When you work with horses, you have to live with the likelihood of being kicked, dumped to the ground and trodden on at some stage. For champion show jumper Sam Morrison, this is a normal part of her life, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.
Based in Tauranga, Sam, 22, is part of the elite squad of New Zealand-based riders, making her one of the country’s top show jumpers for 2017. Earlier this year she placed amongst the top riders in Australasia as part of a four-person NZ senior show jumping team to compete in New South Wales and Queensland.
Having only started show jumping four years ago Sam’s rapid rise up the rankings is a result of her determination, commitment and ability to pick herself up and try again when plans, and feet, get stomped on. She’s also passionate about horses – like her mother Jill, who was also a top pony club rider – and grew up on a farm riding them. Sam started riding lessons at age 7 and owned her first pony at 9.
From September to March she is away at shows every weekend, sometimes competing in up to 18 rounds of show jumping at each event. When she’s not competing, she’s training, riding and tending to her horses – currently she owns six. The family business, NZ Show Jumpers Ltd, trains up young horses with the aim of selling to riders both in New Zealand and internationally. She also rides horses on behalf of other people and teaches young riders.
It’s a job she absolutely loves, but it hasn’t come without sacrifice. Committing to a career in show jumping at 18 meant sacrificing thoughts of an ‘OE’ and of joining her friends as a uni student in another city (she’s now studying towards a business degree in Tauranga so she can continue to live at home and be near her horses).
She’s also had setbacks, falls and broken bones – including her nose after being dumped by a horse – but she’s learnt to take the knockbacks in her stride and says you have to make mistakes and learn from them.
“I’ve had some tough times but it just motivates me to keep going,” she says. “I can never have that attitude of giving up, otherwise I know I’ll never make it. Sometimes I’ve been reluctant to try something with a horse, and people have told me to just get out there and do it, and that’s why I’m where I am now. I’ve always had amazing guidance and support from my coaches and my family.
“After I broke my nose, I had to hop straight back on another horse and continue to compete for the rest of the weekend.”
Connection and confidence
When the horse that threw her later kicked her and nearly broke her arm, she knew it was time for him to move onto a new owner. Connection with your horse is imperative when you’re competing, especially at representative level and sometimes the relationship is just not meant to be. Fortunately, she’s developed good connections with her six other charges, especially Biarritz (Pierre is his paddock name), the prized gelding she’s owned for four years and with whom she competes in World Cup, Premier and Grand Prix classes – the top classes of any show, with the highest jumps.
“Some horses you just get along with and Pierre is that kind of horse for me. We understand each other, so we’re at our peak at the moment. Before I got him I was always a nervous rider and worried about being able to make jumps. As soon as I got him I’ve wanted to do more and more and I get excited when we jump. It’s just a really fun, exciting thing to do. It can be scary going into 1.60m rounds, but when I’m on him, I never feel that I can’t do it. He gives me the confidence to really try and I trust him with my life.”
When mistakes do happen, they keep focused on the task at hand.
When competing in Australia in May, Sam came in for a fence and estimated the striding incorrectly, meaning they had to come back around, regroup, and try again. Pierre jumped the fence as if nothing had happened. “Most horses would have been scared by that, but he’s as brave as a lion,” she says.
That ability to calm nerves and collect herself when something goes awry is as important on the course as physical fitness, especially when she’s relying on her horse to do the same. During the competition, she’s focused entirely on the next fence and how Pierre is positioned. She makes quick decisions about stride, speed, when to pull back or move forward to ensure she’s perfectly lined up to make the jump without knocking a pole.
“I try and clear my head and not think about anything else other than Pierre and the next jump. When I start thinking about other things, the connection is lost and we don’t do so well. Nerves are best when they’re just exciting butterflies and not overwhelming to the point where you forget what you’re doing.”
Athletes at work
During August Sam will be preparing her horses for the busy season ahead. She recently returned from eight weeks’ holiday to Europe, fitting in some OE adventures such as the customary Contiki overland tour. Her horses have also been on ‘holiday’, which means no riding while they recover between seasons. Now it’s back to a daily schedule of mucking out the stables, riding, feeding, watering and nurturing. During the competitive season, the horses will also have regular massages, visits from vets and chiropractors; they’ll have their teeth checked, shoes shod and coats brushed.
“The horses are athletes too so have to be worked most days a week. We follow a strict routine for the whole season, even down to how much grass they get. Everything is done for a reason so we could be galloping on the hills for fitness training, spending time in the arena, jumping, or running on the beach for resistance training.
“I have to think about my fitness and nutrition in the overall plan too. Everything to do with horses is physical – from riding them to lifting their water buckets. It all comes back to strength and I have to make sure I stay strong and use the correct muscles. I want to win so I do everything I can to reach that goal.”
Aiming for the top
Sam’s pinnacle of achievement would be to ride at the Olympics, and before that, she’s aiming for the World Equestrian Games to be held in the US next year. Qualifying is tough though. Getting to the Worlds requires an excellent performance in the New Zealand World Cup Series, which involves seven events held between November and January (she placed 3rd in the 2016/2017 season), then taking Pierre to the US and putting in solid performances at the top level and achieving a certificate of capability. The road to Tokyo 2020 means again taking Pierre to Europe or the US to be able to contest the qualifying rounds. It’s a major commitment but she’s not about to let a few challenges stand in her way.
“I find that even if it’s the most challenging thing it’s better to try and fail than not try at all, and every time you try something you’re learning for next time. I know what my goals are; how I get there is what I need to focus on.”
Images Jodi Sweetman Photography and Cheleken Photography
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