Fiona takes the reins at Victorian trotting body

HRV Hero Program re-trainer Fiona Dearing doesn’t have a background in harness racing, but thanks to a curiosity about the amazing animals she was rehoming she’s now on a fast-track to her goal, as the Victorian Square Trotters Association’s new secretary.

The VSTA has already helped to drive an astronomical re-emergence of square gaiting in Victoria and although Dearing’s is a part-time role, you get the feeling the energetic and likeable administrator, with a business, arts and equine industry background, will make the VSTA’s presence felt.

“It was when I shifted out of Melbourne six years ago, that I became involved with the HERO program, through (former manager) Tanya McDermott,” Dearing, who is now based at Gordon, near Ballarat, said.

“I already knew Tanya from my work as a riding coach in Melbourne, and when she found out that I had some land, she told me I just had to be involved in HERO,” she said.

“The first horse I took was a 17.2 hands giant called Artistic Mover. He is just the dearest man and he’s still with me! I’ve never been able to let him go.

“But over the years I’ve probably retrained and rehomed about a dozen horses – I love the process and now I love the standardbred breed.

“I was really keen to understand more about the horses when they are racing and that led me down a bit of a rabbit warren – and I arrived in this role, with the VSTA, which I am very excited about.”

Dearing’s work as a “bit fitter”, also brought harness racing onto her radar.

“Bit fitting is a reasonably recent art and it’s a bit like saddle fitting – once upon a time we used to put on what we had and that would be it,” she said.

“We know now that there is a facial link to the entire body from the horse’s tongue and releasing pressure can affect how the limbs and body moves. I’ve done work on quite a few standardbreds now, including with Anton Golino at Yabby Dam Farms.

“Bit fitting makes a huge difference in ridden horses, everything from eventing to race horses, and harness racing trainers are starting to see it as important too.”

But Fiona brings more than her obvious energy and enthusiasm, and her love of horses to the VSTA position.

With a marketing and administration background, she will be a conduit to the organisation stepping up its ambitions to drive growth in the resurgent Victorian square trotting industry.

“My background is in arts management and music industry – I was the secretary of the Green Room Awards for 10 years (Melbourne’s premier peer-presented, performing arts industry awards) but I’ve also done production management in music theatre and the mainstream music industry,” she said.

“I’m excited to dust off the administration and marketing skills again, and to combine them with my other passion, which is horses. I have been really fortunate all my life to only work in fields that I have been passionate about and that just makes a massive difference, I think.

“The VSTA role is certainly a big learning curve because I’ve worked adjacent to the industry with HERO and the bit fitting, but not right in it. I’m still learning a lot and I’m lucky there are a lot of wise heads on the committee who are very generous with their knowledge.

“It’s a really exciting point of time, with the rise of trotting in Victoria. People are excited about the sport and there is a lot of fresh trotting blood through the European horses being brought in by Haras des Trotteurs and Aldebaran Park along with our colonial-bred horses which are also becoming stronger all the time.

“Ultimately, I’d like to see the trotters getting as many opportunities as the pacers and that’s what we will work towards. I’m still finding my feet, but there are some great ideas on the committee and for the first time they have some administrative resources to pursue some of those plans.

“For my future involvement? I can’t see me getting out of this without at least being in the ownership of a trotter! And I am hoping someone will teach me to drive one!”

The VSTA’s Office Bearers for 2022 are: Nick Youngson; vice president Anne-Maree Conroy; Secretary Fiona Dearing; Treasurer Katrina Knight. The committee is Mick Barby, Jayden Brewin, John Campbell, John Davidson, Katrina Fitzpatrick, Elle Moro, Louise Toulmin, Ian White, Debbie Youngson and Tony Xiriha.

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink