EQUESTRIAN
Champ Jodie's
fine balance
on
Jodie pictured
, aged 6
Harmony 1986
By Peter White
Jodie Warrick admits she is not quite
sure what her life would be without
the thrill of showjumping.
Jodie loves competing, and has a
string of fine successes under her
belt, including winning the IW
Showjumper of the Year title for the
past three years, and the Leading Rider
for the past four years.
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In fact she has won the Island’s top
showjumper crown on five occasions
dating back to the mid-1990s, and
plans to be back again next year
attempting to lift more honours.
She says: “I wouldn’t get on a horse
just to ride down the road - I love
competing.”
But at the same time Jodie has
managed to find a fine balance
between her own ambitions and the
level she knows some of her horses
have been able to reach. That is why
she has sometimes reluctantly let some
of her prized possessions move on to
the mainland and beyond while she
has stayed here to nurture others,
while enjoying her successes.
“I have been asked several times why
I have not moved off the Island to
do more. It is not a case of big fish,
small pond. I just love the lifestyle of
the Island, it is a nice place to live,”
she said. “There are times when I
think I could really do with more
showjumping on the mainland, but I
know I am never going to make it a
career, so I just want to enjoy it.
“I know my own limits, and I cannot
afford to have lessons and do training
all the time. But I do get a lot of
satisfaction out of seeing some of my
horses going on to bigger things.”
Jodie, 31, has ridden the same horse,
Larigo to victory in the IW Show
Jumper of the Year competition for the
past three years. “He is such a good
horse and never really lets me down.
He always gives it his best. He is 16
now and has been brilliant – I love
him to bits, he is my little pet,” she
enthused. “He is going nowhere. He
belongs to me and has made me more
competitive again.
Jodie also rode Georgia Roco to glory
in the open competition for the second
year running. She was the only rider
on the day to retain a trophy this year,
and in the open competition she and
Georgia Roco, eight, were the only
pairing out of nine to jump a clear
round.