Above: Colleen and Talkind in Stockholm, 1990.

Colleen Brook, daughter of Bob and Joyce Brook, two people who helped shape the foundations of the sport in Australia, has lived almost every aspect of the sport as a rider, competitor at the highest level, coach, educator and national selector.

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In a recent chat on the ‘All Clear’ podcast, Colleen traced a life that has moved in step with the evolution of Australian Jumping itself. From borrowed ponies and agricultural shows to World Cup Finals and national selection meetings, her story is built on steady curiosity, hard work, and a belief that learning never stops.

Colleen grew up on the North Coast of New South Wales, in a small country town where horses did everything. Her mother rode whenever she could to get to the local shows a few times a year. Her father was not a rider, but horses were firmly part of the family story through his sister, Gertie Brook, a campdrafter who won widely and became the first woman to win the Warwick Gold Cup.

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“Everybody’s horses did everything back then,” Colleen said. “Sporting, hacking, campdrafting. You just went in whatever was on.”

Her introduction to horses came early. Her mother would sit her on a horse tied to a tree in the front yard, where she stayed all day until being pulled off at the end, usually protesting.

Pony Club became the centre of her riding life. Her mother was among the first instructors in the Pony Club movement and helped run the local club.

When the family moved to Sydney when Colleen was about 11, horses paused briefly. A couple of years later, Pony Club resumed in earnest and outside lessons followed. Agricultural shows then opened the door to stronger competition.

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By her mid teens, Colleen knew Jumping was where her heart lay. Success at major Junior events and results at Sydney Royal confirmed it.

“I won the Junior Rider at Sydney Royal and I think I won the Girl Rider in the Pony Club the same year, the style prize, if you like,” she said. “I guess you could say I was hooked by then.”

At one point, she considered becoming a physical education teacher because she was strong across many sports. But as her riding success grew, so did demand for lessons, and a professional riding and teaching career became realistic.

Colleen never ran a large operation. She kept a small team of around four horses and worked mostly on her own.

“Everybody’s pathway is different,” she said. “I always kept things a bit smaller.”

The sport itself was changing alongside her career. Agricultural shows dominated early competition, but Jumping was often interrupted by other ring activities.

“We always had to stop for the trots or the Grand Parade,” Colleen said. “After a little while, the jump clubs started to get a few more people going to them, and we thought wouldn’t it be great if we just had a Jumping show.”

Dedicated Jumping shows emerged, with better footing, better jumps, and a growing focus on officials and rules. Accreditation and clearer standards gradually became part of the sport’s structure.

“It just morphed its way through,” she said. “We became more particular about what we wanted for our horses and how we thought the sport should go.”

Colleen described how limited access to international sport was in her early years.

“There was no video, there was no television to see the Olympics,” she said. “The big deal was the one page in ‘Hoofs and Horns’, the US news or the UK news.”

She bought books and studied photos to understand what the best riders in the world were doing. “I was a real student of the game,” she said.

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Interstate Royal Shows were once the pinnacle of Australian competition, offering the biggest prize money and attracting the strongest fields. World Cup qualifiers later arrived and changed the focus of the season for many riders.

Colleen said she started in 133 World Cup qualifiers, reflecting on a calendar that once included up to 15 qualifiers a year.

“Sadly, the World Cups now, the prize money is not much different to what it was 40 years ago,” she said. “By the time you pay your entries, and your fuel to get there, there’s not much prize money to win, unfortunately.”

She also spoke about the way international classifications can be shaped by prize money rather than the technical demands of the tracks.

“The tracks that we jump are definitely one star,” she said. “But because the prize money is not up there, that is why they classify us so low. It’s really not a reflection of the standard here.”

Colleen believes Australian horses can handle international style fences, but they need exposure and time to adapt.“No, they just need a bit of time to get used to it,” she said. She pointed to time allowed as a major difference when riders step up internationally.“All the international course designers that come out here always say, you have to ride more forward,” she said. “By the end of the show, everybody’s geared up right to go.”

For major outdoor championships, she highlighted one feature that must be on the radar: the water jump.

“If you go to a major championship outdoors, there is always a water jump and we don’t get to jump them often enough,” she said. “Once horses learn how to jump a water jump, they really don’t need to jump it a lot, but it makes a difference to how the rest of the course rides.”

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Colleen described receiving a wildcard invitation to the 1992 World Cup Final in Del Mar, California, with Carl Brook Meridian.

After touring Eastern Europe with George and Rod and winning three CSIO Grand Prix in a row, she received the message and accepted immediately.

“Would I like a Wild Card into the 92 World Cup Final in Del Mar, California? Well, of course I said yes,” she said.

She returned to Europe, started in World Cups including Bordeaux and Olympia, then travelled to California and based with the European horses. She said she was pleased with parts of the week, but also felt she missed an opportunity.

“I didn’t do as well as I should have. I was very disappointed because I just needed that bit of support from someone who was watching to help me,” she said.

Meridian’s temperament made the travel possible.“He never missed a feed,” she said. “He was a very sensitive, shy sort of a horse, but he just never missed a feed.” Meridian returned to Australia before later being sold to Japan.

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Colleen spoke warmly about Carlbrook Rebound, a tough and generous thoroughbred who won widely, including the Australian Championship.

“He was a marvelous brave, tough, generous horse that won a lot,” she said. “He was a real winner.”

She also described the type of horse she most enjoys riding.

“I like to ride a good thinker, light sharp sort of a horse,” she said. “I don’t like to kick too much or have to do much hauling around. I like them to do the thinking.”

Coaching came early for Colleen, driven by a sense of responsibility to help the sport.“If you want to make a difference and help your sport, that is one way to,” she said. Her formal coaching education began in the mid to late 1980s under Major Tor Berman, who assessed coaches around the country.

Colleen completed Level Three qualifications across general coaching, Jumping, and Eventing, and later became a Coach Educator.

“Education to me is an important part of the learning process,” she said. “Everybody has to start somewhere.”

She also raised the importance of sports psychology, focusing on planning, preparation and learning rather than hype. “It’s not about rah rah, I am the greatest,” she said. “It’s just how to have a good plan, how to execute the plan so that you know where the gaps are when you’re finished.”

Colleen She describes the job as a National Selector as one of constant observation and information gathering. “You can’t be everywhere,” she said. “So there’s an awful lot of video watching and keeping up with what’s going on.”

She said selectors receive weekly results for Australians competing overseas and meet by Zoom as needed, with busy periods around major tours and championships. She also described the pressure and extra paperwork around Olympic selection compared to FEI teams.

A major ongoing challenge is exposure. In Europe, show access can be unpredictable, and in the United States costs can be high even if access is easier. “It’s really tough for our guys,” she said. “They don’t know from one month to the next what big show they’re getting into because of the way the system works in Europe.” She noted that selectors can agree on performance targets but cannot easily direct riders to the same events for direct comparison.

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Despite the challenges, Colleen is optimistic about Australian Jumping.

“Absolutely. Shows are booming, you can’t get in,” she said. “We are not short of people. People are spending money on horses, on trucks. It’s all there.”

She believes the sport will keep lifting as numbers grow and as organisers keep producing strong events that riders aspire to attend.

Colleen’s mother, Joyce Brook, remains an influential figure, recently celebrating her 102nd birthday.Colleen shared Joyce’s strong commitment to fairness in officiating and her encouragement for riders to persist after setbacks. “A lot of people thought she was tough,” Colleen said. “But she said, I want the playing field to be absolutely level. If you favour one person, that means you disadvantage others.”

It was an honour to chat with one of the sport’s greats and you can listen to the full interview,

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