Jean, Brent and their daughter Kelly took three horses to the show and at its first Royal Show, five-year-old chestnut KL Embers won the Novice Show Hunter Galloway 14.2-15hh Class before it claimed the Show Hunter Galloway Championship the following day. 

Embers, which is known as Amber “around the house”, had to compete as a novice as it had never been to a Royal Show.

Jean said it was rare for a horse to be open champion on its first crack.

“It doesn’t happen very often that you go from novice to open champion at the Royal Show,” Jean said.

“We’ve had faith that it’s a particularly good horse.

“It takes a lot to prepare with its education, presentation and conditioning.

“They have to look the part and do movements that are asked of them in their workout.

“We’ve also had them under lights January so their coat doesn’t thicken.”

Jean said the family worked together and that made it more rewarding.

“It’s only our hobby but we put a lot of effort into it,” she said.

“We’ve been going (to Sydney Royal) for the past 10 years and it’s the first champion we’ve had.

“My husband even shoes the horses; everything is done as a family.

“We bought the horse as a three-year-old and educated it from the ground up.”

The win means Embers can compete at the Grand Nationals next April and Jean said her daughter Kelly would be taking back the reins.

“It’s Kelly’s horse but she had a knee reconstruction so she couldn’t ride her for nearly 12 months but she’ll take it back over now,” Jean said.

“That’s the biggest event of the show horse world in Australia  you could say.

“Horses from all over Australia will be there.” 

Jean said Embers would be given a spell until September when the family starts the show run again.

“We do the whole South Coast, Nowra and sometimes we do the western run around Young and Wagga Wagga,” she said.  

Embers has already qualified for the next Sydney Royal.

She will have a busy April next year when she tackles the Grand Nationals and tries to defend her Sydney Royal crown.