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AQHA FEATURE: AQHA AMATEUR DIVISION PROFILE- JORDY HOUSE
AQHA AMATEUR DIVISION PROFILE
Jordy House
Amateur Profile: Jordy House Age: 34 Amateur category: Amateur
Occupation: Environmental Business Partner supporting the Swan Material sites at Adbri
Location: Perth, Western Australia Years as an AQHA member: 21 years Home club: West Australian Quarter Horse Association Current trainer: Matt Freiberg Favourite events: Trail, Western Riding and Horsemanship
Tell us a bit about your riding background and any other disciplines you ' ve done: I started riding at a cutting horse stud in Geraldton, when I was an 11 year old horse mad kid, and haven ' t really looked back since. My parents finally caved and bought me my first horse at 13 a Mister Skip mare that I did a bit of everything on, from trail riding and showing through to trying my hand at a range of western events I got a bit ambitious and ended up out-horsing myself, so I sold her on and picked up a palomino gelding by Oak So Smart, who was more than happy to go slow and build my confidence back up. That ' s how I ended up heading into western performance, and I ' ve been hooked ever since.
What brought you to the Western discipline? I ' ve always had Quarter Horses. We were really lucky in Geraldton to have a well established western horse club back then it was called the Greenough Western Riding Club, though it ' s changed its name since. The club was heavily focused on cutting but also held the odd performance B show, which was a great mix for a kid just starting out. Being five hours north of Perth and coming from a non-horsey family, having a regional club with regular shows and clinics on my doorstep gave me a fantastic introduction to the western world and helped shape my passion for the sport.
Once I finished school, I started making the trip to Perth to compete and eventually moved down to work and immerse myself in the higher-level shows. Along the way I met Karen Nicoletto, who ' s been pivotal in my development as a rider. Karen’ s been an incredibly influential coach, and I give her so much credit for helping shape the rider and competitor I am today.
With Karen’ s guidance, I had the opportunity to compete at Q12 aboard Charary Power of One( Punch), a truly honest and humbling gelding. Sadly, Punch has passed on, but he’ s a horse I’ ll always be grateful for and one I’ ll never forget.
Tell us about your competition horses: I currently show CVS A Layzee Machine Q-95524( Marley), a seven-year-old bay gelding, in Halter, Showmanship and Hunter in Hand. Unfortunately he can ' t be ridden, but he ' s turned into a great led horse and genuinely loves his job.
I was also really privileged to lease Red October Q-90841( Vegas) last season. Bred by Barbara Wheatcroft and owned by Chee Carroll, Vegas is a buckskin gelding by VS Code Red. We had an outstanding season together, and he ' s the horse who got me back in the saddle after a long break. I ' ll always be grateful to Chee for that opportunity.
I ' ve also got a-two-year-old dual-registered filly by KQR Potentially Sizzlin who is about to start under saddle with Matt Freiberg. I’ m really excited to see how she develops and what she ' s has to offer in the future.
Favourite horse & why: Charary Power of One, hands down. Punch fulfilled many of the dreams any horse mad kid has and taught me so much about training, competing and humility. Some of my favourite memories in horses involve Punch, and why I miss him dearly. I’ ll always be grateful for everything he gave me.
AUSTRALIAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION- www. aqha. com. au