Jett Newman has shown natural prowess at several disciplines while she bides her time to be old enough to ride racehorses. Now that her jumping career is taking flight, however, destiny may have other ideas.

Jett Newman’s parents were both jockeys, and genetically she has the build and bloodlines to follow in their footsteps. She is a natural athlete, a talented runner, hurdler and gymnast. School is not her favourite place, as you can imagine, other than for the sporting activities, but she does excel in history.

Along the road towards her ambition to become an apprentice jockey she has made the most of every opportunity to acquire as many skills in equestrian sports as she can. As a 14-year-old, it’s another year before she can legally ride the trackwork she believes she has always wanted to do. Moving through showing, dressage and eventing, the thrill of jumping has now tapped into her cool and competitive nature.

With parents Mitch and Debbie both in the racing industry, Jett started riding when she was five and the first pony she rode was her sister’s. Her first competition pony was Glenview Traveller, then there was Angel, a pony she shared with her sister and whom Jett qualified for the Sydney Royal Show. She won the working hunter at Sydney Royal when she was eight years old!

The die was cast. From Pony Club it was on to pony showing where they were extremely successful right through to the highly competitive Royal shows where Jett was always in the placings. She made quite a name for herself, and having a good understanding of the basic dressage training, she was quite in demand. Being of such a slight stature she was certainly suited for the catch rides.

Jett was spotted as a top rider and was asked to take horses on as well, and she was lucky enough to be given a 12.3 hand buckskin pony. Gold Charm, or Grace as she was called, turned out to be an amazing ride for Jett. They won dressage to Elementary level, and at Dressage NSW competitions against top horses of all sizes, they would win with 72% and above. Grace won Arabian Derivative at Sydney Royal and placed over the two years Jett had her in all her open show pony classes there. Grace also won in eventing and show jumping where they would go to Sydney Showjumping Club to compete. Jett and Grace were named overall champion at the NSW State Jamboree and were runner up at the National Jamboree in showing in Melbourne.

A TASTE FOR MORE

Grace was a fantastic pony and taught Jett so much. The novelty of making circles and showing ponies was coming to an end, however, as Jett had a taste of show jumping and liked it. With an almost devilish want for more, jumping took over and so a Thoroughbred was purchased. Debbie would cart Jett out and about show jumping every weekend.

The mare Allie was purchased from a friend of theirs who had been eventing the brown Thoroughbred, and this was Jett’s introduction to show jumping. It was now that Amanda Madigan became involved as her coach and Jett started to train seriously with her at Diamond B Farm in the Hawkesbury area. It wasn’t long before they started to see success and yet another stepping stone towards her dream of being a jockey, with plenty of experience at so many equestrian levels. They were then already jumping 1.10m classes and the eyes were out for another horse.

Of course, being of a competitive nature, it was time to convince the parents that she needed a better horse. What better luck than through Helen Chugg that Wanda, a grey four-star eventer mare, had reached her peak at that level. Wanda needed a role that no longer involved the pressure of high-level eventing, but was a wonderfully trained schoolmaster with plenty of competitive spirit still in her. She had trained and campaigned with the Tinneys and was perfect for Jett.

Amanda started the training sessions with absolute attention to the detail of lines and control of stride lengths. She made certain Jett learnt well the meaning of related lines and the understanding of control and discipline in a sport that isn’t just point and jump. It was a fortuitous introduction to the sport, from finding a natural way to then be pointed in the right direction with Amanda has been ideal.

NATURAL FLARE

“Her natural flare for riding and affinity with horses that is part of her upbringing certainly plays a role,” says Amanda. “With the purchase of Wanda, this mare is a gem and has helped build her confidence and to learn all about the mental side of the sport. The mare is so well schooled and adjustable that this in turn shows Jett the way to the technical aspects of the sport.”

After only after eight months, Jett and Wanda are now doing juniors and 1.20m classes with good results. The first big show was Sydney Royal in the juniors and they were in the top 10 in every class. They then went to the Nationals at Boneo Park where again they always finished in the top 10. Then at the Waratah shows, they had many placings in the 1.20m classes and two wins. At Tamworth in the juniors it was a sixth followed by two firsts to be the winner of the final and overall winner in the points score. In September, it was off to Willinga Park where at Jumping@Willinga they won the two qualifiers in the juniors and were fifth in the final with the fastest time but a rail down.

“I have loved it,” Jett says of the move from showing to show jumping. “The change wasn’t so hard as I felt I had a decent understanding of control between fences and I gained confidence over small tracks in the beginning, so there was more room for my errors without it being a disaster. Also, there was no pressure on me at all and then the step up to Wanda has been absolutely wonderful as she is patient and understanding of my mistakes.” Jett says Amanda and Helen’s guidance has been fabulous in helping her transition. “Of course, Mum is always there to help and I couldn’t do any of this without her dedication to me and the horses.”

Amanda believes this modest teenager from NSW has a lot of potential. “She has a will to win and she is learning the losing side as well. She has a good opportunity to be competitive in this sport as she has learnt the ropes… Her unflappable attitude allows her the chance to think clearly and not be stressed when the going is tough. She is very good at following a plan and instructions, and is good at sticking to that plan. She has a good talent for the sport.” EQ

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