By Melinda Floyd
I’m Melinda, and along with my husband and daughter, we have two Welsh Cob geldings and a Clydesdale-Thoroughbred cross.
My main man is Rhys, a nine-year-old Welsh Cob. The Clydie cross, Bumper, is my husband’s 10-year-old trail-riding horse, and our other cob, a six-year-old homebred, is Teigr.
I kind of accidentally fell into my love for Welshies. I was horseless for the first time since I started riding as a small child, and a friend asked me to take her young Section C (pony of cob type) Welsh, break him in, and get him out and about; I agreed, and my love developed from there.
I had him for a good few years, and then I took on a Section D stallion that another friend owned; I just loved them. Welsh Cobs can have some tricky tendencies, but they are special, and I’ve found that they will do anything for you when you have a good bond with them.
As my time with the stallion came to an end, I began leasing a mare from his owner, and bred myself a foal. That foal grew up to become Teigr, with whom my daughter is starting to compete under saddle. He had his first show just this summer.
While the mare was in foal with him, I set out to find myself something to ride in the meantime. I was looking for something young and ready to break in, as well as big enough for me to do all kinds of fun things, like eventing and jumping. I didn’t have a huge budget, but I was pretty flexible on what I was looking for, other than age and height.
I came across Rhys through a friend on Facebook, and he was actually the first horse I went to look at. Everyone says not to buy the first one straight away, but I think it was meant to be. We took the float for the six-hour drive, and came home with him.
Rhys wasn’t very well handled and was a bit of an ugly duckling; he also spent the first month with a head collar and catching rope on, as he couldn’t be caught, with the rope made shorter and shorter until we no longer needed it. I had planned to begin breaking him in right away, but as it panned out, he needed a lot more handling and work on the ground before that could happen, so we began with basic handling. Rhys learned how to pick up his feet and have a head collar taken on and off. Eventually, we progressed to bitting him up, long-reining, and ground driving. It was about six months before I was able to sit on him.
I had actually intended to sell Rhys after Teigr was going under saddle. But I totally fell in love with him, and he has well and truly surpassed all of our expectations, so he’s never leaving the family.
Rhys and I attended his first show under saddle in March 2020, which is when COVID-19 really took hold and shut everything down here in Australia. Instead of competing, we spent the next year riding out, and occasionally going to some local shows. As he progressed, we attended some jump club days.
We did a lot of different things – from showing and eventing, camping and riding in the mountains, to a few unofficial dressage competitions – and really enjoyed it all. It wasn’t until early 2023, though, that I thought I would like to have a bit of a serious go at dressage.
After a few starts in Preliminary (Australian equivalent to the United States Training Level), I started to really enjoy the training side of the sport and the challenge of working our way up the levels. So, I set about registering him with Equestrian Australia and upgraded my membership so we could compete in official classes.
We stepped up to Novice (First Level) and had some success, but learning new skills myself and teaching Rhys excited me the most. I began to wonder, “How far could we really go?”
I had never competed past Novice Level before, and even then, it had just been the odd test here and there in my younger years, so I was approaching the top of my skill set. But we worked our way up through Elementary Level (Second Level) without too much drama, and I decided that I loved it. Now, our aim was to see just how far we could progress through the levels.
We live in rural Australia and usually travel at least an hour and a half (often up to 3 hours or, occasionally, many more) to compete, and, thankfully, Rhys is a great traveler. He is always well-behaved and sensible to unload for a stretch anywhere, from a busy truck stop to a bush rest area.
A few months ago, we began working with a trainer once a fortnight, and with her help, we have recently stepped up to Medium (Third Level). The biggest challenge for us has been our flying changes, which can be a bit exciting for him. Some days, we struggle to get them, but most days, he does them everywhere, all the time – even when we only want one!
In choosing our biggest challenge, I don’t think I can pinpoint our one biggest accomplishment together; he has exceeded expectations in everything he does. As a five-year-old, Rhys won Champion Ridden Welsh at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the largest agricultural show in Australia and one of the biggest ticketed events in the world; he has also won showjumping events and eventing trials, and steps up again and again in the dressage arena. In January 2024, Rhys and I, along with my daughter Lilly and Bumper the Clumper, spent some time camping in the Snowy Mountains, and rode to the iconic Craig’s Hut from the 1982 movie The Man from Snowy River – that was something to tick off the bucket list!
Rhys just has such a can-do attitude. He is willing to have a go at anything asked of him, while doing it all with that little bit of sparkle that I think is essential for success in the ring. I also think that all the variety in his life has been really beneficial to his dressage schooling, keeping him nice and fresh. I find his best work does not come while schooling in our arena at home, but while we are outside.
Given their versatility, I think the Welsh Cob is a great breed for almost anyone. I love that Rhys is so much fun for me because, as an adult amateur, I want to have fun and compete in various disciplines, but remain competitive and able to have a serious go at dressage, with the aim of eventually stepping up to the FEI levels.
Our short-term goal is to consolidate our Medium Level tests, and in a couple of months, I plan to do my first-ever freestyle, which is very exciting!
Follow Melinda and Rhys’s adventures on Facebook at 2 Cobs and a Clumper!
