EQUINE INTERNATIONAL AIRFREIGHT
IN-FLIGHT DECEMBER 2016
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Where did that year go? If you’ll excuse the pun, 2016 has just flown by, but what a wonderful 12 months it has been, especially for so many of our equine athletes. The last few months alone have been hectic enough: the thoroughbred spring racing carnival, the Adelaide 4* Eventing and world cup qualifier, the showcase that was Showjumping in Sydney, the Dressage at Boneo Park Spring CDI and of course Equitana – the largest festival in the southern hemisphere totally dedicated to all things Equine. EIAF was fortunate enough to be a major sponsor of Equitana and I must say what a great event it was to be a part of. I am very proud of the commitment and dedication shown by our staff to the horses we have moved this year and I am really looking forward to making some exciting announcements for air horse travel in 2017. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. - CAMERON CROUCHER, EIAF Managing Director
TOM QUILTY ... A ‘GRULL-ING’ EVENT The Tom Quilty Endurance Race - first staged way back in 1966 - is one of Australia’s most famous equine events: 1 horse, 1 rider, 1 day, 100 miles! Now rotated between the six states, the 2016 Tom Quilty Gold Cup was held at Granite Hill near Ballarat in Victoria and was won by EIAF client, Debbie Grull, on board her gallant steed, Lauralyn Notorious (left). EIAF’s Cameron Croucher and Sue Ellis both attended the 2016 event and both now have a renewed appreciation of just how physically demanding this event is on both horse and rider. “With a large group of Arab trainers and owners, and other buyers on hand, it was an ideal opportunity for Australian breeders to present the very best endurance horses available,” Cameron points out. “Obviously there is a ground swell of concern regarding the recent ban from the UAE as a result of a sick horse being transported to Dubai, but thankfully the horses that EIAF has transported travelled in optimal health and condition. “Congratulations to Debbie (Grull) and Lauralyn Notorious … Debbie breeds and races Arabian endurance horses from her base in Tasmania, and it was great to see her win the Tom Quility against some very experienced riders.” HOOFNOTE: The Tom Quilty is named after the Australian station owner, pastoralist, philanthropist and bush poet (pictured left) who holds the record for the largest freehold land acreage in Australia … over 3 million acres for a single property and in excess of 4.5 million acres of land.
EQUIne heaven!
Cameron Croucher (left) with Stuart Tinney & Shauna Nolan
Sue Ellis, Cameron Croucher & one very quiet horse!
Shauna Nolan ‘womans’ the booth at Equitana
It is difficult to describe just how good an event Equitana is. That many people in the one place at the one time, all sharing the same passion. Incredible. EIAF was proud to be part of Equitana 2016 and as the only international airfreight exhibitor, the level of interest was tremendous. It was actually the first opportunity for many people to see the actual air stall up close and quite a few commented at how well behaved the stall’s occupant was for the three days. Didn’t move an inch. All jokes aside, Equitana is equine heaven and one of the visitors was Olympian Stuart Tinney and we’re reminded just what a great competitor he is by the medals hanging around his neck: the gold from Sydney and a bronze from Rio. We’re also pretty chuffed that Stuart’s fellow Olympian, Shane Rose, commented that “EIAF is the best horse airfreight company in the world” and it was other visitors included the Wilson sisters for whom EIAF moved their horses across for the ‘Brumby Challenge’. So much to see and do - the days and hours ticked by just too quickly and we can’t wait for the next Equitana. In the meantime, EIAF is the major sponsor for Equifest in March 2017.
SPRING SPRUNG GREAT RACING
SHOWCASE OF SHOWJUMPING
The Showcase of Showjumping took place at Richmond in NSW in October and once again proved to be a highly successful event. Gee, this event goes from strength to strength and has rapidly become a ‘must attend’ on the Showjumping calendar. This time around there were equine stalls, entertainment and a host of other activities to please all attendees and participants - young and old. Brought to you by Winning Appliances, the Showcase of Showjumping was certainly an excellent opportunity for some of the rising stars of Australian Showjumping to display their talent. The EIAF team was well represented and a big thank you to Alice Cameron from Oaks Sport Horses who hosted us in the VIP Marquee, while EIAF team member, Tim Dreverman, was hard at work doing the commentary during the competition and it was especially heartening to see some of the Showjumping stock that we had imported, participate during the event.
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival again served to highlight the quality of thoroughbred racing talent that is currently available in Australia and it’s difficult to isolate any single performance. However, the mighty - Winx - is now ranked the best turf horse and No. 1 racemare in the world following her second victory in the Cox Plate. Long may she reign. Others to catch the eye were dual Group One winner, Global Glamour - owned by 40 women from seven different countries; Prized Icon, whose Victoria Derby victory was the first for James Cummings, whose father, grandfather (Bart) and great grandfather have all trained the winner of that famous race (which is older than the Melbourne Cup); German horse Almandin winning the Melbourne Cup and; Black Caviar’s breeder, Rick Jamieson, also the breeder of Caulfield Cup winner, Jameka. On a personal note, congratulations to good friend and EIAF client, Shane Nichols, who trained his first Group One winner when I Am A Star won the Myer Classic at Flemington. Onya Shane!
