Sometimes people make very big decisions without their usual planning process. Sometimes it’s just on a whim and sometimes a gut feeling takes over and things just feel right. And even more unusual is that sometimes these rash decisions end up being spot on.
This was the case when Graeme, Jody and Casey Rozynski purchased Nonda Last Frontier from David and Heather Pascoe as a yearling colt, sight unseen. Jody was flicking through ads on the computer when she came across several youngsters for sale on the Plaintree Farm site. Her interest was pricked when she read about a Conman foal out of one of the superior mare lines at Nonda. His dam, Nonda Dottie Papunya went back to the exceptional bloodlines originating from Ventry McLennan’s breeding program at Grafton, NSW.
Graeme and Jody had always had a huge passion for horses, particularly show horses, so for them to consider any purchase there were certain criteria which were not negotiable. Any horse considered needed outstanding conformation with added eye appeal as well as manners, temperament, and attitude.
With all this in mind and aware that it was a long straw a phone call was made to Heather to simply enquire about the colt. Heather went to great lengths to explain the colt’s background and who his ancestors were and what they had achieved. It was certainly an impressive story and he also had the flashy black looks to back it up.
In a rare moment of complete faith they purchased Nonda Last Frontier as a yearling black colt with a ton of breeding and history, sight unseen. He was loaded onto a horse transport at his tender young age for the big trip from Oakey, Queensland to Bairnsdale, Victoria. On arrival both Graeme and Jody were thrilled. He was everything Heather had described and more.
He settled in effortlessly and has never been anything but a complete delight to own.
The Rozynski’s had previously operated a thoroughbred breaking business, so it was no challenge for Graeme to break him in. From that first instance he was always special, no rubbish and easy to train. He was simply a lovely horse.
Matt Holz was doing a campdrafting clinic at Graeme and Jody’s facilities and commented on their young colt who was 4 or 5 at the time. It was simply friends having friendly banter but Matt suggested he could try him and see if he could do something with him. Banter became reality and Nonda Last Frontier has been going from the Rozynski’s to Matt’s regularly ever since, spending a couple of months with Matt and then home for a couple of months.
Frontier was purchased to draft, so it was such a bonus that he was a nice type as the Rozynski’s also like to show. This line of competition has only been lightly pursued, but he did attend the ASH Nationals and placed in the Open Challenge, but to see him go through his paces he would surely have been a natural had this been his chosen career. However, his main focus has been campdrafting. He wasn’t rushed and Covid and a very distressing health issue for Jody has certainly made competition so much harder to attend.
Matt started him in 2018 and he went from a Maiden to an Open Horse in his first season. His desire to chase cattle and his balance always made him look like a natural and it was always only a matter of the right cattle being there for him.
Until 2022 he had been a very consistent horse with highlights such as winning the $10,000 Dunbalk Country Open and several Opens and in 2019 he placed in his only start at Warwick in the Stallion Draft.
2022 saw the big change in his public image when he won the Willinga Park Gold Buckle World Championship. An event that attracts so much publicity and a competitor lineup that includes all the top combinations in the country, plus prizemoney that is lifechanging. The pressure on both horse and rider is immense and under Matt’s expert guidance Nonda Last Frontier cemented himself as one of the country’s truly elite campdraft horses.
As the public address system played “Simply The Best” Jody was sure it was written for their horse at that very moment, as they believe Frontier is “Simply the Best”.
