Giuditta Crisci crowned QOTT Acknowledged Standardbred Retrainer of the Year

By Andrew Smith

Giuditta Crisci has a passion for retraining and rehoming standardbreds, and is set to bolster that love even further in 2025.

The Churchable-based retrainer was crowned the Queensland Off-The-Track (QOTT) Acknowledged Standardbred Retrainer of the Year at the 2024 Queensland Harness Awards earlier this month.

It is the second time she has taken home the prize after winning the inaugural award in 2022.

Crisci was keen to thank the people who had helped her along the journey in the retraining space.

“It’s amazing and it’s a lot of hard work, it goes beyond the horses - it’s managing a property and making sure everything is safe for them so it’s a great recognition of a lot of hard work,” Crisci said.

“My fiancé Johnny is a massive help to me and has been my lifeline through all of the retraining, he never says no when I say we need to go and pick up a new horse even if we’re already at capacity.

“(I also want to thank) every breeder, trainer and owner that’s trusted us to do right by their horse and do the best we can to retrain and rehome them.

“Also thanks to the Queensland Off-The-Track Program, I obviously wouldn’t be doing this on the scale we’re doing it without their help.”

Crisci started retraining and rehoming standardbreds in 2012, and was one of the first retrainers inducted when the QOTT Acknowledged Retrainers Program kicked off in January 2022.

Since then, she has successfully retrained and rehomed 33 standardbreds from the industry into a range of rewarding and varied post-racing career pathways.

Crisci said the Acknowledged Retrainer expansion grants provided by the QOTT Program had helped enormously in boosting her capacity.

“The grants have been a massive help in improving our property - we’ve been able to upgrade a lot of infrastructure that was a little bit outdated,” Crisci said.

“We’ve been able to install a new arena which we haven’t had the privilege of having while retraining previous horses.

“So that’s made a really big difference to our safety and making sure the horses are comfortable and our clients are comfortable when they come to test ride the horses.

“The Equine Care Subsidy makes a massive difference to the amount of horses we can have as well, knowing that if any vet emergencies come up, that’s all covered – things like feed allowance, farrier bills, worming, vaccinations too.

“There’s a big support network and a lot of incentives for people to buy horses off us now with the Subsidised Lessons Program and the New Off-The-Track Owner Welcome Pack, so there’s a lot of positive initiatives.”

The 2023 QOTT Acknowledged Standardbred Retrainer of the Year Amanda Chant has since relocated to Tasmania.

It means Crisci and Jennifer Davy are currently the only two QOTT Acknowledged Retrainers specialising in standardbreds only. A further five QOTT Acknowledged Retrainers retrain both standardbreds and thoroughbreds.

Crisci is keen to share the benefits of standardbreds in a bid to get more Acknowledged Retrainers on board.

“I’ve been really excited lately to see a few more standardbred retrainers signing up and I think if you’re not retraining them - you’re missing out!” Crisci said.

“We’ve worked with both thoroughbreds and standardbreds and there’s certainly a big difference and a lot of perks to the standardbred breed.

“In general we find they’re really hearty, hardworking, very quiet, have a fantastic temperament and they have great feet.

“They’re a little bit more suited to a vast array of homes – they are great for someone who’s getting their confidence back with horses, people that just want a trail riding horse, or they may not have a specific discipline in mind and they just want to try everything.

“They’re really versatile and hardworking, they’re eager to please, so why not retrain a standardbred?”

RQ Senior Animal Care Manager Kim Duffy said the QOTT Program was honoured to have Crisci as a QOTT Acknowledged Retrainer.

“Ditta does a terrific job and she continues to make a remarkable impact with assisting retired standardbreds transition from racing and breeding activities into second careers as competition, pleasure and therapy horses,” Ms Duffy said.

“She is a highly respected horsewoman and a passionate advocate for the standardbred breed – when it comes to retraining there’s never a job too big or too small for Ditta.

“Her dedication to the welfare and success of each horse is second to none and we are incredibly grateful to Ditta for her continued efforts in ensuring retired standardbreds thrive in their post-racing lives.”

Click here for more information on the QOTT Acknowledged Retrainers Program.