From a background showing her family’s Arabian horses, young rider Jessica Dertell has expanded her repertoire and taken to the dressage arena like a duck to water. Claiming the 2022 Australian Big Tour Championship title with Sabble Farm’s Dutch import Cennin, it seems the sky’s the limit for this Victorian teen.

The 2022 Australian Dressage Championships was an event to remember for 18-year-old Victoria rider Jessica Dertell. With four horses and a pony on the truck, it was a feat just to remember 17 tests – let alone achieve the results that she did.

Riding Cennin, Jessica won the CDI3* Grand Prix (70.37%), Freestyle (73.765%) and Special (69.575%) to claim the overall Australian Big Tour Championship – a title that over the years has been claimed by many of our sport’s brightest stars.

Jesscia’s partnership with Cennin only began late February this year when the 15-year-old KWPN stallion (by Vivaldi out of a Donnerhall mare) was imported from the Netherlands by Brett and Samantha Thomas of Sabble Farm. Previously campaigned by Dutch rider Madeleine Witte-Vrees, he has an impressive résumé, finishing in the top 10 of the 2017 and 2018 World Cup Finals, and also competing at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon.

Unable to compete on a stallion until the age of 18, Jessica and Cennin rode their first test at a Werribee event on 7 July – Jessica’s 18th birthday – and scored just under 70% in the Grand Prix. They went on to win two Grand Prix tests at one of Boneo Park’s monthly competitions, before heading up to the recent Brisbane CDI where they won all three Big Tour tests. Their recent Championship win at Boneo Park capped off an exciting eight months, with their Grand Prix and Freestyle scores being their best to date. However, although “super-stoked” with their results, Jessica explains that the partnership still has plenty of room to grow: “Everything’s been getting better and better; Cennin is settling in now, which is amazing. He’s a big boy and we still have a few quirks to work out together, which every new combination does!”

A BUSY COMPETITION

Cennin wasn’t Jessica’s only success story at the Australian Championships; all four of her other entrants enjoyed multiple wins. Eskara De Jeu (a 13-year-old KWPN mare by Jazz out of a Jetset-D mare) won the CDI Under-25 Inter II and Grand Prix; Gladstone M.H. (an 11-year-old gelding by Bordeaux out of a Montecristo mare) won the CDI Young Rider Team test, Individual Test and Freestyle with all scores over 70% to take out the CDI Young Rider Championship; Kilimanjaro (a KWPN stallion by Bordeaux out of a Westpoint mare) won the CDI Junior Team test, Individual Test and Freestyle with all scores over 70% to be named the CDI Junior Champion, and was also fourth in the Medium Championship, again with both scores over 70%; and Gleniph Tiramisu (a 10-year-old part Arabian mare) won the Pony Prix St Georges, Intermediate I and Intermediate Freestyle to claim the Pony Small Tour Championship. Like Cennin, Eskara De Jeu, Gladstone M.H. and Gleniph Tiramisu are all owed by Brett and Sam Thomas of Sabble Farm.

“They all performed very well,” says Jessica of the equine team. “I was very lucky to get multiple personal bests, so we had a great competition. All horses decided to get to the top of their game right at the right time, which is amazing!”

IT ALL BEGAN WITH ARABIANS

Jessica and her brother Kody grew up with Arabian horses. Their parents, Kate and Doyle, developed Future Farm Arabians in Bolinda, Victoria, many years ago, and Jessica grew up on the Arabian show circuit. “Dad is Canadian. He was working in America with the Arabian horses and flew out to Australia to do some shows; it was at those shows that he met my mum. They decided to start their own farm together with the Arabian horses; Dad had done a lot of courses and was able to do all the breeding himself. They grew their business and then had my brother Kody and I, and we’ve continued with it… it’s definitely been a family affair.”

“I’ve grown up on the Arabians. I’ve competed overseas with endurance horses, and we have Arabian show horses in America that have also been successful. The Arabians are definitely part of us all,” explains Jessica of her equestrian roots.

