Rawnaq and Lilah Potter. Image: Emily Potter.
State Championship success for Lilah & Rawnaq
One of several Thoroughbreds to enjoy success at the recent Pony Club Victoria State Horse Trials Championships, Rawnaq and rider Lilah Potter took out the Grade 1 division in fine form. Scouted by Lilah’s uncle at Lindsay Park, ‘Ronnie’ is proof that the right OTT really can be the perfect Pony Club mount.
Rawnaq, well-bred by Redoute’s Choice out of the Zabeel mare Winning Belle, had 23 starts for two wins and five placings – one of which was a third in the VRC Derby – under Lindsay Park trainer David Hayes, amassing over $250,000 in prize money.
Richard Nettleton has worked for Lindsay Park for over 20 years, and in that time he’s seen a lot of Thoroughbreds. When Rawnaq came along, he recognised his potential as an equestrian mount post-racing and jumped at the opportunity to rehome the gelding with his sister’s family.
“Ronnie, as we call him, spent 12 months in the paddock after retiring from racing before coming to live with us at age nine,” explains Richard’s sister, Emily Potter. “When we went to pick him up, that was the first time he had been ridden since retiring. Richard put my daughters – Milla and Lilah – straight on him in the round yard at Lindsay Park and he didn’t put a foot wrong.”
Emily explains that Milla and Lilah have done all of Ronnie’s retraining with the help of Pony Club and their coach Bek Italiano. “Ronnie took it all in his stride, doing everything asked of him and moving up the grades very quickly.”
Taking over the reins from her older sister full time two years ago, Lilah, now 15, has an impressive list of achievements with the gelding. As members of Yarra Glen & District Pony Club, they won the PCAV State Horse Trials at Grade 3 level, before going on to win Yeringberg Horse Trials and Lilydale Horse Trials at Grade 2. Stepping up to Grade 1 – equivalent to 105cm or CCN1* – they’ve since won at Balnarring and Werribee Horse Trials, and most recently took out the Pony Club Victoria State Horse Trials championship title at Balnarring.

Rawnaq is a super cross country horse. Image: Emily Potter.
State Championship success
“Winning the State Champs felt amazing,” says Lilah. “To think that I have a horse like Ronnie, he’s like no other, and for him to take me up from Grade 3 to doing really well in Grade 1 makes me feel so proud. It has also created a sense of achievement for myself, my sister Milla – because she rode him before me – and Lindsay Park for producing a horse that can do anything you ask him to.”
Amazingly, Thoroughbreds filled six of the top ten in the Grade 1 at the State Championships, including the runners up. They also took out first, fifth and sixth at Grade 2 level, and had placings in every other grade – including first place in both Grade 4 divisions. There is no doubt OTTs are still a very popular choice amongst the Pony Club ranks!

Through the water at the 2023 Pony Club Victoria State Horse Trials Championships. Image: Emily Potter.
Remarkably, Ronnie is the Potter family’s first Thoroughbred. “He is a joy to ride; he is definitely one of my favourite horses that I have ever sat on, and he always tries his best in every discipline. He has never bucked or reared, always listens to what I ask of him and rarely stops or tries and run out,” says Lilah of her equine partner.
Lilah believes that Ronnie’s biggest strength as an eventer is his cross country ability: “He loves to have a good gallop but always comes back to me when coming up to a tricky combination, he loves jumps like ditches, brushes, water, and big tables. He does it with his eyes closed, there’s never any hesitation with him.”

Lilah and Rawnaq were the Grade 1 winners and Best Performed OTT at the 2023 PCV State Horse Trials Championships. Image: Emily Potter.
Part of the family
Even though Ronnie has excelled in eventing, he is so much more to the Potter family. “He is a big part of our family,” enthuses Emily. “He’s one of those horses you can almost have a conversation with, he is a gentle giant!”
Like any good horse, he has his quirks – one of which is trying to untie himself! “He will either chew the lead rope or tug on it so that the lead rope starts to untangle itself,” laughs Lilah. “Also, when we go for a ride up the road and he gets excited, he does this grunt and starts to try and take off, and he’ll also grunt on the daily… usually when the work we are doing gets harder, and sometimes I have to tell him to be quiet because he will do it at Pony Club, at competition and at home!”

Ronnie avoiding the rain with the family! Image: Emily Potter.
Looking ahead to the future, Lilah is hopeful that she and Ronnie, now 13, can continue to step up to two-star level – or even three-star. “Anything that Ronnie is happy with I am happy with; he has already exceeded my expectations by doing well at Grade 1, so no rush needed!”
This article was written in conjunction with Racing Victoria and Off The Track. You can find out more about the Off The Track program via OTT Community here.
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