Bucking trends in rodeo
Endurance rider steps up to bulls
AT THE age of nine, Jaz Hutchins competed in her first 160km endurance horse riding race.
At 14, she hopped on her first bull ride at a rodeo.
Now the 17-year-old from Sassafras in northern Tasmania has shattered most age and gender barriers, becoming one of only two female bull riders in her home state and one of just a few in Australia.
In the past year she has made the national finals in Queensland in steer riding and was the only female in the top 10 steer riders from across Australia. This year she is invited to represent Australia at a US rodeo but cannot afford to fly over.
And she came first against 300 competitors in the Tom Quilty Gold Cup last year – the peak endurance competition in Australia – taking nine hours and 46 minutes to complete the 160km ride.
“But the heartbreaking thing was that I couldn’t officially win because I was under 18,” Jaz says, adding that she doesn’t turn 18 until August but will compete in the open category at the next Tom Quilty in July.
For Jaz, though, it’s not about breaking barriers, or demolishing stereotypes.
“It started out as just fun but now it’s more competitive, I want to win,” she laughs. “It’s all adrenaline, but different sorts. With endurance riding there’s a lot more work for your achievement, whereas in rodeo it’s eight seconds and bang.”
Jaz has adrenaline and horse riding in her blood. Dad Tim is a speedway driver, with Jaz’s brother Brock (named after racing legend Peter) now following in their father’s footsteps.
Mum Anita has long been a competitive horse rider, especially in the sport of endurance riding.
So not surprisingly, Jaz had her first pony as a toddler, joining pony club as soon as possible, taking part in equestrian competition. But she quickly found a preference for endurance riding, starting out in more achievable 40km and 80km rides.
Living on the family’s 10ha farm, she and her mum have 12 mainly Arab horses, with Jaz now breeding her own for competition.
“A lot of people say the rider is the key to winning in endurance riding but I say it’s the horse. In some ways it’s 50/50. It’s all about the conformation, and the bigger the better,” she says.
“Personally I like big grey geldings.”
Endurance competition is against the clock, testing the speed and stamina of a horse and challenging the rider over their effective use of pace, knowledge of their horse’s capabilities and ability to cross all kinds of terrain, with the emphasis on finishing in good condition. Rides generally start at midnight, with one-hour breaks about every 40km to check on horse condition.
“Once you finish, you sleep and even then you get up to walk your horse every hour to help recovery and stop injury,” she says.
Given Jaz is made of tough stuff, rodeo was a relative cinch.
Although women have a long history in rodeo, traditionally they opt for horseback events such as barrel racing and roping, with bull riding generally left to the blokes.
She first tried barrel racing at 13, then steer riding and breakaway roping, followed by bull riding the next year, where juniors compete on smaller, younger bulls.
“I wasn’t scared before getting on, but once I was on the bull there was a bit of fear, but it was too late to do anything about it,” she says.
“I’ve stayed on the bull for eight seconds many times. I’ve been taught how to get off the right way and not been hurt.
“The only injury I have had is from barrel racing. You’re supposed to go around the barrel, but I hit it and got three stitches on my shin.”
Jaz competes in about 15 rodeos each year, mainly in Tasmania, and says while she doesn’t have the same leg strength as her male counterparts, she is equal in every other way.
“Competition wise I think it’s pretty even … The blokes only give me as hard a time as I give them. If I beat them they stir me and vice versa,” she says.
“A few of the girls I’ve spoken to think I’m crazy, but I just think there’s a stigma around it that bull riding is for boys.”