July 8 2026By Jay Randle, Splendacrest Arabians
The Americans Have Landed!
I've always blamed America.
Not for anything political, mind you. Simply because, after living there for ten wonderful years during the 1980s and 90s, I've never quite managed to shake it off.
I left Australia as a young woman, came home years later with an American accent that thankfully disappeared, a suitcase full of stories, and a lifetime's worth of friendships. Those friendships have followed me into endurance riding.
Over the years, several Splendacrest Squad riders have travelled to the United States to compete and train, and in return we've welcomed a steady procession of overseas riders to our little corner of Queensland. Somewhere along the way I found myself speaking at a few American Endurance Ride Conference conventions, making more friends, and apparently acquiring a reputation for producing horses that looked after their riders. So when word spread that Splendacrest might have horses available for the 2026 Tom Quilty, my inbox became surprisingly international.
Apparently Australians weren't the only ones mad enough to want to ride 160 kilometres through the Queensland bush.
Holly Meets her Pilot...
The first enquiry came from Holly Corcoran. Now, Holly is no beginner. She's one of those riders who quietly accumulates miles without feeling the need to tell everyone how clever she is. Exactly the sort of person you want sitting on one of your best horses.
That horse was Falcon. Officially known as De-Sharvarll El Dakar. Around our place he's simply Falcon. If Falcon were human, he'd probably be a retired airline captain. Calm. Professional. Unflappable.
He has absolutely no interest in unnecessary drama. He simply turns up, does the job, recovers as though someone has secretly plugged him into a charger, and politely waits for his next assignment.
With thousands of kilometres behind him, Falcon has seen just about everything endurance can throw at a horse. So pairing him with Holly felt less like matchmaking and more like introducing two old professionals who'd somehow never met. As it turned out, they got along beautifully.
Holly also arrived with reinforcements. Her daughter Kelly, who inconveniently for horses is also a veterinarian, and Kelly's partner Jake joined the expedition as crew. I pointed them towards their glamping tents. Yes... Glamping.
If you've never been to a Tom Quilty, you should know that "glamping" is a wonderfully optimistic term. It's still camping. It's simply camping where the canvas is nicer.
I'd booked seven of the tents for our international guests so they could stay close to our camp and, more importantly, close enough that I could find them whenever another small crisis appeared.
Enter Tilly...
The next American was Lori Oleson from California. I'd never actually met Lori before. I knew of her reputation, though. She and her husband are heavily involved in endurance on America's west coast, and Lori also serves on the Board of Directors of the legendary Tevis Cup.
In other words... She knew what she was doing. Good. Because I had exactly the horse for her.
Beersheva Djeishah. Known universally as Tilly. Now, describing Tilly as "opinionated" would be rather like describing a cyclone as "a bit breezy." Tilly has opinions. Lots of them. Usually expressed at considerable volume.
She firmly believes that humans exist primarily to inconvenience horses, and she's prepared to argue that point whenever necessary.
I warned Lori. "Tilly can be... difficult." Lori just smiled. "I like difficult mares." Well, that was promising.
Lori arrived at Splendacrest the day before we left for Imbil, giving horse and rider the chance to become acquainted before asking them to spend 160 kilometres together. By the end of the ride she was completely smitten. The feeling appeared to be mutual. As a bonus, Tilly even behaved herself well enough to claim third place in the Led Mare class at the Arabian Horse Show. Clearly she'd decided that international visitors reflected well on her.
Clara Finds Her Cowgirl
Then there was Julie Bittick from Montana. I'd first heard Julie's name after she'd completed the Gaucho Derby in South America.
Anyone who voluntarily signs up for something called the Gaucho Derby clearly isn't afraid of a challenge. That made matching her with Splendacrest Clara remarkably easy. Clara is the complete opposite of Tilly. She's compact, tough, sensible and completely devoid of ego.
If Clara were employed anywhere outside endurance riding, she'd probably run a country post office. Nothing rattles her. Nothing surprises her. She simply keeps turning up and quietly getting the job done.
Julie and Clara clicked almost immediately. Julie's husband Cody came along as crew and, before long, they'd become part of our camp family.
That's one of the wonderful things about endurance. People can arrive as complete strangers on Wednesday.....and by Sunday it feels as though you've known them for years.
Then Came Shazaam...
Finally came Nicole Wertz. I'd deliberately kept one horse in reserve.
Shazaam.
Originally he was supposed to carry my great friend Samantha Yates around the Tom Quilty. Sadly, Sam's cancer treatment meant she couldn't be there. That left one very talented chestnut gelding temporarily unemployed.
Now... Shazaam is sixteen hands of athletic brilliance wrapped around the personality of an overconfident teenage boy. He knows he's handsome. He knows he's fast. He suspects everyone has come to admire him.
And, to be fair.....they usually have. He's also a chestnut. Need I say more?
Nicole contacted me looking for a ride. I knew her credentials immediately. A Tevis Board member. Selected for the United States World Championship team. An accomplished horsewoman.
More importantly... She laughed when I warned her about Shazaam.
"He's got attitude." "I like attitude." That settled it. Some partnerships simply make sense. Watching Nicole and Shazaam together over the following days was enormous fun. She appreciated his personality. He appreciated having an audience.
By the end of the Tom Quilty they'd finished 12th Middleweight, and I rather suspect Shazaam considered that entirely appropriate. Probably because, in his mind, first place should always belong to him.
