The Off the Track (OTT) superstar is part of the Godolphin Lifetime Care flagbearer program and has since made his mark in the show arena, thriving in his new career. Being a quick learner and having a “show-off attitude” has served him well, along with his overall presence and stride. His achievements so far include a number of champion and reserve champion sashes at agricultural shows across Victoria, winning the OTT Fashions on the Field class at Melbourne Royal Show last year, and second place in the Led Thoroughbred class at last year’s Adelaide Royal Show.
His latest challenge was travelling to compete at the 2024 Sydney Royal Easter Show for the first time. He was entered in four events including the Led Thoroughbred, Pope Cup, Open Ridden Hack and Lady’s Ridden Hack. First held in 1823, Sydney Royal Easter Show is renowned for being the biggest and busiest show on the Royal agricultural show calendar. Unfortunately, this made for a challenging atmosphere for Hartnell, who had to contend with dodgem cars and a showjumping speed class right next to his ring. This understandably was quite overwhelming for the beautiful bay gelding. Despite this, Sheralee said she was very proud of the way he coped with the testing environment.
“He was definitely becoming more settled the longer he stayed in Sydney, improving with each class and his best performance was in his final class, the Lady’s Ridden Hack,” Sheralee said.
“Every horse is an individual, some take longer than others to adapt to a show career and Hartnell was definitely not on his own (in Sydney), many other more seasoned horses also struggled to cope with the atmosphere. They are like children, some cope better in different situations.
“He will go to Darley’s Northwood Park for a nice spell now and then he will come back into work ready to compete at the Adelaide Royal Show and Melbourne Royal Show in Spring.”
When asked how long his showing career could last, Sheralee was typically pragmatic.
“He’ll compete until he says he’s had enough, it’s all up to him, he’s the boss and I do what he tells me. He’ll tell me when he wants to laze around in a paddock of green grass but I don’t think that will be for awhile because he enjoys having something to do. He could easily keep competing until his late teens.”