Robert Hickmott (born 28 January 1969) is an Australian

racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

and former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er, who played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). In 2012, he became the first former footballer to train a

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

-winning horse.

Football

From

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

, Victoria, Hickmott originally played for Tarrawingee in the

Ovens & King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League (OKFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in north-eastern Victoria (state), Victoria around the regional cities of Benalla, Victoria, Benalla and Wangaratta, Victoria, Wanga ...

and the Wangaratta Rovers in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

(O&M). He was recruited by the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

after starring in the Wangaratta Rovers 1988 O&M grand final win. He spent 1989 playing in Essendon's reserve side and entered the 1990 AFL Pre-season Draft where he was selected by Melbourne with the 45th pick overall. Hickmott played two games for the club in the 1990 season, debuting against in round 13 and playing again the following week, against . He played with

in their 1990 AFL Reserves grand final loss to Carlton Football Club. Although remaining on the club's list in 1991, he did not play another senior game for the club. Hickmott returned to play in Wangaratta Rovers' 1991 premiership side and then later played for

Wodonga Wodonga (pronounced ; ) is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga L ...

and

Myrtleford Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 282 km (175 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 47 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 20 ...

in the mid-1990s.

Horse racing

After quitting football, Hickmott moved to

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing; ) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city is called ''Pomberuk'' b ...

, joining his father, John Hickmott, in training horses. From there, he returned to Victoria to work under Colin Little, and later worked with Tony Vasil and Alan Bailey. In 2001, racehorse owner Lloyd Williams offered him a position at his stables, which he accepted. Hickmott was heavily involved in the training of 2007 Melbourne Cup winner Efficient, although the horse was officially trained by Graeme Rogerson. He was appointed head trainer at Williams' Macedon Lodge stables (near

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( ; or ) is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The mountain has a ...

) in 2009, and subsequently trained his first

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

winner, Zipping, who won the

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australi ...

in 2010. Green Moon, the winner of the 2012 Melbourne Cup, was trained by Hickmott, and also won the

Turnbull Stakes The Turnbull Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, for horses four years old and older, run under set weights with penalties conditions over a distance of 2,000 metres. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse, M ...

in 2012.Robert Hickmott trainer profile
– Racing Victoria. Updated 15 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012. Another horse trained by Hickmott, Almandin, won the 2016 Melbourne Cup, giving Hickmott his second win as a trainer.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickmott, Robert 1969 births Australian racehorse trainers Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Living people Melbourne Football Club players Sportspeople from Wangaratta Wangaratta Rovers Football Club players

Football

Horse racing

See also

References

External links