levels. Is finding homes like that the most satisfying aspect of what you do?
I absolutely love it. I get updates about them and they say ‘I love him’ and it gives me such immense satisfaction and it’s joyful to hear those horses are so loved, and so much happiness they bring to their families – and you pass on that information to their previous owners and it’s fantastic.
Are there particular breeds of horses that you are seeing come through that make better off-the-track horses than others? How much does pedigree play a part?
There’s definitely a part in it with pedigree. One of the younger horses that I have trained and am competing on behalf of owners in Hong Kong is a Snitzel gelding called Able Fun and he is by far the easiest horse I have worked with. He’s the first Snitzel I have had. I’m not sure whether it is his breeding, but he is unbelievable.