“He was a 9-year-old and he’d taken us on the ride of our lives. We wanted him to go out as a sound, happy, healthy horse who could have a second career if he wanted,” said Neasham.
That second career is in eventing and Zaaki is already showing plenty of promise and potential. Neasham has taken over Zaaki from his owners and initially rested him for a few months at the NSW property owned by her partner Rob Archibald in Scone.
In early July, accomplished eventer, Charlie Richardson, and his father, Blair, began working with Zaaki to prepare the former champion racehorse for the equestrian arenas. The Richardsons have a close working relationship with Neasham and were thrilled when she asked them to re-train Zaaki.
“I followed his racing career and was aware of what a great horse Zaaki was, so having the opportunity to work with him is a privilege,” said Richardson.
“When he came to us, he’d had a few months off and he’d had a chance to settle down which makes re-training much easier.
I began with riding him in the arena, getting him round and responsive to my leg and teaching him that it’s not about going as fast as he can anymore.
“I started jumping him by getting him to trot over poles on the ground and then to canter over them. Then we put up some small cross rails and I jump him over those a few times a week. We also have a cross country paddock with water jumps and ditches and I’m introducing Zaaki to those.” Richardson is also schooling Zaaki in the art of dressage two or three times a week and his balanced canter and willingness to learn have seen him make some swift progress.
After only a short time adapting to this type of work, Zaaki won his first eventing competition in Tamworth in July, coming first in dressage and completing clear jumping and cross country rounds.