When you meet Jody Hartstone’s charismatic Ali Baba, it’s easy to see why she’s so taken with the Lusitano breed. With a big bushy forelock and a glint in his eye, Ali Baba is endearing, whether he’s performing his repertoire of tricks for the camera or cheekily trying to eat his human.
Some fellow dressage riders may have looked askance at Jody’s decision to import Portuguese horses, but after years of working with European warmbloods she is clearly enjoying her change of direction. The Portuguese flag flutters in the driveway of her Raglan stud farm, Cruzeiro Do Sul Lusitanos (Lusitanos of the Southern Cross).
After the devastating blow of losing her talented Hanoverian stallion Whisper, Jody was looking for something to reignite her passion and she’s found it in the Lusitano breed. She says Ali Baba is more than just a Grand Prix dressage horse – he’s gotten under her skin and into her soul.
“It’s a totally different feel to a warmblood. Lusitanos have been bred for centuries to be working horses, and what you have is a real willingness to do the job. Their intelligence is something else and they just try and try. Whisper was a lovely horse, but I think Ali Baba is more talented – he has far more capacity to collect and finds the Grand Prix work easier.
“It’s pretty amazing to have a horse like him that you can put kids on, gallop at the beach, jump and take into night shows. Seeing the audience smile when I’m doing things with him just means so much more. Obviously, I’m still trying to do a good job of training him, to show people that dressage can be more about the partnership, and not just the horse as a vehicle for success. He’s my mate.
Ali Baba has been great for her riding, and a bit of a learning curve, says Jody. He bubbles over with energy, but the moment his mind gets too quick, his body gets too quick as well. Unlike some warmbloods, who move more expressively when they are tense, Ali Baba’s steps get shorter when he’s not relaxed.
“He’s been harder, because I’m not a very sensitive rider,” explains Jody. “I was always good at games and hunting, so I guess you could say I’m a bit rough and ready. That worked with the warmbloods I’ve had – Landioso was a bit of a challenge I could sink my teeth into and with Whisper I could just get on and go. Ali Baba is a totally different kettle of fish.”
The path to Portugal
Growing up near Raglan on the wild, west coast of the Waikato, Jody’s love for horses was apparent from an early age and she went right through pony club, gaining her A and H certificates. In those early days jumping, games and horsemastership were her favourite subjects, with dressage not being so important.
A long-lasting friendship with Sandy and the late Mick Fryatt of Belmont Farms in Otaki proved to be formative in Jody’s career – through the Fryatts, Jody came to ride the stallion Belmont Golden Boy who she trained from Novice level all the way to Advanced, winning the New Zealand Championships at Prix St Georges/Inter 1 level.
Since then, Jody has stood several stallions at stud, one of the most successful being Landioso, a Grand Prix Holsteiner she bought from a Dutch friend. Landi was not an easy ride, but led Jody to the book that has influenced her life ever since, The Truth about Horses, by Dr Andrew McLean. Andrew introduced Jody to the world of equitation science, which she has based her own training philosophies on.
“Landioso was a horse you had to work with, not against, because he was tough. If it was a choice between you having to lie down and die or him having to lie down and die, it would be you! But I owe him so much,” says Jody.
Another stallion to leave his mark was the magnificent black German-bred Whisper, by Weltmeyer. In their first season together, in 2010, Jody and Whisper won the Burkner Medal and the Horse of the Year title, qualifying for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
However, Whisper became incurably lame and had to be euthanized the following year, much to Jody’s distress. “It was horrendous,” says Jody. “Dealing with the insurance companies while trying to do what was best for the horse and give up on all my dreams…that was the toughest time of my life with horses.”
Jody was ready for a new direction in breeding, and so, when a friend suggested Lusitanos, she was intrigued. She didn’t know anything about the breed and googled ‘Lusitano horses for sale’. She found a nice stallion in America, but what captivated her just as much as the horse was the Portuguese fado singer Mariza playing in the background. “It was as much about the song as the horse, which sounds ridiculous, but that’s what started the whole journey.”
