Thornley getting back into Kiwi groove

Canterbury based junior harness racing driver Gemma Thornley has just returned from a twelve month stint in the UK.

While there she was employed by twenty three year old American eventing rider Cosby Green who trains her horses at Chedington Estate alongside New Zealand Equestrian greats Tim and Janelle Price.

“It was a really good experience. I learned a lot and had some great opportunities,” Thornley said.

While working there, Thornley was able to attend Badminton.

“Yeah, that was an amazing experience. Apparently a few grooms wait a while to get to go to Badminton and I was there in the first four months, so I was pretty lucky.”

She said because grooms are busy working they don’t get to see a lot of the action over the six days of the prestige event.

“The amount of work that grooms and riders do, you need to go back as a spectator because you’re that busy behind the scenes . But being among some of those top riders is quite a cool experience. I got to go inside Badminton House which was also cool.”

Thornley attended a lot of shows and events and drove a horse float all over the UK.

“The roads are quite small and there’s more traffic so it’s not the easiest. In New Zealand there are places to pull over but in the UK there’s not that many. By the end of the experience I thought I wasn’t too bad at driving.”

At the end of her time in the UK she spent two weeks in Sweden working for Josafine Ivehag.

“It was a really cool experience and I learned heaps and got to drive a few horses in fast work. The way they work their horses over there is different. They warm them up in the forest over a five kilometre radius. Then they’ll work doing a couple of heats of straight line training. All their horses are pre-warmed at the races. All their trotters are nicely gaited.”

Since returning home she’s taken up part time work at Spreydon Lodge, but is looking for fulltime work.

“I’m looking for the right stable with the right horses, but that’s easier said than done. Canterbury is the best place to be for junior drivers. There are more races for juniors and you get the big fields on a Sunday and you can pick up a drive there.”

Thornley wasted no time getting back into the winning groove, driving Franco Tim (Sportswriter) which is trained by her father Chris to win at Banks Peninsula last month.

“It was good for the family because he’s owned by my mum and my brother. We had the perfect trip so there were no excuses. He’s five now and I think he’s maturing.”

Since returning from her OE Gemma says her perspective on life has changed.

“It’s not all about racing and you’ve got to have a life outside of racing. I quite like the training side of things.”

And more travel is on the horizon in the future.

“I’d like to go back and do some more travelling, I think. There’s still plenty of world out there to travel.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink