From the saddle to the stables, Ryan Hill has done it all

Being born into a lineage of racing enthusiasts left Ryan Hill no choice but to follow in his family’s footsteps.

His passion grew from a young age after heavy exposure to the industry.

“My dad loved racing, so I’ve always ridden horses – my grandparents had a property,” Hill said.

“We would go to the races all the time when I was in England…I just love racing so that’s how I got involved.”

That love for the sport evolved into a career but before his life as a trainer, Hill had a successful stint as a jockey – posting 479 wins in WA and one back in his homeland England.

His turning point came a few years ago, when the hoop decided to hang up the silks and chase his true ambition.

“I started riding in England a bit, then came over here and rode successfully – but the main aim was always to become a trainer,” Hill said.

“I always wanted to train horses…I just love being involved with the day-to-day of the horses.”

Although life in the stables isn’t an easy one.

With the team out at Keysbrook up at the crack of dawn every morning.

“We start every morning at five o’clock, we go through till they’re all worked – roughly 10, then a couple hours in the afternoon,” Hill said.

“We have about 40 horses on the property, 20 in work and roughly 20 spelling on site.

“We train from two different properties, both have got a track on course, horse walkers and pretty much everything we need for the horses.

“Two different types of tracks, ones a flat track and ones got a big hill to it, and we’re only 25 minutes from the beach and 15 minutes from Lark Hill.”

All the hard work pays off when they have a runner bring it home.

However, it’s the little victories as a trainer that stand out for Hill.

“Success as a trainer is not always necessarily a big win, sometimes you might just win a maiden with a horse,” he said.

“But you’ve done so much to get that maiden win with that horse, and that’s the tricky thing as a trainer is getting every inch out of every horse.

“Treating them all individually, finding little things that work for different horses and keeping the horses happy.

“The reward when you do get the best out of them and see how happy the owners are, things like that definitely makes it worthwhile.”

A horse can be trained perfectly but in a game of inches, having the better pedigree can make all the difference.

Which is why the yearling sale is circled in every trainer’s calendar – with months of preparation going into finding the right filly or colt.

But take it from Hill, all the research in the world doesn’t compare to seeing the horse in person.

“A lot of time and effort goes into the sales, you can look at every pedigree page, videos and different things,” he said.

“Sometimes you go there, and a horse will walk out and you’re just like wow.

“At the last Perth Magic Millions sale, there was a (Playing God x Surrendering) that I didn’t look at on paper, the dam side wasn’t really that strong.

“But when I walked in with my mum and saw the horse walking, I said we’re buying that one.

“At the end of the day not every horse is going to be perfect, but it gives you a rough idea of how much you should be willing to spend and take a risk on that horse.”

Getting into the horse ownership game brings much more than a chance to win some extra cash.

The English expat encouraged anyone who is on the fence to take the leap.

“It is a great game once you get involved, the people you meet and there’s nothing better than having a winner,” Hill said.

“There’s a lot of money to be won in this game, but it genuinely is a bit of a lottery, no one can guarantee you’re going to get winners.

“Don’t think I’m going to put in x amount and I’m going to get x amount back.

“You put it in to have fun with friends, meet new people, enjoy the races and then everything else is a bonus.”

For anyone looking to buy into a horse, the trainer gave a few hot tips about the best approach to take. 

“You might like the look of a horse, but you might want to buy only five or 10 per cent, you see who buys it and you contact them,” he said.

“There are always people that are willing to help you get involved.

“If you’re going to go into buying a young horse, come to the sales…as soon as you buy the horse, there’s a six-month period where you feel not much is happening.

“You go to the sales, and you feel like you’ve actually seen what you’re buying.

“I really recommend if you’re thinking of buying 10 per cent, I’d split that and go five per cent in two different ones.”