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Jake the hunted

 

Jake the hunted

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AOC
Jake the hunted
EQUESTRIAN: When Singleton showjumper Jake Hunter landed in Nanjing, China in the early hours of Thursday morning, he had no idea what horse he would be riding come competition day.

EQUESTRIAN: When Singleton showjumper Jake Hunter landed in Nanjing, China in the early hours of Thursday morning, he had no idea what horse he would be riding come competition day.

One of the nuances of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) equestrian tournament is that riders do not bring a horse to the Games- instead they are allocated a horse provided by the YOG by way of a draw.

Just a few hours after clearing customs, Hunter and his coach Chad Donovan attended the horse inspection at the Xinzhuang Equestrian Venue and noted down a horse that caught their eye.

As luck would have it, For the Star- the horse affectionately known in the stable as Clip Clap- was destined for Hunter.

“We watched them trot up at the inspection and we actually made a note to say that one looked nice, but you obviously don’t know much without riding them,” Hunter explained.

“We were pretty happy when we got her in the draw… She’s very good and she’s quite big. We jumped her on Friday and she seemed pretty nice so I’m really happy and hopefully it goes well.”

As Hunter enjoyed his first training ride on Clip Clap, plenty of other coaches took notice. The horse that piqued the interest of many at the inspection was just as good as they expected.

“She’s just a nice horse generally,” said her newest rider, Hunter.

“She’s a little young and a little inexperienced compared to some of the other ones, but she definitely has a really nice jump. She finds jumping really easy, and she doesn’t want to knock them down so hopefully she doesn’t.”

Hunter will ride her again today before going through a practice round on Sunday in the showjumping competition ring.

“I think there will be a crowd so it will be interesting to see how she goes with a bit of atmosphere there because at the moment there’s no one really there so it’s just like riding them at home. Being a younger horse it will be interesting to get her in a crowd atmosphere before the event.”

Another facet of the YOG tournament is the International Team Event which opens the equestrian competition on Tuesday 19thAugust ahead of the traditional Individual Event from Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th August.

Not only is this a great shot for a medal as Hunter rides alongside riders from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Iran and Malaysia, but it also represents a chance to test his horse.

“Because my horse is a little bit young and a little bit hotter- a bit more jumpy than the other horses- it will be good to get her out in the teams event with the proper atmosphere and in the ring with all the jumps a couple of times before the individual just to calm her down a little bit and get her concentrating.”

Hunter is Australia’s sole equestrian athlete at the Games and is part of an Australian Youth Olympic Team of 89. Follow their progress at Olympics.com.au and via @AUSOlympicTeam on social media.

Taya Conomos
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam

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