Name: Megan Jones
Age: 35
Disciplines: Eventing.
Ambitions: London Olympics 2012
Awards and honours: World championships 2006 team bronze, Beijing, Olympics 2008 team silver individual 4th, Adelaide CCI**** 2005 1st, 2008 2nd, 2009 2nd, 2011 6th, Anna Savage Award (best and fairest) 3 time winner.
General highlights: Competing every competition with a sound, happy horse and seeing others do well on horses I've sold them.
Hobbies: Sleeping when I get the chance!
TOP HORSE’S TOP 10
1. Tell us briefly about your most successful horse:
Kirby park Irish Jester is a home-bred horse from Kirby Park Stud, born in the first crop of foals in 1993 while I was finishing school. He is now 18 and still competing. He partnered me to the 2007 world championships and 2008 Beijing games.
2. The best moment of your career?
Leaving the start box at the Beijing games.
3. The lowest moment in your career?
Travelling back to LA from Kentucky (where we were waiting for the horses to arrive for the 2010 world championships in the USA) to stay at the vet hospital with my very sick Jester after he became travel sick on the flight to the US.
4. The 'must have' factor when choosing a competition horse?
Sound legs and feet and a trainable temperament.
5. What will you not accept in a horse?
A low work ethic…eventers need to want to work at the top level.
6. The 'must have' item of equipment in your tack room .
Clean towels and saddle cloths.
7. What do you believe is the best way to prepare a young horse?
Slowly and with patience.
8. Greatest Memorable Sporting Achievements.
Standing on the podium in Beijing getting my silver medal, and winning my first Young Riders National Championships when I was 16.
9. Take us briefly through your current horse’s routine on the morning prior to a big event.
They get fed first thing and then Equissaged. If they are getting plaited that morning, the plaits go in while they are eating. Once this is all done they get their stable bandages taken off, truck boots put on, loaded up and driven to the show. Then
they get a bit a time to just eat hay and chill out by the truck before they are warmed up for their class.
10. What improvements would you like to see in eventing?
There has been a lot of change in eventing over the years and the changing of the old style 3 day event is much better as now you have horses lasting a lot longer in their careers. The dressage judging is always a talking point but while you have personalities judging it will never change. A time fault is a time fault and a rail down is a rail down; a clean flying change is clean, or clean and flat, or clean and expressive and that one change can considered all three from three different personalities. You just have to get over it and move onto the jumping.
Visit Megan’s Kirby Park Website.