Finding Ali Baba
When Jody flew to Portugal to find her dream horse, the quest proved much more difficult than she anticipated. She had a budget and a wish-list: a younger horse, at Grand Prix or close to Grand Prix level, a licensed breeding stallion with good bloodlines, and a decent height.
However, Portugal is a small country with a similar number of Grand Prix horses to here. Further complicating matters is the blood-borne parasitic disease piroplasmosis, which is carried by approximately 80% of the Iberian horses and prohibits their importation into many counties, including New Zealand. So while Jody found her dream horse instantly, he failed the blood test and from there it just got harder – until she found Ali Baba.
Ali Baba belonged to Carlos Thomas, a classically-trained rider from the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art. He’d had never competed, but he’d been well trained in many ways, says Jody. “He was only six and he couldn’t halt or walk and he ground his teeth a lot, but he could do some piaffe and passage, changes, half-passes and pirouettes.
“Before I rode Ali Baba I’d tried out so many stallions that were just beautiful, Barbie-type horses who were so well behaved. But the thing that attracted me to Ali Baba was his similarity to Landioso – he had a glint in his eye and was really masculine. I loved that he was cheeky and inquisitive but with a real willingness. When I first sat on him, I felt at home riding him.”
Ali Baba’s sire is the famous Lusitano stallion Hostil, who is one of Portugal’s best breeding stallions. On Ali Baba’s dam line are the bloodlines Veiga and Andrade, famed in the bullfighting ring and for giving their progeny speed and ability. For her breeding programme, Jody also imported two well-bred classified mares from the same stud in Portugal: Energia da Ferraria and Gipsy de Ferraria.
Home and away
While Jody jokes that she lives in a shed, the living accommodation attached to her stables is actually tidy, warm and comfortable. Bit by bit, she’s made the place more homely, the most recent addition being a new deck and pizza oven and a second bedroom for her stepsons, while the sale of one horse financed the addition of a heat pump, and the sale of another, her new bathroom. Jody’s parents, John and Christine, also live on the 42-acre property in their own house, and Jody is eternally grateful to them.
“It’s just impossible to do horses without some sort of family input if you’re a single entity trying to make money out of teaching,” she says. “I will forever by indebted to my parents for making my lifestyle and sport possible, for never pushing me, and for always believing in me.”
Jody is also thankful for her sponsors Mitavite, who have supported her for many years, and to Erin and Warrick Mortimer, who helped her buy Whisper and now own half-shares in Ali Baba. “They are such an important part of my life! They have been so generous in their support of my horses, but are also very good friends I call upon for all sorts of advice.”
Jody on…
Her trainer
It was hard to find somebody to take us on, but I’ve been having lessons from Christine Weal. I didn’t need a trainer to rev Ali Baba up, because I can ride like that already. I needed someone slow and calm, but most of all I needed someone I can trust. When I’m in a little bit of a fluster at a show, Christine keeps me on an even keel – I have a lot of faith in her. She’s also made me be a lot more sensible with Ali Baba. I would jump him one day, go down the beach the next and do a bit of dressage here and there. But because Ali Baba’s mind is so busy, Christine has made me consolidate, which is why his marks have improved. Whenever I show her a new trick we’ve been doing, she just rolls her eyes!
Her competition goals
I’d like to get my scores better in the Grand Prix. Back when I was riding Whisper, 64% was the winning test; now over 70% is the winning test. It’s obviously great to see the sport growing, but what’s frustrating for the competitive side of me is I’m doing some of the best tests I’ve ever done and I’m coming fifth! It’s really hard to be amongst it if you’re not on a big-moving warmblood.
The dreams of the Olympics get harder as you get older and more broken, but look at Julie Brougham – you just need the right horse at the right time. So I haven’t given up on that entirely, but most of all I love having a great horse. I love giving pony rides on Ali Baba so others get to experience it – it’s like having a Ferrari that people can have a play with.
Career highlight
I’ve won two international derbies, one in South Africa and one in Sydney. The flag being raised and your national anthem playing for you is pretty cool – I’d put that higher than winning HOY, because it’s just so cool to be up on that podium in the number one spot.
- This article was first published in the October 2017 issue of NZ Horse & Pony
