Horse Trainer Jim Waller, Palmerstion North, New Zealand

Text published Memories Magazine Issue 85 August / September 2010
Additional Photos Added


    Jim Waller was born at Loburn, Rangiora. He was the son of farmers and had three brothers and three sisters. Jim’s parents worked land on the boundary of Palmerston North in Botanical Road. His mother owned 9 acres and his father another 10 acres.
     As a young person, Jim was a keen sports competitor. There was testimony to this in a newspaper article about the Oroua Downs Sports Club Golden Jubilee that read:


ONE OF THE BEST
Manawatu Standard. Friday, March 5, 1965

    One of the most versatile supporters of the club was the late Mr J. Waller, one of the country’s most successful horse trainers.

    In athletic competition he won the men’s long jump in 1922 and 1924 and the high jump also went to him in those years as well as in 1927. He also won the hop, step and jump in 1924.

    He competed in novelty as well as round-the-ring horse events and won the ‘open hunter’ competition nine times up to 1939 as well as taking the honours in other events and filling the minor places on numerous occasions. Mr Waller’s generosity is shown in that he presented five cups to the club for competition.

    When Jim left school, he first worked as a shepherd for two years at Bushy Park, close to the town of Kai Iwi. For a time Jim also managed a farm for Mr C. T. Keeble at Rangiotu. He married Winifred Cole and they had four daughters, Joyce, Betty, Dorothy and Irene (Chub).

                   Jim Waller standing with horse far right of photo. Harrier hounds in the back ground.

    Later, in 1925, he became the Manawatu Huntsman, keeping the hounds for the Manawatu Hunt Club in Slacks Road, Awapuni, Palmerston North. The club hunted one day at midweek and once during the weekend. Horses, with their riders, would follow a dozen harrier hounds as they chased rabbits and hares across open ground. As the official huntsman, Jim Waller would mostly lead the chase. Jumps referred to as “spars” were built into fences, so the equestrians could follow the hunt over the shortest route. Gates were also left open so less experienced riders could follow the chase.

    Then, in 1941, after sixteen years of successful hunting, Jim wanted to become a racehorse trainer while continuing as the Manawatu Huntsman. However, the Manawatu Hunt Club administration would not allow this, so Jim resigned from the Hunt Club early in 1941.

    Jim went away to fight in the first World War but by the time he reached England it had ended.

    As a horse trainer his career was most successful. In his first year, Jim trained nineteen winners and three years later he placed second in the training success ranks having trained twenty-one winners. He successfully rode as a gentleman rider. Rangi Sarto was one of his most successful mounts and Sleeveless was mentioned as one of the first outstanding horses he trained.

    In the early years Jim helped prepare Aurora Borealis (the horse of his brother, Fred), to win the Great Northern Steeplechase, the Winter Steeplechase, the Grand National Steeplechase, the Lincoln Steeplechase and to come second in the Grand National Hurdles, all in the same year.

    Frisco Jack, Nigger Goy, Nighean, Hunting Royal, Lady Spiral, Colonel Rouge, Greek Effort, Kinsman and Sea Spi were some of those that Jim trained. Sea Spi was the top New Zealand two-year-old but was involved in a nasty mishap when she stood on her lead and pulled backward abruptly. She died a week later. An autopsy revealed that she had broken her neck in the accident. Some of the winners on the flat included Kippo, Hy-spin and Gaelic Song. Waller had the most success with jumpers. Other horses included Colibri, Ellerton Hall, Postman, Lightfair, Gaiety (a Wellington Steeplechase winner), Dawn March (Grant National Steeplechase), Norfolk Boy, Tabor Islet, Person-ality and Solar Mist (Grand National Hurdles).

    For many years Jim also held the position of Clerk of the Course at the Manawatu Race Club.

    Three apprentices trained as jockeys in Jim Waller’s stable; Eric Temperton, John Carter and Merv Andrews. Eric Temperton went on to train Silver Night to win the Melbourne Cup and John Carter trained Polo Prince to do the same. Merv Andrews also went on to train horses to win many major races.

                                        Jim Waller riding unknown horse over a hurdle.
  