STAFF PROFILE John Jeffs JJ, tell us about your experience in the equine world. You’ve been around the block a couple of times? Horses have always held a fascination for me and I’ve had the very good fortune to be closely involved with them throughout my working life. Not only have I seen and been involved with some tremendous horses - many of them household names - I’ve also met some truly remarkable people along the way. I was track manager at Rosehill racecourse in Sydney for 18 years before taking up a similar role in Hong Kong for 5 years. Now, in my ‘retirement’, I work for a number of different farms at all the major sales, effectively directing the traffic for horse staff and meeting and greeting all the people who come to inspect the horses. Much of my involvement over the years has been with the thoroughbred industry, but every horse - regardless of breed - has four legs and I’m passionate about what I do. Horses have given me everything in life … rewards, travel, many wonderful friendships! What is your role with EIAF? International Sales Manager! OK, a fancy title I know, but after 50 or so years associating with horse people you end up with a wide circle of friends from just about every corner of the globe. I get to travel around a lot and have no trouble whatsoever in introducing them to the myriad benefits of transporting horses to and from Australia. How long have you been associated with EIAF? Since Day One actually! I’ve been good mates with EIAF Managing Director, Cameron Croucher, for many years and we worked closely together when we were both involved with the Fleming family. Cameron was initially tied up with Jim Fleming’s supermarket chain and other businesses, but he and I saw a lot more of each other when he took over as CEO of leading thoroughbred stud farm, Eliza Park. When Cameron told me that he was starting up EIAF, I knew right away that it would be successful because he’s always been customer focussed and professional in everything he does. Plus, like the rest of us, he’s a horse tragic too. In your experience, what sets EIAF apart from other airfreight operators? There have been so many changes to the way horses are transported by air over the past few decades. It is now such a flourishing industry with a lot more horses coming to and departing Australia. The thing I like most about EIAF, aside from the professionalism of the team and the sheer dedication to getting the job done, is its ability to move quickly with the times. It’s a business in which you really need to be at the cutting edge because of how it is so rapidly evolving. You must have met a lot of people over the years? Countless! There is something about horse people that bind us all together. Involvement in the equine industry comes in all shapes and sizes … you get captains of industry, captains of the local footy club, CEOs and garbos. It’s a wonderful mix of men, women, boys and girls and regardless of background, there’s that common interest. What I enjoy about my role at EIAF is that I get to deal with these people on a daily basis and have no problems in recommending our services because I know we get the job done. What has the feedback been like since you joined EIAF? Tremendous. Owners don’t treat their horses as a commodity … or some sort of product. We’re not transporting TV sets or cars. We’re dealing with living, breathing animals that people have invested much more than just money into. Everyone at EIAF takes his or her responsibilities very seriously … after all, we own horses ourselves. We know it can be a costly and stressful exercise transporting horses and, while I’m super confident EIAF can get the job done both professionally and competitively, the personal nature of our business is paramount as well.
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ADELAIDE’S CROWNING GLORY
November was a big month by any standards (and for many breeds), but the Australian International 3 Day event in Adelaide would be hard to top. Quite a number of EIAF clients appeared at the event including Andrew Lamb, winner of the new National Series, the Equestrian Australia Jumping Dual Crown. Andrew collected 12 points at the two officially sanctioned events for 2016 that were the ASJC Australian Showjumping Championships (8 pts) and the Adelaide World Cup Qualifier at the Australian International 3 Day Event (4 pts). Congratulations also to Hazel Shannon who scooped first place in the 4* and also took out the Equestrian Australia Dual Crown. And, what’s more, her horse Clifford received the Off The Track prize. Special mention also to Gemma Tinney, daughter of Olympian Stuart and Karen, who did so well in the young riders’ championship. Well done to everyone involved in a truly international event!
YOUNG RIDERS SERIES TO BE A CLASSIC EIAF is proud to be sponsoring the Young Riders division of the Sydney Summer Showjumping Classic to be held on 8 December. The Summer Showjumping Classic CSI-W brings Australia’s best horsepower to Sydney where the harmony and partnership between rider and horse will be on display as they soar over obstacles of up to 1.6 metres in height and two metres wide. These courageous young men and women could be our Olympians of the future and it gives us great pleasure to be involved in an event that showcases the young guns in this sport. We wish all participants the best of luck and may we be of service to you as you progress through the ranks.
READY TO RUN & FLY Ready to Run Sales in the thoroughbred industry are increasing in popularity and throughout October and November, there were three separate auctions for 2YOs in training horses in the southern hemisphere. First cab off the rank was the Ready2Race Sale conducted by sales company, Inglis, in Sydney on 4 October where four colts topped $300,000 for the time ever at an Australian breeze up sale. Ultimately, 147 lots were sold at an average of $62,731 and gross of close to $10 million. The international buying bench was limited but EIAF managed to be entrusted with horses to Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. There was a far greater international presence at the 2-day Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs in Training Sale the following week where buyers from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States all made their presence felt. Ultimately, 212 lots were sold at an average of $48,910, grossing over $10 million, which was an increase of nearly $2 million on the previous year. Top price was a Star Witness colt from High Aspirations (a terrific name for a horse!) which was sold for $450,000, but not far behind was another Star Witness colt (from Ellamotion) that was snapped up by EIAF client, Constance Cheng, for $315,000. Constance (pictured top left) is giving the horse a break in Australia and will bring it back into work before sending it to Singapore with EIAF in early 2017. Constance is the President of the Thoroughbred Owners Association and Sports Trust in Singapore and has been an active purchaser of horses in Australia for some time. In November, the 2YO sales’ series shifted to New Zealand where Australians outlaid a total of $8m for some exceptional bloodlines to race locally. The Asian buyers were very strong at the top end of the market, as you would expect, but there were a number of Aussies chasing the dream of owning a good stayer bred in New Zealand. Congratulations and very best of luck to all those who purchased and EIAF is honoured to be transporting some of these athletes to their new homes.
Well done Amigo (& Rachel)
Despite record breaking rainfall (and yes, snow covered hills on the first day of competition), the Canberra International Horse Trials were a huge success with some magnificent competition throughout. Congratulations to client, Rachael Lee, who captured a terrific third in the CIC1* on the EIAF transported, Amigo.