Name: Jessie Smith
Favourite TV show or series?
Suits or anything medical related like RPA
Goal of 2023:
Ride a couple more Advanced tests & then we will go to Adelaide & Melbourne Royal Shows
What started your interest in riding horses?
I have been horse obsessed since I was tiny & got my first riding lesson as a present for my 5th birthday. I always wanted to be like the 'big girls' (who were probably about 6!) at Adelaide Royal.
Why have you chosen to pursue your riding?
I have always loved the challenge & the training, but especially after I got sick & aquired my disability in 2013 horses became the only part of my 'old life' that I had left & I was desperate to hold onto that. Riding gives me an incredible freedom, and has been incredibly beneficial for me to cope with my illness both physically & mentally. My horses (but my best mate Storm in particular) saved my life.
Any superstitions?
Not superstitions as such but I have to do everything in my certain routine whether its cleaning my stables or getting ready at a comp.
How do you manage nerves before a competition?
I don't really get too nervous thankfully (although maybe I should & I might start doing better haha!)
Something nobody knows about you.
Most people think its a coincidence, but all of my horses competition names are very intentionally named after my best mate Storm (Northern Storm), Kiwi (Fire Storm) & Charlie (Storm in a Tea Cup).
What is your favourite thing to do in your spare time?
Watch true crime
Who are the people that have influenced you the most with your riding?
Without a doubt Megan Jones. Megan believed in me & my little Standardbred (Storm) & never made a fuss about what I can't do, only ever what I can. She has been a big part in my journey with Storm (a whole story in itself) & then onto my two current ridden horses Kiwi & Charlie & I owe an awful lot to her. I am also been very fortunate to have assistance from the wonderful Emma Booth.
Greatest strengths:
I'm extremely stubborn which can be a vice or a great virtue depending on the situation.
What horse/s do you currently have competing and at what level?
Just Charlie (Storm in a Tea Cup) & we are currently competing at Medium & Advanced. We also compete in showhorse at the Agricultural and Royal shows. Kiwi was competing but has had kissing spine surgery & very limited outings since.I will get him out again soon.
Where would you like to see your riding taking you over the next 5 year?
Just keep playing around & see where it takes us. I am just very grateful to be able to ride at the level we do when I only have use of my left leg, as those tests are very much designed for riders with two working legs & I never thought I'd get the opportunity to do it.
What advice would you offer a rider thinking of become a para-rider?
Find your person! I was so close to giving up because it became so difficult physically not only to just stay on a horse, but to then ride a leg yield or a 10m circle with bend etc etc. Many coaches prior had no idea how to teach me from a biomechanics perspective & I was so defeated because it is sooo frustrating when my leg didn't work like my brain remembered. Megan is our person. She just went "oh well if we can't do it that way, we'll just do this instead", she just took a different route to the same destination & what that did for me emotionally but also what it has meant I can now ride (aka a Medium or Advanced test) can't be put into words. Find your person who believes in you & don't look back.
Any other information you would like to share?
For those who don't know, I am partially hemiplegic as a result of a autoimmune disease I was diagnosed with when I was 14. So I use my stick for everday activities & navigate the rest of the world in my wheelchair :)
