Don’t Forget To Remember Me

When I received a message from Cherie Robinson, the breeder of James Arkin’s, fabulous, Rosthwaite Vigilante II, (aka Robbie) I had not prior to this moment given the horse’s breeder a thought.  I am vitally interested in and keenly following the starry successes of James and Robbie.  I smile at the idea of Vaughn Jefferis, once again having that innate talent and instinctive intuition that can never be taught, to spot the potential in a young horse and quietly keep an eye on it, for several years in this case, with one of his pupils in mind.  But I did not give a thought to the breeder. 

As chance would have it there were mistakes in a news drop which iSpyHorses had immediately published, informing us about James’ desire to win the Olympic Cup and the Silver Fern Stakes at Farmlands Horse of the Year Show, taking place in Hastings, 1st-6th March 2016.  These mistakes prompted, Cherie Robinson to message us.  As I made the corrections, I thought more about this horse that Cherie had bred only eleven years earlier and that she had owned for seven of those years.  I picked up the phone.   

I was glad to have poured a wine and be able to sit back and listen closely to this incredibly unassuming, knowledgeable horsewoman who is clearly passionate about her horses and who certainly showed no sign of any hard feelings about not ‘making the cut’ so to speak, in the articles written that I have read re James and Robbie.   

Pictured here, Robbie's two Mums - Cherie and Angel.

 “When breeding horses there are so many touch points along the way and so many people involved,” Cherie told me.  “It took two seasons to achieve Robbie.  He is my first foal.  And things were not easy.  But to have landed a foal like him is incredibly exciting and all the hard work becomes insignificant.” 

I imagine that it is only in hindsight that the hard work and heartbreak, Cherie described in some detail, becomes insignificant.  Cherie had more and more stories to tell giving reference to other breeders, brood mares, available stallions, local vets, and specialist vets, stud masters, trainers, professional riders, friends, neighbours, all of whom played a major role in getting Robbie to where he is now.  Cherie told me, “Your first foal is very important to you.  You get extremely attached.  I buried his placenta and on top planted a Liquid Amber tree that is thriving.”

Cherie, who describes herself as a boutique breeder, had intended to breed a top of the line eventer in the making of Robbie.  She hastily added, “But of course, Voltaire II is so versatile and most of his horses have got such beautiful movement, they can be purebred dressage horses, show jumpers and eventers.  They can be top in any discipline.”

It became clear to me that Cherie is hugely significant in, and the force behind, getting Robbie up and running to where he was ultimately saleable to the competitive and talented horseman, James Arkins.  “It’s huge,” Cherie says.  “Without us breeders and our passion and drive and unfaltering belief in these horses, there would be nothing.” 

Robbie’s mother, a thoroughbred by Super Imposing (AUS) and out of Secrest (NZ) by Western Bay, was gifted to Cherie by her Great Uncle, Dardy Owen, who bred racehorses at the time.  He and his sister, Nancy Owen, bred a few horses and Nancy and her sister, Molly, were great horsewomen in their day.  They won many NZ Championships mostly in showing classes.    Dardy became unwell forcing him to disperse his horses and Cherie was offered Robbie’s mum, Angel.  Cherie had a quick look at her in the paddock, arranged a transporter and as she seemed such a lovely natured animal, upon her arrival, Cherie geared her up and jumped on, only to find out at the end of a fabulous calm ride over the farm, that this mare hadn’t been touched in several years and even then was only ever prepped for racing trials. 

A very slow growing horse, Angel had been left in a paddock for four years and was now to be Cherie’s to ride.  She sent the mare away to Colin and Toni McIntosh, for schooling and to see if she had the makings of something.  But a flick in the mare’s gait behind, told of some old injury and forced the work to cease.  However, the McIntosh’s loved the mare and had found her very trainable.  In the short time they had her, she developed well and they were highly complementary of her, thus becoming hugely instrumental in the existence of, Robbie.  They told, Cherie, if she were ever to breed a foal from this mare, they would be interested to buy it.  At that time Ramirez and Voltaire II were arguably the most outstanding stallions in NZ.  Cherie loved the look of Voltaire II and she thought for several years about the possibility of breeding from Angel.  In the meantime, Angel proved to be a fabulous pleasure hack for Cherie, who says the mare never said no to her.   Enjoying riding at the beach most of all, Cherie rode until she was five months pregnant with her first child.

“I knew that any foal bred from this mare was going to have, if nothing else, a beautiful nature,” Cherie said, earnestly.

After a failed season at getting Angel in foal to Voltaire II, Cherie was thrilled to discover that, Martin and Karen Gow, of Craighaven Sport Horses, were not only back in New Zealand, but they were living nearby.  Martin had been the stud master at Hartpury Stud in the UK, for several years, making him the obvious choice to assist with getting Angel in foal.  They achieved almost immediate success.  

