Kylie Zabel still cannot believe just how far “Rooster” has come from his first interactions with her to where the former race horse is today.
Known as Rooster to all that spend time with him, the bay gelding raced under the moniker “Stukwun”.
Prepared by Louise White in his six career races through 2018 and 2019, Rooster has found his calling with Zabel, who runs the Flinton Park Equestrian.
Zabel decided to take on Rooster as she thought he had potential, purchasing the son of Love Conquers All from one of his part-owners from his racing days.
It is fair to say things did not start smoothly for the Zabel and Rooster partnership as he started to settle into life after racing.
“The first couple of weeks were pretty hairy, to be honest he was one of the worst I have ever had to re-train,” Zabel remembers.
“Just his behaviour as well as generally being nervous about everything.
“After a week we progressed to being able to walk in a straight line and within a few more weeks, he suddenly changed.
“He was quiet and happy, he was enjoying his work, and he completely stopped all his nervous behaviour and was just a pleasure to be around.”
Some time on, Zabel still is unsure what turned the six-year-old around with his attitude and demeanour but believes something just clicked and he has been a different horse since.
“I do not know what it was, maybe he just realised this is how it is going to be from now on and there was no more pressure on him,” Zabel said.
“It is different for every horse but for him, he had no need to be nervous any more.
“Maybe he needed the time and started to enjoy his new-found routine doing flat work and the jumping we had started.
“It goes to show that some thoroughbreds given the time they need, can be a golden in the rough.”
After around three months together, Zabel started using him in her riding school as a lesson horse for riders of all ages and abilities, ranging from beginners to the more advanced.
“We used a few of the more experienced riders first up and he took to that really well,” she said.
“We eventually started to use him with beginners, like learning to trot and canter, and he just took to it like a duck to water.
“They felt pretty safe on him, he gives them security. He is a pleasure to have him around.”
As well as assisting at the riding school, Rooster has ventured to showjumping events around Toowoomba and Warwick.
“At first we went over some small courses and he was really good at that and stood by the float all day,” she said.
“He was happy to go out on to the arena and do what was asked.
“We went down to the Elysian Fields, he won the Off-The-Track Championship and he has had a few minor placings throughout the place.
“In his first eventing comp he finished third in a one-day event at Toowoomba.”
He is also working on his dressage with weekly lessons and while Rooster had a year off from show jumping following Zabel having a baby, he is now back in work and started back competing, recently attending the Warwick show.
“He jumped his first metre five class championships, which is for up-and-coming horses, those that are newly registered with Equestrian Australia,” she said.
“It is more for young and green horses, he came fifth in that, which was quite good.”
Rooster is one of three thoroughbreds Zabel works with.
Stukwun had six career races starts on the provincial scene in South East Queensland and never ran in the money.