The adaptability of thoroughbreds is phenomenal and polo is one of the many disciplines these horses excel in. We caught up with Dean Limmer, who over the years has rehomed hundreds of former racehorses. 

Introduce yourself! Where are you from and what do you do?

I’m from Te Awamutu in the Waikato. I train racehorses for myself, rehome polo ponies and coloured horses from the East Coast and am also a dry stock farmer.

Tell us a little about the rehoming process of Thoroughbreds from the track to polo field.

I get thoroughbreds off the track as well as unbroken horses from various studs and farms and rehome them all over New Zealand. I have a good client base.

Clients will either come and look at the horses, or see photos, and we go from there. We make sure we get the right horse for that client, as everyone has a different type of horse that will best suit them.

How many horses do you estimate you've rehomed over the years?

I have been doing this for 20 odd years now! In the early years I’d rehome between 50-100 per year, and it’s grown from there.

Can you share one (of your many!) OTT retraining success stories?

One of the many OTT stories is a Desert Fox filly, that Missy Browne got off me, named Chilli. Missy played her, and then Zane (her son) played her, and now Joe Wade from Clevedon plays her. It's great that she's stayed in New Zealand as a lot of good polo ponies get sold overseas.

'Chilli' and Joe Wade.

What do you look for in a potential polo pony?

The ideal polo pony for me would have a good brain, flat neck, 15.1hh with a short back, and stands under themselves well behind. It is pretty hard to find a horse with all of that!

What would you like people to know about thoroughbred horses?

They are very trainable in a range of disciplines and have great future careers post racing.