“As it is for everyone who breeds horses, there are the late nights," Cherie said.  "Then the all night nights.  The constant checking of the mare.  And constant vet visits.  It’s never ending care and attention.  And not just for the eleven plus months gestation.”

In October, on a wet, grey, day, at 5am, Robbie was born.  The wee, very bedraggled, sopping wet blob in the paddock was spotted.   “Just how you don’t want things to be,” Cherie added. “Cold and wet.”

Robbie looked like a spider, all legs, and crooked legs at that.  It was scary for Cherie who was new to this.  She rang Martin who immediately took a look and said, “Don’t worry a bit about that.  His legs will straighten in no time.”

Understandably, when one looks at the picture above, it was a little hard for Cherie to believe that all was ok with these bent legs and the very high rump, so the vet was called.  Robbie was treated for constipation and the vet reiterated what Martin had said. 

From the outset, Robbie, received nothing but the best kid-glove attention. He stayed on the mare for a year until she weaned him herself, then she was transported back to Craighaven to once again be put in foal.  “It’s good for them to stay as long as possible on the mare,” Cherie, said.  “The mare teaches them so much more than people ever will.  And I wanted that good nature ingrained in Robbie.”

When he was a young foal, Cherie was putting him and Angel into a yard, and Angel trotted off.  Without any fuss or bother, Robbie jumped out over the high rails and trotted after his mum.  Cherie looked at her own mum, in disbelief, and said, “Did that just happen?”

Right from the very beginning, Robbie showed his incredible talent for jumping.   As a baby, with covers on, heavily rugged up against the cold, he would jump gates and fences. Indeed, when he was only three days old, he found himself out on the verge of the highway and just when Cherie was panicking about retrieving him, he jumped back in to be with, Angel.  “It was nothing to Robbie to boing over anything.”

At two years old, Robbie was gelded and duly sent for preschool training to Leigh and Robin Lark, at Larkspur Lodge, and they did a fabulous job training him for in hand classes that unfortunately time never did allow for.  Nonetheless, this set Robbie up to have good manners and be easy to handle and ultimately break in. 

Robbie was returned home and turned out on the hills until he was a three year old.  Then he went back to be broken in.  This was an interesting, difficult time for Cherie, in that reports kept coming back from Leigh and Robin, that Robbie may have a neurological problem, perhaps a frozen shoulder.  In any event, he was resisting going forward and refusing to bend.  After numerous vet and chiropractor visits, lots of treatments, including Bowen Therapy, and when Cherie had giant bills coming at her from all directions, she threw up her hands and said, “Enough.”  She consulted, Ivan Bridge at Vet Associates, in Takanini, and arranged for Robbie to be delivered there.  Cherie took her own float to the consultation fully believing after all the reports to date, she would be taking Robbie home to bury him under the Liquid Amber tree.  “There was no point in continuing, if he had all those things wrong with him,” she said.

For the vet to see what was happening, Robin put Robbie, in the round pen and lunged him.  After only two minutes the vet said, “Stop.  That’s enough.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this horse.”

Robbie simply needed time to grow into his frame.  At the age of three, he did not have the muscle required to carry himself, let alone a rider too.  Which of course in hindsight made so much sense but at the time everyone thought they were dealing with a seriously flawed horse. 

So Robbie was taken home in the float, thankfully not to be buried but rather to be turned out on the hills for another year and be left to grow.  Cherie says she learned valuable lessons here.  Firstly, she learned to always consult a specialist equine vet and be dealing with facts, and secondly, not all horses can be treated equally.  “Some are simply not ready for the four and five year old events and class’s people strive for.  Robbie has a very big frame.  That and a rider to carry as well was too much for him at three years old.  He wasn’t being naughty, he was trying to communicate that this couldn’t be done.” 

At four years old, Robbie was good to go, and Cherie gallantly did all within her ability to find the right rider to develop and compete him.  It was not easy and several riders did not succeed.  Constantly, Cherie found herself apologetically explaining why she was removing Robbie from the care of one rider, then trying to convey to the next rider what she understood was required.  Her unwavering belief in this horse kept her going long after even the most hardened owners may have given up. 

Cherie can recount plenty of the stories we’ve all heard, one being of paying through the nose and finding out that Robbie was not being ridden at all but lunged only.  “These Voltaire’s need individual attention and to bond with their rider,” Cherie said.  “If they have faith in the rider, they will do anything for them.  Voltaire’s are unconventional and they get labelled negatively when riders don’t have the skills to manage them.  These are high calibre horses.  You won’t get anything better.  If left to grow they’ll have longevity.  They will be the older horses on young legs.”