The Dertells’ partnership with Sabble Farm also began with Arabians. It all started when Sam met Jessica’s mother by chance and then visited Future Farms with the view to buying a horse. Sam had ridden when she was younger but hadn’t been in the saddle for many years due to family commitments; she ended up falling in love with Gleniph Tiramisu. ‘Sue’ proved to be the perfect ticket back to riding, and Sam enjoyed success in the show ring with the buckskin mare. From there, Sabble Farm’s equine herd grew as Brett became just as enamoured by the Arabians as Sam.

THE DRESSAGE BUG

Jessica explains that her step into the dressage world came about through Tor Van Den Berge. “We were actually at the Australian Arabian Championships one year. At the time, I had a 15-hand Arab cross and she was quite hot; she definitely taught me to ride as she was not a push-button horse. She was definitely a little bit hard!

“Tor Van Den Berge was good friends with my mum, and at the Arabian Championships he kept nagging her saying that I was riding really well on this spooky horse, and that I should try and get into dressage. He convinced Mum to steer me that way and then he was the one that sourced my first dressage schoolmaster, Valerius Waltermeyer, aka ‘Wally’.”

Wally was purchased five years ago, and Jessica was quickly hooked. “I also started competing Sue in the dressage arena for Sam and took her through the levels. After three years of competing, Wally was unable to compete at Small Tour and Medium Tour level any longer, and I was very sad; I didn’t have anything else that was able to compete at those levels, as at the time I had just the Arabians that I was training up and doing different things with – such as showing and endurance. I was still young and competing Sue in the FEI pony classes.”

At the point, Jessica knew she wanted to continue riding dressage. “I found that it was a sport where you could see the training and your work paying off and where you got to see exactly what you needed to improve on,” she recalls.

“Sam saw how distraught I was at not being able to do something that I love, so she and Brett had a conversation at Sabble Farm and they decided that they wanted to pursue supporting my dressage career. We went around Australia and had a look at the dressage horses, but nothing really caught our eye enough for Sabble Farm to purchase, so we headed overseas and I was very fortunate… we went over for one horse and we actually came back with three! Gladstone M.H. for Sam to ride, Zanzibar – a Grand Prix schoolmaster that I had to allow me to learn all the Grand Prix movements – and Eskara De Jeu. I’ve since taken over the ride on Gladstone… he is amazing!

“Sabble Farm are a big part of my dressage career now and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity and for how much they support me. We wouldn’t be in the position we are with these sorts of horses without them. We’re very lucky that we have our own dressage horse, Kilamanjaro, that we imported as a young horse – but without Sabble Farm’s help with getting me to Grand Prix and teaching me all the movements with their horses, I wouldn’t have been able to bring Kilimanjaro up as well or as quickly as I have,” says Jessica, adding that Kilimanjaro, her Junior horse, has taken everything in his stride and is pushing through the levels pretty quickly

Jessica says she’s been fortunate to have had great support in her dressage career to date, and on the coaching side of things explains that her mother and Australian Olympian Mary Hanna have had the biggest influence on her success in this discipline.

“I’ve had many different coaches throughout the years when I was younger and doing different things such as showing and endurance, but Mary and my mum have been the biggest help in the dressage arena. Mary has been my coach now for years, since when I first got these dressage horses. She has been a very, very big influence, and I’m still getting coached by her every week. I was very thankful that she could come down and coach me at the Australian Championships, even though she wasn’t competing this year. She made the trip down to help me out, which was amazing.

“While Mary was overseas (campaigning for the Tokyo Olympics and FEI World Championships), if I needed help with something I could send her videos. I also had lessons with Rozzie Ryan, who was a great help; Mary and Rozzie… they work very well together with their coaching styles.

“My mum coaches me at home. If I’m stuck with anything, she has her office attached to the arena, so she actually can look out and give me help any time I need it. I’m also on the Victorian Young Rider Dressage Squad, where we have access to different coaches and get insight from different people.”

