Fifteen years after he last rode at Defender Burghley, Clarke Johnstone is back — this time with an ex-racehorse he fell for after just one lap of trot.
Domasco came to Clarke via fellow New Zealander Heelan Tompkins, who got the now 13-year-old straight off the track.
“She rode him for a couple of months, but he’s very big and was very naughty at that stage as well, and she sent him to me. I did one lap of my arena in trot and rang her and said, ‘Heelan, how much money do I need to pay you to have this horse?’ I just loved him from the first steps of trot. I was like, ‘Wow, this is my horse.’”
It took around 18 months to persuade Helen to sell Domasco, who was bred in the UK and sold to New Zealand as a weanling, where he raced.
“He raced until he was almost six in New Zealand, but he wasn’t very good at it, and now he’s back in England,” said Clarke.
“He’s very accident-prone. Marcus [Bean, the horse’s groom] has a mascot for him and it’s Melman the giraffe from Madagascar.
“He’s unfortunately had little things go wrong all the way through since we’ve been in England. He’s spent more time rehabbing than competing, so he hasn’t done nearly as much as I would have hoped, but he’s still as beautiful as I thought he was. He’s got all of the ability.”
A hot Thoroughbred
Clarke explained that Domasco is a typical Thoroughbred who can be hot and reactive, and the audience was asked to stay quiet before they entered the main arena for their dressage test this morning (3 September).
“That was actually not my doing, but I was happy to hear the announcement. I don’t know who asked for that, but that wasn’t me,” said Clarke. “I don’t know if you saw him at the trot up, but when people clap after they say accepted and he shot off, so it certainly helped today.
“He stayed really with me in the arena. I thought the trot work was super nice; he walked calmly. His canter is the weakness and he doesn’t do a good flying change. ‘He was her favourite horse’: Tim Price pilots Global Quest at Burghley in memory of Georgie CampbellThey brought the score down, but there must have been some high marks as well to finish on 34.5, which I’m very pleased with.”
Back at Burghley
Clarke last competed at Burghley 15 years ago, when he finished 17th about Incognito III, and returning to the Lincolnshire five-star has required patience.
“It’s taken a long time to feel like I’ve got the right horse to bring back,” he said. “They’ve got to be a special type of horse, and I’m hoping Domasco is that.
“I wouldn’t say he’s over brave, so I have to be really accurate and keep him sweet all the way around. But after the first walk [of the cross-country course], I feel like he’s up to it. It’s always nice to be sitting on a Thoroughbred when you get up north of nine minutes.
“He’s a bit shy of the water, so I feel like the duck into the first water coming early will be an interesting test. There are a lot of big questions.”
Main image by Tim Wilkinson
