What a journey! Kaos and I become CCI2* Young Rider Champions in Adelaide
As I drove out of Davidson Equestrian on 18th December 2017 for the last time as a Riding Groom I thought to myself what an incredible experience and opportunity I have had over the last two years.
I had started my working student experience in November 2015, just out of school having only had two weeks off before making the move from Condobolin NSW to Toowoomba QLD with my little 15.3hh homebred Australian Stockhorse Kaos. I really didn’t know what to expect - my destination was Davidson Equestrian but I had never met Shane or Mattea prior to this. As I was only just out of school, this was a big change for me and it was very exciting, daunting and .... scary!
If you had asked me before this journey what my goals were, they would have been to improve my knowledge and riding ability and hopefully to compete at 1* level at the Melbourne 3 Day Event. With the dedication and support of Shane and Mattea at Davidson Equestrian I achieved my initial goal and to my surprise and great excitement I also placed 12th in the Open 1* class at the Melbourne 3 Day Event.
With this job comes hard work and long hours. Shovelling manure and the use of the curry comb becomes second nature, you do all the normal jobs you would expect such as cleaning stables and yards, tacking and untacking horses, cleaning tack and the list goes on. Sometimes there is so much to do I would sit and wonder at the end of the day how we managed to have it all done. Being part of a dedicated, supportive and cooperative team is what makes it all achievable day in day out.
A debrief with Mattea after we finish cross country at Goulburn
During my two years as a riding groom many hours were also spent on the road attending showjumping and eventing competitions. These days or weekends were always rewarding even though they were incredibly hectic. Working as a riding groom at these competitions gave me the opportunity to meet people I would have never dreamed of coming into contact with and again the knowledge you obtain from these people in this industry is invaluable. Preparation for these events would be paramount as time once at the events was limited so a skill I have certainly learnt over my past two years is that being organised is critical for the smooth proceedings at the events.
During this time I have learnt so much about myself and my horse and it has made all the hard work worthwhile. It is a truly rewarding job whether it is your horse or the other competition horses in the team that do well at an event and you spend so much time with the horses that you know pretty much everything about their individual quirky characters so it is very exciting when they do well. I have gone to shows that I didn’t think I would ever go to and interacted with people I would certainly not have met otherwise. To just listen and learn from these people was incredible.
Towards the end of my first year as a working student I made the decision that I would like to stay for another year. I had set myself a new goal for Kaos and I; to qualify for the Australian International 3 Day Event at 2* Level. I stepped up to 2* early in 201 and this would not have been possible without the dedication and coaching of Shane and Mattea and I can’t thank them enough for this.
Mattea and I at the horse inspection in Adelaide
Both Shane and Mattea were confident that I could achieve my goal and they supported me for another 12 months. Financially this was going to be incredibly challenging for me as my parents have three other children they are also supporting financially which meant that funds from them would be minimal. I was determined that I needed to do as much as I could to support myself financially and as I have no sponsors this was going to be a long road to Adelaide but one I was determined to achieve.
I knew for the next 12 months if I was going to reach my goal of competing at the Adelaide International 3 Day Event I had to be dedicated, determined and committed. The journey was full of highs and lows and, with injury or not doing so well at a particular event which I needed for a qualifier to even be able to enter for Adelaide, there were definitely days I thought it was going to be impossible to achieve my goal.
If there is one thing I have learnt during this experience it is that you have to pick yourself up and keep on going, because highs and lows are just an obstacle you have to overcome in order to get to your end goal.
Shane and Mattea were amazing in their continued encouragement and to help me remain focused no matter what the situation, they were always so positive in their approach of me achieving my goal. If these two had not given me the opportunity to work with them and their team I would never have achieved my goal of not only riding at the Australian International 3 Day Event but also becoming the Australian Young Rider Champion in the CCI2* and finishing eighth overall in the Open Section. This ultimate achievement for me would never have become a reality if I had not had taken the position as a riding groom at Davidson Equestrian.
All the hard work, long hours, education, highs, lows, financial challenges were very rewarding and certainly worth it in the end. If there are any riders out there who think that it is not possible to achieve your dreams and goals with riding think again, it most definitely is so go for it if you have the opportunity.
Watch Courtney and Kaos' full cross country ride at the Aus3DE here
