Branding your name on your girths, surcingles and breastplates has proven very popular lately.

It gives your tack a personalised nature, is great promotion for yourself when horses parade in the mounting enclosure, looks great in your winning photos, and at the end of the day your gear cannot be mistaken for another jockeys or trainers!

Through this website we offer fully printed colours and names for all elastic girths, surcingles and breastplates, but you can also just get your name only printed on an existing item.

We can print a black name on white, red, blue & maroon coloured elastic, or a coloured name on white elastic.

For example, Zac Purton gets PURTON printed in black on white girth sets, and Tye Angland gets ANGLAND printed in red on white girth sets. We have printed names on tack for many overseas jockeys including Douglas Whyte, Weichong Marwing and Gerald Mosse, and locally Rodney Quinn, Brenton Avdulla & Dean Yendall get their tack branded.

Next time you order an all elastic girth, surcingle or breastplate, consider adding PRNTACK or PRNGTHSET.

We are proud to say that Markey Saddlery was represented at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant last month.

The NSW Mounted Police were invited to perform at the pageant, called “The World Comes To Windsor” from the 10th to 13th May. The NSW Mounted Police requested us to make their ceremonial white bridles, and we were very honoured to do so.

The pageant was a huge success, and the accomplished riders from the NSW Mounted Police loved their experience of a lifetime.

More quality products from Descente

We have just imported a new selection of goods from the leading Japanese manufacturers, Descente. This new range will complement the existing range we stock. We have a fresh range of race breeches, race and track skivvies, leggings and gloves. We look forward to showcasing all these items on the site very soon.

Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby 2012 - runners run to the post on the first lap

I was fortunate enough to be trackside for the 138th running of The Kentucky Derby.

With the official attendance posted as 165,307 it was an amazing experience to witness one of the great races on the world racing calendar at Churchill Downs. It was a great atmosphere as you’d imagine, and the actual race was run at breakneck speed.

Kentucky Oaks 2012 - Churchill Downs decked out in pink for Ladies Day

The favourite Bodemeister rolled along at an amazing tempo, only to be run down in the final furlong by I’ll Have Another.

The winning jockey, Mario Gutierrez, wore SSG Pro Show Technical Gloves and multiple pairs of Kroops Gold Vent Goggles!

Dawn at the Downs

I also attended one of their ‘Breakfast with the Stars’ mornings, which they call ‘Dawn at the Downs’. This was well attended, by at least 1,000 people from various countries, over multiple levels of their six floors of grandstands.

USA Suppliers

Jeanne Brown

We have been selling the Pepper Wear range of race and track caps and Lycra leggings for about seven years now, so it was fantastic to actually meet Jeanne Brown, the lady behind the Pepper Wear label.

Jeanne was a well respected jockey from the Seattle region originally, but she now resides in Shelbyville Kentucky, which is situated between the famous Kentucky Racetracks of Churchill Downs & Keeneland. Jeanne works with her daughter Bobbie, and together they make a range of goods for horse trainers, jockeys and owners.

While in Kentucky, I also managed to speak to some other Kentucky-based manufacturers. As a business, we are always looking to supply our customer base with the anything new that we feel will benefit you. We will keep you updated in future newsletters as new products arrive.

Thank You

We would like to thank everyone for their well wishes with the passing of Mum last month. We could not have asked for a better send off, and we would like to thank you all for your kind words. I’m so proud of what Mum achieved in her life, and I’m glad we could honour her the way we did. People commented to us they could really relate to what she achieved as a wife, mother and business owner.

Robynne Markey

As a mark of respect, Markey Saddlery will be closed for business Monday 16th April 2012.

The co-founder of the business, Robynne Markey, passed away on Good Friday 6th April, aged 67 years. Robynne first started making racing silks as early as 1970, when a horse owner and friend, knowing her amazing sewing skills, requested she make him his own racing silks for his horses to race in.

She slowly got more work through word of mouth, but in 1975 when husband Ray, himself a jockey, broke his leg in a race fall, making racing silks became the bread and butter for the Markey Family. In 1976, Robynne and Ray formed Markey Saddlery as a partnership, and they started supplying Sydney’s jockeys & trainers with a range of products besides the racing silks.

Robynne also started making presentation rugs for Sydney’s Thoroughbred Race Clubs and Trotting Race Clubs in 1978 and continued to do so over a 12 year period until 1990.

The best races in Sydney soon had a presentation rug made by Robynne, including races such as The Golden Slipper, The Doncaster, The AJC Derby and The Miracle Mile. Funnily enough, her favourite presentation rug she made was The 1989 Kentucky Fried Chicken Gloaming Stakes. She was extremely proud of the intricate work involved in producing this particular rug, unlike today’s era of fully sublimate printed rugs.

Robynne took on many roles within the business, including secretary, admin, packing customers orders and accounts. She loved her work and she loved working in partnership with Ray. Her health steadily declined over the last twelve years, as she suffered from dementia.

Robynne is missed already.

Her funeral will be held at the Garden Chapel, Castlebrook Memorial Park, Windsor Road, Rouse Hill at 11am on Monday 16th April, followed by a wake at the Sunnybrook Hotel, Hume Highway, Warwick Farm from 1pm.

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