3 minute read

A social media post has saved a life.

One morning in August 2017, a photo of a young standardbred colt standing in a lonely sales pen at Echuca saleyards caught the eye of harness racing trainer Julie Brimacombe.

"For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about him," the Elliminyt-based trainer said.

"He was so young. I was worried what his fate may be."

For the rest of the day Brimacombe could not shake the image of the young horse standing on his lonesome. It was etched in her mind.

"It just got the better of me in the finish, so I rang to find out who purchased him," she said.

Brimacombe has a small team of standardbreds who race but are also broken to saddle, so once their racing days are done they can live on as riding horses.

Pragmatic enough to know not all bidders at the sales are interested in buying horses to race, Brimacombe was aware the young colt's future depended on someone throwing him a lifeline.

"I contacted the purchaser, who had transported him to his paddock on the other side of the state," she said.

"After some negotiating – and Darren (Brimacombe's husband) giving into my 'asking' – I bought the colt."

Brimacombe said the man who had purchased the horse was "very helpful", agreeing to transport the colt back to Echuca for the next sale so she could pick him up.

And so the journey began.

Along with her friend Joan Cherry, Brimacombe travelled to meet their new colt and take him home.

"We found a very scared and very fearful horse," she said.

"But he was so cooperative. He was not in great condition so we took him straight to the vet."

The young colt was gelded and his new owners set about preparing his home.

"I didn't have a small yard available at that stage, so Joan offered up one of hers, which was just fantastic," Brimacombe said.

"He stayed in the small yard for about a month. I just wanted him to trust and feel safe."

Teaching the horse to trust was Brimacombe's only goal at this early stage.

"He was always on high alert. He was so scared and fearful. It was like he wanted to explode, but he never ever attempted to kick, bite or do anything remotely nasty," she said.

For several months Brimacombe said the horse continued to cooperate, albeit there were some tough moments. Like the time it took the farrier and Brimacombe two hours to give his hooves a trim. "I think we lost a couple of kilos that day," she said.

Then came a turning point. The young horse began "to have a more contented look in his eye all of a sudden," Brimacombe said.

"He would let me walk in and put a halter on instead of just taking off and running away."

Following a bout of colic Brimacombe decided it was time to let the horse mature and importantly learn to "just be a horse".

"One of the breeders rang me to check in and she was actually quite upset he'd ended up at the sales," she said.

"I took the opportunity to ask about his eyes. He'd always had weepy eyes for some reason."

The breeder explained to Brimacombe that the horse had endured a tough foaling and the vet had to use eyehooks to pull him out during birth.

His nickname became 'Hook'.

After a year "just being a horse", Brimacombe made the decision to give 'Hook' his first shot at the racetrack.

"We thought we'd give him a go and see if he wanted to run," she said.

Brimacombe called on the services of respected industry horseman Ron Wicks, who agreed to help with the pacer's education.

"I knew it would take time, 'Hook' just takes so long to trust people," she said.

"After three months (Wicks) was worried the horse wasn't showing much. I was happy to give him more time to be honest, and so was Ronnie."

The long and winding – and very patient – road continued for 'Hook' and finally one day he exhibited a smattering of exuberance he'd not previously shown.

"It was like the penny just dropped suddenly," Brimacombe said. "Every time he worked from there on he'd just keep on improving."

Fast-forward to May of this year the now five-year-old pacer was ready to trial in the hope that he could qualify for his ticket to ride. 

'Hook' ticked the box and, after another well-deserved short break, he came back into work in July.

By now he carried the racetrack name Hook Eye Joh and talented Hamilton driver Jackie Barker was booked to steer the horse for his debut performance at Ararat on Sunday just gone. 

As 'Hook' stood waiting for his race, Brimacombe was thinking how far this once scared two-year-old had come. But she could not possibly have fathomed what came next when it was his time to compete.

Hook Eye Joh settled near the rear of the field in the maiden pace before launching around his rivals with audacity approaching the home turn. He eventually raced to the lead and, eased down by Barker late, scored the simplest of wins. 

The former young colt plucked from a lonely sales pen via a social media post had overcome the odds.

"It was just so amazing," Brimacombe said.

"I'm so proud of him. We opened the doors and he just walked through every one of them, more confident as a horse every time."

Brimacombe wants to thank "Joan and Ronnie and Dinkum Equine Horse Massage for all their support and encouragement".

"Hook was very lucky," she said.

And while that is very true, the luckiest part was that Brimacombe stumbled across that social media post that morning and followed her heart.

"I actually haven't seen any posts like that since," she said. "It was just amazing".

Brimacombe is "very passionate" about re-homing of racehorses and said she had enormous admiration for the great work of Tanya McDermott and her HRV HERO (Harness Education Re-homing Opportunities) program.

To find out more about HERO visit hrvhero.com.au