HE'S a member of the Equestrian Victoria board and the chairman of the Victorian showjumping committee.

He has represented Australia in showjumping and has again been voted the state's most popular coach.

He's well known and highly respected, but many of today's young riders don't know just how much he has achieved.

Robbie Allen has been riding horses since he was a small boy.

As a competitor he first rode on the flat before, like most boys, he began to fancy riding jumping horses.

Eventually, with the support of his parents, he bought the little grey pony Just George, from David Miller.

"He arrived to us by train," Robbie said.

The pony set Robbie on the path to being one of Australia's leading riders.

Having decided showjumping was the only thing he wanted to do, at the age of 16 Robbie went on the road, travelling from show to show throughout NSW - again with the support of his parents.

"I travelled with Mum, and Dad would drive up Friday night to wherever we were, from Sydney, and would tow the car behind the truck before heading back to work Sunday night," Robbie said.

"Dad did the running repairs on the truck, and Mum looked after me through the week.

"The following year I got my licence - you got them at 17 in NSW - and so we then travelled to Queensland as well as NSW."

Robbie rode at the world-famous Cairns show, where the high jump for horses has been a great tradition.

At 21 he was selected to tour New Zealand on an Australian team that won at every show.

Back home in Australia, he and his mate Guy Creighton decided to come to Victoria and have a go at the famous Olympic Park showjumping championships.

At the time the championships was a jewel in the crown of Australian showjumping, bringing champion riders from every state to compete over the magnificent set of fences provided by the Melbourne Showjumping Club.

Robbie describes how he and Guy walked over the hill from the horse park to see the array of huge and colourful fences spread out on the arena.

"We just stopped and stared; we just couldn't believe it," he said.

Robbie moved to Victoria, bringing his team of horses.

When the French Festival was held in Melbourne in 1976 Robbie's mount, Stockholm, was loaned to the French team and Robbie rode Helsinki.

He qualified to ride in the Australian team with Eric Musgrove, Kevin Bacon and Gavin Chester, to beat the French and New Zealand teams in the first truly international teams event in Australia, the Nations Cup.

He met Sarah Pither, later to become Sarah Allen, at Bathurst Show.

"She was shoeing a horse when I first saw her," he said. He later met her again at the Royal Adelaide Show.

Because Sarah lived in Western Australia and Robbie in Victoria, he spent a lot of time on the phone - and the pair married in 1978.

Their daughter, Becky, was born in 1980. Like many children with horse parents, she rode as soon as she walked and was competing in open showjumping by the time she was 11.

Father, mother and daughter were all competing at the same shows and the horse team at the time included Kestral, Moorwartha King - another Showjumper of the Year winner that was sold to the US - Kookaburra, Goldfinger, which was sold to Japan, and the lovely horse Batman, which competed in world cups for all three members of the family.

Robbie was becoming more involved in administration.

Serving first on the Melbourne Showjumping Club committee, he was then on the Victorian Equestrian Federation committee and began to coach.

Ask Robbie about the difference between today's jumping and jumping when he was young and he says: "I never had a lesson before I was up for Olympic selection; we just used our natural talent."

"Now, our youngsters on the training squad get lessons from the age of 10. The opportunity is there for dedicated youngsters.

"As far as the courses are concerned, they are more technical now.

"I was talking to Guy Creighton recently and we agreed that some of the good horses we had back then would be absolute superstars over today's courses, but others wouldn't, as the rails were so much heavier then. You can't touch today's rails.

"We are far more aware of what we have to have to compete against overseas teams. The course designers also realise what we have to jump if we are to be successful overseas.

"The big advantage of living in Australia is you don't have to be rich to succeed. Unlike overseas, you do have the opportunity if you have the talent.

"If you aren't rich, you just have to train and work harder."

Robbie, who now coaches all over Victoria, is very supportive of the adult rider.

"I teach a lot of this type of rider and they really make the most of a lesson," he said.

"Our open squad days give them a chance of good coaching over good equipment.

"I love helping people and young kids. I know a lot of people say they have to put something back into the sport, and it's true and I love doing it."