Zilly finds dream team
ANYONE who saw Will Zillman play during his long NRL career witnessed a man in his element on the rugby league field.
But there’s another side to Zillman that he’s been quietly developing since retiring from the brutal contact, constant demands and fierce spotlight of the NRL.
An expert horseman, Zillman honed his skills in the saddle during childhood on his family’s cattle station near Proserpine in North Queensland. Now he’s sharing them with other horse lovers at the Shamba Malaika training complex in the Currumbin Valley in the Gold Coast Hinterland. He is also studying to become a veterinarian.
Zillman counts himself lucky to be working in this setting. Shamba Malaika’s 60ha include creeks, rock pools, bamboo gardens, lush forests and hilltop views to the ocean.
Within 10 minutes of the beach and main highway, it is also a popular wedding venue as it showcases the beauty of the Currumbin Valley.
Since 2012, Will Zillman Horsemanship has offered beach and trail riding, horse starting and training.
Zillman’s teaching methods draw heavily on reading the clues and cues of equine behaviour to get horse and rider working as one.
“I think the horse is the most beautiful creature on Earth, so my goal is more about synchronicity, about working together. It’s never about showing a horse who’s boss,” he says.
His Currumbin Valley “office” couldn’t be more different from rugby league. Zillman played 180 first grade games, first with the Canberra Raiders ( 24) and then the Gold Coast Titans ( 156) from 2006- 2017, scoring 55 tries along the way.
A former vice- captain and captain of the Titans, he won the coveted Preston Campbell Award in 2014 and in 2016 was a finalist for the Ken Stephen Medal presented at the Dally M Awards.
Struck down by injuries several times, Zillman gave football all that his body could give.
His new commitment is also full- on.
“I lived and breathed footy for a lot of years,” he says.
“Footy gave me so much and I’m so grateful.”
As Zillman speaks he is walking a mare named Finlay.
She’s a waler, a famous breed in Australian history for the 39,348 that served with the First Australian Imperial Force during World War One, and for the single horse that made it home.
Finlay pushes into Zillman’s side and he strokes her face and offers words of whispered reassurance.
“You should have seen her a month ago,” he says. “She was a nightmare. “You have to be calm around horses. This is a 600kg ball of bone and muscle and it’s pretty much frightened of everything. You have to establish a connection, using patience and confidence, not force. You have to build trust. And when it comes, it’s wonderful. You become a team.”