Story by Chris Hector and photos by Roz Neave
There are some young showjumpers who get it easy, they swank off to Europe, Daddy’s cheque book waving in the breeze, to make their selection in those fancy barns with oak paneled stables and solid brass fittings. Now admittedly what they come back with often looks pretty ordinary removed from the glam glam backdrop but still – life is pretty easy for the young riders.
Then there are showjumping riders who have to battle to the top, finding work where they can get it, to finance their passion. Riders like Megan Joyce who you can find six mornings a week at Caulfield racetrack, just about the time the morn, in russet mantle clad, celebrates a brand new day, pounding her way around the track for the Moloney Brothers.
How did Megan end up being a track rider?
“Some friends who live next door have a lot of racehorses. I came back from riding in Europe in 2013 and I was a bit unsure of what to do next, they said, go in and try track work. I started riding for the people who trained their horses, the Moloney Racing Team, and it has continued from there. I ride three hours every morning six days a week.”
Is it scary, some of them look as if they don’t have a lot of steering?
“I’ve always ridden young horses so it is not too intimidating. I did question my riding ability before I went in there – can I do this? It’s intimidating before you do it, not knowing the industry that well, but once you get out there you realize it is the same stuff, just trust your ability and you will be okay.”
How much control have you got?
“A lot of them get strong, but they all know where to pull up. They all know the stopping point. You have to be a strong rider to be able to help them, but there are a lot of lovely horses also, that just hack around. The rule of thumb that Thoroughbreds are crazy is not quite true, there’s a lot of lovely Thoroughbreds out there that you are kicking around, going, come on, you are going a bit slow. That’s a bit different.’
You’ve already been to Europe, how did you find the scene there?
“My partner at the time had friends in England, so we started there with a bit of a holiday and traveled around Europe. We were going to go to the Schockemöhle stables but we didn’t get in contact with them early enough. I met Phil Lever there – I’d known him in Australia – and he gave me a job as a groom for a couple of weeks. I met another guy who gave me a job in Germany, then sent me to Denmark, and a couple of other stables in Germany. I just wanted to see the world, see a bit of the stables. The guy in Germany asked me, do you want a permanent job, and I said I wanted to see a few different places, so he set me up at these stables and passed me around.”
“I was over there for four months and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make a big career in that short amount of time. I just wanted to see how they brought their young horses on. He sent me to a real young horse stable, which has not such a big team. I went to Schockemöhle and saw how they do it – a huge production line, that was different again. Then a sale yard in Denmark where they just had horses to turn over, another semi-factory, his stable that was like a smaller showjumping team that were for sale, but he worked them so hard and that was different, how tough they are. It was nice to get a glimpse of everything. I guess if I got another chance I could go back and focus on what I wanted to focus on.”
Megan working with Val Vader by Valhalla out of a Brilliant Invader mare
How did you get into jumping in the first place?
“It started when I had a little Quarter horse / Stockhorse, called Chocolate Delight, we bought him at the market at Echuca. He was pretty good at jumping. Paul Williams was giving lessons just down the road from my place in Belmore, and I started going there once a week, and you just get hooked I guess. At that stage I was about twelve and I still did eventing and dressage and a bit of everything. The horse was very careful, he wasn’t very brave for eventing, so we just stayed showjumping, did a lot of juniors.”
Who have been the influences on your riding?
“Paul Williams for a while, and when I got onto the Squad, I was put into Sarah and Robbie Allen’s group, and they coached me for many years. Now I am with Gavin Chester. I find him a very good coach, but it is a bit of a challenge to get time with him.”
How big is your team?
“My truck takes five, so I have five at a time, sometimes that gets juggled, two on, two off. At the moment I’ve got a lot of horses. Last year I sold a lot of them so I could buy some land, and I’ve been re-building the team in the last twelve months. I’ve got two better mares, one doing 1.35m, one doing 1.30m, then I’ve got a baby, a Valhalla, two four-year-olds, then I’ve got a Thoroughbred, trying to work out if it is going to make the grade or not, or it needs another discipline.”
How ambitious are you?
“I’m practical I guess. I set small goals that I can achieve. At the moment my ultimate goal would be to ride in a World Cup, I haven’t achieved that yet. I’d love to ride in a World Cup and then if I could compete overseas that would be great, but whether I’ll have the funding and the support to be able to do that is another thing. You’ve got to be practical about your dreams.”
Megan’s promising young mare, Blackall Park Cha Cha by Daley K, jumping at Boneo Classic in the Silver series. Bought in partnership with Beth Burns and Jean Forster as an unbroken 2yo, all involved are enjoying the journey with this lovely mare.
Photo: Gone Riding Media
It’s scary how much money is dominating the sport….
“Yeah, for me you can’t always be super competitive. You just canter around and get your horse to achieve your goals, you might end up competitive later but there is a long time in between because I can’t go and buy that horse that is going. You get those times when you are just cantering around and letting the horses do the miles, until the horses are comfortable, and then you can be competitive again. I don’t have the option of just buying a new one and going out there and winning the class… money changes everything, what shows you can afford to do, and how many shows, and how many classes, how many lessons you get, and how good a horse you are riding. It’s not all just talent.”
Megan is also one of those riders who has the satisfaction of breeding and making her own. At Jumping with the Stars, she will be riding Val Vader, with the added satisfaction of having ridden his mum, and bred, broken in, and trained him, herself.
“I got his mum, Lady Invader, when I was 13 and she was ten. She was meant to be experienced, but she was quite green and I had to start from scratch with her. She turned out to be my best mare. I jumped her to Young Riders, over some tough YR tracks at the Oz champs in Canberra. Evented her to one star, Pony Club right through from grade three. She was the best mare I could have ever had,”
“She then had four foals. Val Vader is by Valhalla, he’s four now.”
You rode Valhalla?
“Yes, I rode Valhalla for nearly a year, it was a great experience and it really helps me ride this horse by him. Valhalla was great, a very different horse to ride, a difficult ride but the kindest horse you could ever work with.”
It must be a real sense of achievement going to Jumping with the Stars with one you bred and trained…
“It’s better than buying a good horse. To have bred it yourself, and to have broken it in, and have done every day of training with it, it’s really something. It doesn’t matter if you win, or just a personal best, it’s a huge achievement.”
FOOTNOTE: Alas, Megan didn’t make it to JWTS – she broke her arm competing at Berwick! That’s horses!
This article first appeared in the April 2016 issue of THM.