Q. Horsemanship is a vital part of success being a jumps trainer, what are the schooling efforts involved for a horse to learn about jumping?
The first thing I was taught when I first started schooling with Steve Pateman was that the horse has to enjoy it and it has to be fun for them, otherwise you're not going to get very far. Seeing first hand, that is 100% the truth. It can be quickly or a slow process, but as soon as the horse enjoys it, it makes your job very easy and they get a real kick out of it. It was a quick realisation how much more the horses have fun and enjoy the schooling versus the mundane chores of track work early in the morning. Horses I've ridden, they're a different character when going over jumps compared to when you've ridden them on the flat. There's a horse of Steve Pateman, Surging Wave. I rode him when I was a flat jockey, he was like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, and then riding him in the Crisp Steeple, he was a completely different horse. He had grown three hands, and it was like he was on a jumping castle. It is without a doubt, something horses loves doing.
Q. Who is your role model?
Hard to say, I've got a few role models. In racing I'd say Johnny Murtagh. He's an extremely successful, champion Irish jockey who also had a crack at riding over jumps. I admire people being able to do both. As a rider here in Australia, by far, it would definitely be Steve Pateman who is someone I look to and learn off and will continue to learn from, and is basically the person who has taught me everything I know to date.
Q. If you had to invite someone to dinner who would it be?
Hmmmmm ... probably Ricky Gervais.
Q. Tell us more about the horses and their range of motion when going over the jumps. How do you prepare going into a jump and what is the feeling you get when approaching?
It's different whether coming into a hurdle or a steeple. I think the main thing is to keep them straight, keep them balanced amid picking a stride. It's something that I've had to learn to do that is non-existent in flat racing - counting and picking strides. There's no better feeling than when you see a stride and the horse jumps into the stride and clears a big fence, such as Casterton, Ballarat or Sandown, with big sweeping tracks. Nothing can beat that.
Q. As you grow and gain more experience as a jumps jockey, how would you like to see the industry change for the better?
I think the industry as a whole is on the up. When I was 11 years old, I went to a rally at the RVO for saving jumps racing because it was basically going to be thrown out and be non-existent. To think that was only 12 years ago, and now we're racing for big money and big races and people are really rallying around it again. I think the main thing for me, is to educate people on the perception of jumps racing. I think if we can push that forward and educate people that the horses love doing it and that they're not forced to do it and don't enjoy it, that we will continue to grow and grow.