     Jim also competed successfully in the show jumping ring during his hunting and racing careers. Frisco Jack was his most successful show jumping mount. The notable equestrian Freda White mentions Frisco Jack’s, Ranger’s and Rob Roy’s jumping abilities in her book, Horses, People and Fun, on page 58. In show jumping events Jim also rode Treasure Hunt, Hinatore, Dick Turpin, Echo and Torquay. All are mentioned in the Palmerston North Metropolitan Spring Show Catalogues. There was a large trophy cabinet at the Waller house. It contained many of the cups that had been won over the years. The largest cup won in competition was sometimes used as a punch bowl at family celebrations.

Riot

    Jim Waller also owned a pony called Riot, which stood at about 14½ hands. Riot was a phenomenal jumper. Often referred to as a freak because of his fantastic jumping ability, it was well known that Riot could jump out of a loose box when the top door was left open. Bob Waller, Jim’s nephew, once lost control of Riot while competing in a pony jump event at an A&P Show in Palmerston North. Riot jumped into the crowd while Bob was still mounted on the pony.

     There is a wonderful photo of Riot taken in 1928 when he cleared 6 ft 2 in and won the Dalrymple High Jump at the Manawatu A&P Association’s Royal Show. The pony was ridden by the young teenager Jack McDowel who later became Jim’s son-in-law.

                                       Jack McDowel riding Riot                                                                             Riot free jumping

    The Waller family also has a spectacular photo of Riot jumping with nobody aboard his back. Riot would jump most objects easily when chased towards them despite not having a rider aboard. When not being ridden, the pony was mostly left to run freely along side the Manawatu river adjacent to Slacks Road with the herd of hunt club kills (horses used to feed the Hunt Club hounds). Eventually the pony went missing while running by the river. The mystery of the pony’s fate was never solved. Jim Waller died in 1956 at the age of 58.

                                  Compiled by grandson, James Fagan (Jim) 2009,
                                  from newspaper clippings and some family memories

    Jim Waller had a second son-in-law who went on to become a hurdle jocky. This was my father Jim Fagan who did his apprenticship with renouned horse trainer George New of Awapuni, Palmerston North.There was an interesting newspaper article in our family about an outlaw horse.


   An "Outlaw" By The Name Of Thunderhead
               Taken from an old news paper cutting. Published in the early 1940s.


    There is quite a story behind the surprise win of Thunderhead at Feilding and his dividend of nearly a score, and the outlaw of the Awapuni tracks may be on the way to making a name for himself.


    When first put into work at Awapuni the King Lu gelding purchased by "Lucky Max" Rough looked anything but a bargain. It was by only the greatest difficulty that he could be got on to the track at all; and then he would indulge in buck-jumping exhibitions which would have put any circus to shame. His trainer and half a dozen other riders bit the dust so often that only Jim Fagan would tackle him, and to date the twain have never parted company.

     Fagan Schooled the King Lu gelding, who showed aptitude for the game, and he rode him in all his work prior to the Feilding meeting last Saturday. However, although the four year-old showed some pace in a few short sprints the general impression was that he would "go to market" once be saw the track on race day, and he was given scant consideration last week-end.


    It was not until after the Feilding acceptances closed that the King Lu gelding was named; the announcement that he would race as Thunderhead caused no more than passing comment- he appeared to be appropriately named.


   Thunderhead behaved himself surprisingly well at Feilding, and his connections acted wisely in putting up 53/41b overweight to secure Fagan's services—not that any other local rider would have accepted the mount. The King Lu gelding was one of the first to move from the barrier-rise and, after the first furlong, he was never further back than fifth. He was third when they straightened up, and, although inclined to run about before Fagan drew the stick, he came home as true as a die to beat Dutch Mary and Gardane.


Related To Crucinella


    Thunderhead comes from a successful family. Thirty-six years earlier his third dam Crucinella, had won the Feilding Cup with 9.5 and that good daughter of San Francisco, who was a half-sister to Nonette, took the Wellington Cup among other good races. Alawa, She produced Canella, a mare with knees like footballs.


    At the stud, however, Canella produced Birkenella, who won many good races on the flat for Mr. W. R. Kemball,before being put to jumping. He soon made a name for himself as a steeplechaser, winning the Waikato Hunt Cup with 11.12 and the Wellington Steeplechase at long odds. However, he had a bad fall in the Grand National and was never the same horse afterwards.


    Canella then dropped Cinnamon to Sarto, and that mare produced the useful jumper Pahu, Pango and Miss Pango, Canella's 1924 foal to Warplane was Vinella, dam of the Feilding Trial Plate winner.


James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand