PEAK Crossing is home to Donal Hancock, who has represented his region and Australia on the world stage in a unique pursuit – colt starting
Creating a bond between horse and man to reach a unique end goal and being marked in competition on it is what colt starting is defined as, and Hancock is one of the world’s best.
Earlier this year, he went to Kentucky in the US to compete in the Road to the Horse – World Championship against the cream of the crop, including Olympian show jumper Tik Maynard from Canada, and Americans Ken McKnabb and C.D. Wilcox.
Within the competition, each competitor selects a completely unhandled colt from the group of fantastic Pitchfork Ranch colts.
Hancock was fortunate enough to have first selection and chose a lovely grey colt that he eventually decided to name Jooga – from the Indigenous word for young boy.
Each competitor has a pen wrangler helping from outside the pen, Josh Knight of Knights Equestrian (another local name) was the Australian hope’s assistant.
The colt start consists of 3 x 90min sessions over the three days where the trainer must handle, saddle and ride the colt, culminating in an obstacle course in the last session.
Each session is scored by five judges focusing on skill and horsemanship – the welfare of the horse is the top priority.
Tik Maynard was awarded Champion, with Hancock close behind, being awarded Reserve Champion.
Hancock also returned to Australia with the Jack Brainard Horsemanship Award – this award is “for the horseman or woman who excels in their power of observation to correctly analyse the best approach and then apply that method as smoothly as possible for the horses best interest”.
Hancock also competed in New Zealand in 2018 in the NZ Way of the Horse Colt start, where he and Georgia Kolovos took out the team prize for Australia.
Hancock is a horse trainer and clinician who takes on client horses, offering lessons and clinics, everyday living the philosophy of starting and establishing that relationship between man and horse.
