Molly was breed by a very good friend of ours Kelly who we have known for many years through racing. We first met Molly at the racing stables when they where deciding to finish her racing career or not. Well I don’t know why you would want to race her since she had a bad habit of lying down in the middle of the track for a few hours. Looking at her we thought she was a pretty spunky little mare. Kelly and her partner stopped talking and Molly went missing and we all feared the worse as there had been mention of her been sent to the knackery. By luck we found out she had been in a large paddock with 18 other horses for the past 3 months. 19 horses in one paddock 18 horses bolted except one little mare came trotting up to us Molly. From there our partnership started.
After 2 weeks of getting her home and going under saddle we decided to go to our local show in Clunes. Not even having a show name for her Tim came back after buying tickets to tell me her name was Miss Molly for the day and there it stuck. We went on that day to take out every class she went in including Champion Ridden Standardbred which was such a big deal for me as I had never won a champion and had always wanted too.
From there we went on to win many champions for the show season. Molly sometimes-even attending 2 shows for the weekend. She was always a delight to prepare for the show ring and when she enters the ring she owns it and has a presence about her that was even noticed at SPPHAV state champs getting 3rd out of 12 horses in best presented Led class. The day before she had taken out Supreme Led Standardbred at Maryborough show.
Even though Molly had won so many things in the show ring we hadn’t found her true passion till we started jumping. On the first day we showed Molly how to jump she went from baby jumps to 75cm and just loved it and would fly over them. My good friend Lee just loved riding her and I was riding another horse at the same time so decided to enter Lee on Molly for a showjumping competition at Dunolly in the open grade 5 section. Lee hadn’t competed in a proper competition before and in the first round they went clear over some very scary jumps except Lee missed a jump so the second round they did much better coming 5th overall.
Then we enter her for her first Horse trials without much practice with cross-country jumps I just hoped for the best. What I experienced that day was much better than one could ever expect. Our dressage test was accurate but not very slow as molly is always on a mission putting us in the bottom placing. I was a bit nervous before the jumping (hyperventilating actually) a few wise words from Tim get over it. I went in for the showjumping after the first couple of jumps I realised how much fun it was again after having a few bad horses prior to Molly. We went clear and even did some lovely turns. Then for cross-country still a bit nervous but not as bad as earlier. Started out nice and slow at a trot as it was quite hilly at Glenlyon as the confidence grew so did the speed. Near the end I realised how well I was doing and could see Tim and Michelle and starting yelling at the top of my lungs as Peter could hear me from where he was judging. That I had gone clear so far and as I went over the finish line a big wahoo come out of me I think everyone there that day could hear me. This was the first time ever in all my competing I had gone clear cross-country and to do it on Molly was such an achievement in its self with a horse that had never done it. Then we waited round to see where we had come, thinking that just maybe I might have placed but not expecting it. I looked when the scores got posted and we had finished 4th out of 15 riders.
From there we have done many more horse trials. Except Molly decided at the next one that she was not going to get her feet wet at the water jump. Even though I tried so hard she didn’t want a bar of it and since we where coming out of a drought I didn’t even have water to practice in. After we had some rain she was made to go through any water I could find even if it took ages to get her in. The turning point for Molly was a trail ride with the SRG at the You Yang’s. Like usual didn’t want to go in the water for me this included the usual rearing she did. So Tim hopped on after a few hits with the crop she was in. I think after that it was I would rather go in the water then Tim hop on and we have been swimming in the local dam here and hasn’t flattered an eyelid at water since trots straight in.
So far Molly has been super competitive in Showjumping coming 5th at State SPPHAV showjumping champs to then me getting more confident and realising Molly can turn on a dime and using that to my advantage. Then Bendigo showjumping to getting a 6th in AM7 and a 4th in Table C. Back to Dunolly where her jumping all started getting 2nd in AM7 and 6th in Table C. To the biggest class you can have at Bullengarook with 32 riders coming 3rd in the 2 phase round. Our aim now is to point to grade 3 and then aim for the 100 point showjumping award. We already have 5 points but it will take years for this goal I have with a small standardbred mare that has turned heads where ever she goes and has a cheer squad of people I don’t even know.
Molly has tried her hand at every single discipline and more even having the opportunity to lead the races out at Moonee Valley, Maryborough for the Red wood races and the Horsham cup. Whatever she tries she succeeds at so well. So at the recent AGM I was so surprised with the Trophy that was awarded to us. For standardbred riding group 07 outstanding achievement for the promotion of standardbreds "Jodie & Molly". It means so much to Molly and me receiving such an award after a year we have come so far and been all over Victoria showing people that standardbreds can do anything and do so well at it against open competition too. This Trophy has pride of place next to the trophy she got when she came Champion at Clunes.
