Nestled in the Canberra Thoroughbred Stables, among the hay, the horses and the scent of freshly cut grass, race horse trainer Nick Olive feels right at home.
Olive is at the forefront of his career and is quickly climbing his way up to earning the label of one of Australia’s best race horse trainers.
Having won the NSW Country Trainers Premiership in the 2009/10 season and having won the trainers premierships in Canberra in three out of the last four years, Olive is heading in the direction of where he wants to be.
Developing a love for horses from a young age, the Canberra born and bred young trainer completed a two year diploma in Horse Management at the University of New England after he left year 12. He then worked as Foreman for Ken Callaughan and horse training legend Barbara Joseph for eight years before he went on to start his own race horse training business.
Being a horse trainer is a seven day a week job with 4.30am starts. Usually training 30 horses at one time, Olive knows just how enthusiastic you have to be in this industry.
“I love horses and I love the competitiveness of racing. This is a pretty hard job, so you have to be passionate. It’s a lot of hard work and not much glory, but when you do win, it is such a great feeling.”
It is not just the love of training though, it is the special love for horses and the bonds people can make with them that keeps Olive in the business.
“Horses are extremely intelligent and you can gain their trust and learn about their personalities. You can actually form friendships with them on an intellectual level.
“So far, I’d say my favourite horse to train has been Voice Commander. He has been my most successful horse and I have formed a strong bond with him because I have been travelling around Australia with him. He is such a gutsy horse, he tries so hard in his races.”
Olive loves the horse racing scene in Canberra and he considers it to be his favourite racing track. Having grown up visiting the races as a young boy, he loves the fact that he used to look up to the horse trainers at the track, and now he is one himself.
This Sunday, 11th March 2012 will be The Black Opal Stakes at Canberra Thoroughbred Race Park and Olive’s prized horse, Capital Commander will be competing in the National Sprint. Just recently, she won a big race at the Gold Coast and having won eight races from 17 starts and more than a quarter of a million dollars, her odds are looking good.
