Christine Weal

 

Dunstan, on your side all the way

Biggest Equestrian Accomplishment:

I love turning tricky horses around, and we have had plenty over the years! producing Underdiscussion to Prix St George level and then watching Chris Burton win Aachen CHIO (Germany) International on him in eventing and still being an owner was a thrill.

Riding at some amazing stables in Europe and being trusted to train their horses to Grand Prix has always been amazing. Winning the international Derby at the Sydney CDI.

Winning the Grand Prix Championship and Prix St George Championship for the Geor family was pretty special. I have been lucky to have been associated with some great horses and owners.

Coaching wise this last year has been pretty amazing not only coaching riders of all levels and watching them achieve their goals. But at a HP level I’m very lucky to be involved with two of New Zealands best riders Wendi Williamson and Vanessa Way who between the two of them have won all the major shows in NZ and Wendi won the GP in Australia and qualified for the Olympics. Im really invested in putting back into our your riders including fellow Dunstan rider Paige Fitzgerald.

What are your goals for the coming season?

Keep training our horses up through the levels at home, including Stoneylea Felcio who is now starting to train a lot of the Grand Prix movements. Its exciting to watch them develop as they get stronger. Im excited to see how Zoie goes with the young horses including the ones we have bred that are starting to get broken in and Sam Belshem who works for us competing in the young rider and small tour level.

Keep helping the riders I coach reach their goals and hopefully a couple of international shows to coach at would be nice as well.


The one horse to watch?

Stoneylea Felico who will hopefully do a small tour start after Christmas.
Stoneylea Fursten Layla will be the quiet achiever but im really excited about her as an older horse.


Name Four People You Would Invite for Dinner:

Graeme Norton, Roger Federer, Gai Waterhouse, Isabell Werth (German dressage rider).

Speaking of Dinner Can you Share a Horse Feeding Tip?

Fibre, Fibre, Fibre and for horses that won’t eat, Dunstan Breed & Grow is always the go to for us, the horses do so well on this feed and its easy to feed when you have a number of horses. During the season when we need to add a bit more topline and energy to the horses we add some Dunstan muscle and shine or Dunstan rice.

What do you never leave home without?

Jackets, jackets, jackets!

So then, What is Your Number One Tip for Travelling Horses?

Always important that the horses are happy and relaxed before they travel. We use Beta Vet Gastro tec to help with the stress of travel and going to a new place. Im a big believer in feeding Dunstan BetaBeet or Recovery mash for dehydration and that people don’t out enough though into recovery after hard work at shows and bigger training sessions. We give our horses a small recovery feed within half an hour of their work to help with this. Dunstan treats are always a must for when the horses have worked well at the shows.

Can you tell us who inspires you?

Ulf and Eva Moller German Dressage riders that I spent a lot of time training with in Germany. Both of them could turn a Donkey into an amazing moving international dressage horse and I think that is a real skill. Both of them would do it by being patient, good skills and a smile on their face.

What is your favourite riding accessory?

Kingsland jackets
Disciplines:
Dressage

How did you get started in your equine career?
My parents were both involved with training racehorses, my mother rode show horses very successfully, and my sister evented to 3 star level, so horses were a way of life for our family. It was a great grounding into the management of horses before doing it on my own.

Christine Loves to feed
Dunstan Breed & Grow

Dunstan Breed & Grow

Dunstan Muscle n' Shine

Dunstan Muscle n' Shine

Dunstan Extruded Rice

Dunstan Extruded Rice

Dunstan All 4 Feet

Dunstan All 4 Feet

Dunstan Betabeet

Dunstan Betabeet