ALWAYS BUSY

Jessica explains that although Sabble Farm has helped her pursue her dressage dream with the Warmbloods, they also have many Arabian horses that are in training with her family at Future Farms. “They have pretty much a full barn here of their horses in training with us that are mostly Arabian – western horses and dressage horses,” she says, adding that her family is still very much involved with the Arabians as well, and plenty of time is spent with them at shows between dressage competitions.

Life at Future Farms is certainly busy, and it’s a wonder how Jessica fits so many horses into her day. She explains that since Year 10, she’s studied via Virtual School Victoria and worked full-time with the horses. She says it was a challenge fitting everything in, but she and her family made it work. With Year 12 now out of the way, there is at least some reprieve!

“We have about 40 horses in training here. That’s everything from yearlings up to the competition horses, which includes western horses, show horses, and dressage horses. As well as that, we also have all the horses in the breeding program; we’ll have weanlings soon too, as the broodmares have just foaled. There are over 100 horses on the property in total.

“A normal day I would start with feeding and boxes, and then I typically ride anywhere from 8 to 12 horses on a daily basis. I ride the majority of the group and my brother does the western horses and breakers. As well as myself and Kody, there is a whole team behind us making it happen, including Taleisha Snell who rides, as well as another main rider.”

Riding both Warmbloods and Arabians, Jessica says there’s a lot of the general horsemanship that crossed over regardless of breed, but the Arabians are generally quicker learners. “They’re definitely a bit more cluey! They learn everything a little faster and they want to please you 24/7, where the Warmbloods are more likely to do as much as you want, but only as much as you want; no extra. Arabians tend to try and go out of their way to make you happy every time.”

TAKING ON THE WORLD

This year’s Australian Dressage Championships was certainly one for the young riders, with Lindsey Ware and Aristede and Charlotte Phillips riding CP Dresden filling the podium for the Australian Big Tour Championship.

Jessica recognises the importance of having good support behind young riders and giving them opportunities to “learn the ropes”. “We actually still own Wally,” she says, referring to her special schoolmaster who started her on the dressage journey. “He is with friends of ours teaching them the movements. I’ve let other young riders ride him for a little bit as well to get them started. I think that bringing up young riders and teaching them the ropes is always beneficial because they’re our next stage of riders. If I can offer other kids the opportunity to learn, that it is more beneficial for our sport.”

Jessica’s next big event is EQUITANA Melbourne, where she’ll ride Cennin and Eskara De Jeu in the World Cup Grand Prix classes. “Hopefully I can do the Pacific League World Cup Final at Willinga Park in February with Cennin, with the goal being to head overseas with that if all goes well,” says Jessica. A start in the FEI World Cup Final in Omaha, USA (April 2023) is certainly an exciting goal!

Jessica is also thrilled to welcome a new equine star to the team; Sabble Farm recently purchased Mary Hanna’s 16-year-old mare Syriana (by Sir Donnerhall out of a Bormio xx mare). “I feel very lucky to get to take over the reins on such an extraordinary mare,” she says.

Jessica’s rise up the Australian dressage ranks over the past few years has been quite astounding, however, she’s quick to point out that she’s had incredible support along the way, from Brett and Sam at Sabble Farm, to her parents, coaches and sponsors. “I’d like to say a massive thank you to all our sponsors for having myself and my horses in top notch condition and feeling comfortable at all times; we couldn’t do it without you! Thanks to Barastoc, Bates (Jessica loves her Bates Artiste saddles), Ranvet, Horseland Sunbury, Peter Williams Riding Apparel, Horse Bit Emporium, Arena Equestrian, BC Browbands, Eloquence Equestrian, HiShine Equine, NVS Equine Attire, and TuffRock Australia.”

When a fantastic support network merges with talent and determination, the sky’s the limit. EQ

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