Pommel horse to Kosciuszko

CHAMPION Brisbane jockey Jimmy Orman has risen to fame on the back of a racehorse, but it was another type of horse which set him on the path to the big time.

A pommel horse.

As Orman (inset) prepares to shoot for his biggest payday in racing when riding Far Too Easy in the $2m The Kosciuszko at Randwick on Saturday, his mum Caroline Allardyce has spoken of how her son’s gymnastics background revealed his steely determination to succeed.

“Gymnastics highlighted one thing that really set him apart from other kids, and what it highlighted was Jim had a relentless and dogged determination to achieve any goal he set himself,” Allardyce, who trains at Gatton west of Brisbane, said.

“He was training in Brisbane and his gymnastics coach said to him, ‘if you want to win gold medals focus on the pommel horse’.

“Pommel was the one that was hardest to master and a lot of kids couldn’t be bothered spending the time on it.

“So when all the other kids would go for a break after an hour and a half training, Jim would stay back and he would practise on the pommel.

“They would swing their body around but they had to lift their hands up and down so their body could pass through their hands.

“It was really hard, they had to have a lot of balance and a lot of upper body strength and a lot of core strength to do it.

“Jim mastered it – it took the other kids 12 months and he did it in about eight weeks – and he became Australian champion.”

Fast-forward to today and Orman is the freshly minted Brisbane Jockeys’ champion after riding the most winners in the metropolitan area last season. His success has led to more opportunities, and top of the list at the moment is riding Far Too Easy, who is rated a $6 chance to take out The Kosciuszko for country-trained horses.

Far Too Easy is the David McColm-trained horse that dodged death when floodwaters swept through his Murwillumbah stable earlier this year.

Orman won on him in style at his most recent start at the Gold Coast and immediately approached McColm seeking the ride in The Kosciuszko.