It doesn’t take long for Ant, the Clydesdale-cross-thoroughbred, to get used to his owner lying on the ground next to him.
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A few curious snorts and the 16-hand horse is back to happily eating his grass.
“He thinks I’ve fallen off again,” Caro Verbraeken says.
Ant, or Mr Adament, to use his full name, is still pretty young at age six, but his quiet nature is on show as he poses for the Sunday Examiner’s photo-shoot.
“He was broken in and was very sensible and a good boy when I got him about seven months ago,” Verbraeken said.
“He just hadn’t done any showjumping or eventing, or any flatwork or dressage – that sort of thing.”
Riding was something the Westbury mother took up again after years out of the saddle, while competitive equestrian was a completely new challenge for her.
“I rode from age 10 until my mid-20s, then I had a big break and then I hit 40 and had sort of a midlife crisis and took up horses again.
“We lived on a dairy farm, so I used to just hop on the pony and help move the cows or just bomb around, but I was never able to do pony club or jumping or anything.
“This time around, I’ve been riding for six years.
“I just love the companionship - the bonding and one-on-one with each other, and the challenges.”
That hasn’t come injury-free though.
Among her worst accidents were a popped collarbone, a broken collarbone and a crushed foot.
“One of those injuries was back when I was about 18 and the other two were in the last six years.”
But that didn’t stop the 46-year-old, although it means she can be a bit nervous before jumping now.
“The other day I was just at a spring gala day, just a practice day, and I got around all clear - I jumped every jump, didn’t go the wrong way, didn’t jump the wrong thing, and for me, it was like winning an Olympic medal,” she said.
It’s times like those that she feels a real sense of accomplishment.
“I think when you have tough times, like your injuries and things, it’s much sweeter when you do get around and you’ve achieved something.
“It may not be jumping high, it may not be Olympic standard, or you know, you’ll have these 13-year-old girls whizzing past you doing twice the height, but it’s still an accomplishment and keeps you keen to go.
“You’ll often hear me going around the course talking to my horse and going, ‘woohoo, yay’, after I’ve finished.”
And now, Verbraeken and Ant are getting ready to compete in the showjumping at the Australian Masters Games in North-West Tasmania this week.
The Australian Masters Games kicked off in North-West Tasmania on Saturday, and the equestrian showjumping competition is this Friday and Saturday in Ulverstone.
Verbraeken is looking forward to the competition, but also the social side of the games.
Someone like me wouldn’t get the chance to go to the mainland and compete in the Masters Games. I feel like I’m representing Tassie. It’s probably going to be like my Olympic Games, really.
- Caro Verbraeken
”There are more people around my age - some a bit older, some a bit younger, and we’re all going to stay the night and there’s a dinner on that Friday night, so it will be more social and catching up,” she said.
“And probably the best thing about the masters is you get to compete against your peers in the same age group, as opposed to those zippy little 13-year-old pony clubbers.”
Since taking up riding again, Verbraeken has taken fortnightly group lessons with Jo McFarlane.
“She teaches pony club kids and there were a group of us older mothers who needed somewhere to go to have lessons - we were all starting to get back into horses again, so she runs what we call a ‘hags and nags’ horse riding group.
“We meet up every fortnight on a Friday and have a ride and a jump and a bit of a giggle and then a cup of tea and a sandwich afterwards. It’s more social than anything, but she encourages us.
“She’s the same age as me and has been riding all her life, so she understands what it’s like to get back into it and to be nervous because you are older, especially if you’ve had a few accidents and you’re a bit nervous about doing it all again.”
The adult riding group is still learning the technical side to showjumping, which includes counting strides and planning their route around the course.
“We all have our moments, especially in our lessons when we muck up and say, it’s a mummy brain problem kind of thing,” she said.
“In some respects it’s probably a bit easier because you work out what works for you, as in how you cope and how to get around a course now when you’re a bit more mature and you can think about it more, whereas probably when you’re younger you’re gung-ho and you just go flat out and jump anything and everything and can be hit and miss, whereas now it’s a bit more technical.
“As you get older, you’re probably more aware of all the different steps you need to take to get around the course successfully.”
As a former runner, who was a regular at the Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals until the age of 35, Verbraeken needed a sporting outlet that coped with her dodgy knees and running injuries.
She sees the Masters Games as her one chance to compete in a national competition.
“Someone like me wouldn’t get the chance to go to the mainland and compete in the Masters Games. I feel like I’m representing Tassie. It’s probably going to be like my Olympic Games, really.”