The experience along the way of raising Robbie, has been win-lose and nothing short of heart-breaking at times.  Eventually, after Robbie was labelled with all kinds of negative and disparaging comments along the lines of “he’s a dumb blood!” Cherie found a husband and wife team who put her precious boy back together again after being a lot messed up.  Debbie Barke and her husband, Peter, proved to be invaluable in restoring Robbie’s faith and it took just a month or so to get his flat work established.  “They put great work into him and they really liked him,” Cherie said.  “But interestingly, the word ‘Wow’ was never used.”

Again, Cherie’s belief in her horse could not be shaken.  She had even emailed, Andrew Scott suggesting that Robbie would be perfect for him and available to buy.  Andrew declined.

Then a mother daughter team, Sandra Becconsall and her daughter, Jordyn, came into the picture.  While they were not overly complimentary of Robbie, they got him jumping well and they were very honest to deal with, sending lots of photos and keeping Cherie in the loop.  Robbie’s confidence was built up but again Jordyn was not the first rider to be freaked out by Robbie’s huge movement.  It was at a Tauranga Show Jumping day, when Sandra advised Cherie to find another more suitable rider.  Lucy Olphert, a very competent, highly talented rider was there at the show and she put Robbie over a few jumps.  Interestingly, Cherie believes this is where Vaughn Jefferis first eyeballed Robbie, now a five year old.  

Pictured here is Vaughn Jefferis, (back view, middle) watching, Lucy and Robbie, jumping the practice fences and looking pretty smart, Robbie jumping magnificently.  

Ryan Lim was also at this same show jumping day and he instantly loved Robbie.  As it turned out, Ryan played a critical role in Robbie’s development and subsequent sale to James, via Vaughn Jefferis.  Ryan was the calm male rider required who had the courage just to sit and let the huge movement all go on beneath him.  He undid all of the damage done previously, and quietly worked through the issues, righting the wrongs.  Based in Auckland, Ryan had Robbie in his possession and care for eighteen months and until Robbie was sold as a seven year old.  The pair were winning at 1.30m.  David Goodin was the coach and he and Ryan both knew this was a good horse. 

Cherie had sacrificed a great deal to follow her passion and get this fabulous horse underway but sadly, as a single mother, she could not afford to keep going.  Up to this point, Cherie had been simply ploughing money into Robbie, and now came the time to establish a value and agree to sell, which for an unwilling vendor is never an easy task.  After the usual half share ideas were floated and a value difficult to agree upon, Cherie took a deep breath, stood her ground and named a price.  It was awkward.  Cherie had been through a lot of stress with various riders.  That and the knowledge that as the owner, she was not always in control, greatly influenced this hard decision for her.  By some miraculous coincidence, Vaughn heard the horse may be for sale when James Arkins, was in the country and available to try Robbie.  The stars aligned.  Robbie was sold for the first time at the age of seven years.

Mathew Gilmour and Vaughn Jefferis, bought Robbie back into work after a bit of a break, and schooled him for James, who arrived back in NZ and rode him that same year at HOY 2014.  It was here at HOY 2014 and not before this, that Cherie was able to say her goodbyes to Robbie.  It was also on this ocassion that Cherie met James for the first time. 

Cherie was heartbroken to have been in the position of having to sell this horse that she knew all along was something special.  Midst the numerous negative opinions, and the words 'dumb blood' being bandied about all too frequently to describe Cherie’s precious boy, although others did praise him, Cherie had stood her ground and believed where others may not.   On the advice of some vets Robbie may well have been put down.  It is a credit to Cherie to have never given up.  She spent money she did not have on Robbie.  All the while, she was at the mercy of others, seeking assistence and paying fees.  Her fight to keep ownership of Robbie failed. 

There is usually a silver lining though and Cherie reports how thrilled she was to finally meet James Arkins and discover, ‘just what a lovely chap he is.’  James took Robbie back to Australia where together they have achieved wonderful results.  Lots of support from Vaughn has meant that James and Robbie have gone from strength to strength and the magic has happened.   

I for one will be watching the Olympic Cup at Farmlands Horse of the Year Show, 1 - 6th March 2016, with a renewed interest.  Not only will I be keenly watching, James and his beautiful horse, Rosthwaite Vigilante II, perform, but also I’ll be keeping in mind, the immense part to play that Cherie had in not only the success but also the mere existence of this horse.  James and Robbie will be out there entertaining us all.  Cherie’s perseverance, hard work and unwavering faith, will be riding along with them. 

Written by Heather Cato

© iSpyHorses 2016