Location: Numurkah, VIC
YOB: 2004
Horse’s Name: Kiel Park Jackson
Height: 16.1 hh
Colour: Bay
Breed: Thoroughbred x Warmblood
Discipline: Showjumping
What do you love most about your horse? The thing that I love most about Jackson is his personality and how caring and sweet he is. I also love how trusting and loyal he is to me, and we have formed such a great connection together already even though we haven't been together for very long so far.
Funny habits, how does your horse make you smile? Jackson makes me smile whenever I give him a treat after I ride him and he smiles at me every time after getting the treat. Another funny thing that Jackson does is that he loves to walk very slow when I'm leading him and it always makes everybody laugh.
Horse’s Name: Chester
Height: 17hh
Colour: Flaxen chestnut
Breed: Warmblood
Discipline: Showjumping
What do you love most about your horse? The thing that I love most about Chester is how loving he is towards me, and how he is such a quirky horse but is also a gentle giant and loves attention. We have such a great bond together, and he is my heart horse. Although he is so young, he is such a smart and caring horse, he is so willing to put in his everything for me, and is always interested and loving. I love everything about Chester.
Funny habits, how does your horse make you smile? Something that Chester does that always makes me smile is that whenever I am spending time with him in the paddock, he will always gently and slowly turn himself so that he can get bum scratches from me because that is one of his favourite things.
What do you love most about horses? The thing that I love most about horses is that you can become a team with your horse and form an amazing bond with them. I love that you can learn to trust each other, they can be your best friend and that they will always be there for you through high times and low times.
Do you have an idol in the Equine World? Yes, my two idols in the equine world are Edwina Tops-Alexander and Daniel Deusser
Who is your biggest supporter? My biggest supporters are all of my family and friends who are always there for me and support me when I'm riding my horses, whether it is when we are out at a competition or training at home.
Describe your favourite horse memory?I have a few favourite horse memories. My favourite horse memories are when I placed at Pony Club Victoria state championships for showjumping in the C grade on Flirty, when I placed in my first ever 1.15m class, my first time jumping 1.35m and when I qualified to represent Pony Club Australia in a quad nations showjumping tournament overseas in China.
What are your ambitions or dreams with your current horses? My biggest dream with Chester is to make it to Grand Prix showjumping with him. I think doing this would also be an amazing journey with him to get that together all the way from the very beginning. My dream with Jackson is to just go as far as we can together with my riding.
Where do you see yourself riding in 5 years? In five years, I see myself still riding all of my horses, and doing bigger showjumping. Hopefully in five years I can be doing some of the biggest heights in showjumping and progressing through my riding career.
Why do you want to be part of the Barastoc Junior Squad? I would love to be a part of the Barastoc Junior Squad because not only would it be an incredible honour to sponsor Barastoc and wear it with pride, I would feel so privileged to be a part of this group of people who treat each other like family, and where I can support other riders through their riding careers. I believe that the Barastoc Junior Squad is an amazing opportunity to not only gain support from others who are like you, it is also an incredible opportunity to support others throughout their riding journeys and make new friends for life. Being a part of the Barastoc family would allow me to connect with new people from all over Australia, make new friends, support others and ultimately represent Barastoc as not only an ambassador, but as part of a family that I would be extremely happy to be a part of.
How do you think being a member of the Barastoc Junior Squad will help your riding? I think that being a member of the Barastoc Junior Squad will help my riding because I will be a part of a group of people who prioritise supporting each other above all else, and I believe that this support will allow me to become the best rider I can be and I will be able to achieve my goals with the help given to me by the support of fellow Barastoc members. I think that this support that I would gain from being a part of the Barastoc Junior Squad will help uplift me and my riding and it will allow me to have the best people around me to help me succeed and achieve my dreams.
Which Barastoc Ambassador would you most like to meet? The Barastoc ambassadors that I would most like to meet are Russell Johnstone, Maree Tomkinson and Team Joyce.
Have you fed Barastoc to your horses in the past? If so, what products did you use? Yes. I use Groom, Supreme, Command, Calm performer, Complete performer, Breed N Grow, and Senior.