Jaimie.Mcelroy © Click Capture Photography.
In breaking news, Year 12 NEGS student, Jaimie McElroy and her 12 year-old, ex-race horse HH Hawke have produced one of the notable performances of the Melbourne International 3 Day Event this Queen’s Birthday long weekend beating strong competition to take first place in the CCIJ One Star Class. In further impressive results, Jaimie and her second horse Sacred Tune placed equal 6th out of 20 competitors in the Six Year Old Australian Event Horse Championship.
The talented schoolgirl’s rise to success can be attributed to her determination to get to the Olympics in the next few years alongside the goal of completing a Vet Science degree once she graduates from NEGS. “My goal is to compete at 3 star level within the next few years and eventually compete at 4 star. There are only a handful of 4 star competitors in the world and I would love to be included in this elite group”, says Jaimie.
NEGS Equestrian Head Coach, Mr Imtiaz Aness says, “this is an incredible achievement for Jaimie, especially given her promising riding career was almost cut short due to a debilitating show jumping accident in June of 2015. Doctors told her she would be lucky to compete successfully again and advised her to avoid getting back in the saddle for 6-12 months. It is testament to her remarkable spirit that she was back riding after 4 months and went on to win the Nationals in the second half of 2016. Jaimie is one of those rare individuals who has endless talent yet remains utterly grounded. Myself and all the team at NEGS fully support her Olympic ambitions and have no doubt that she has what it takes to get there”.
Jaimie attributes her rise to the top of the Melbourne event to the quality of coaching at NEGS and says, “Imti has had a massive impact on my success, he has so much passion and is very, very determined, even though he came from a non-equestrian background he ended up competing at the Sydney Olympics Sydney in 2000 and makes me believe that anything is possible, even when I lose faith in myself sometimes. He has really opened my eyes to the opportunities in the world of eventing, even beyond Australia. Last year he organised the NEGS Equestrian study tour to the USA and it made me realise how my little insights into the eventing world in Australia are only a small part of a much bigger global arena. I am now thinking I will head over to the USA in my gap year.
As if her equestrian feats were not impressive enough, Jaimie has also maintained stellar academic records during her time at NEGS and is continually ranked among the top students in all of her subjects. Her full-time studies, combined with her rigorous high performance training school during the school week leaves little time for other sports but with her eye on the Olympics she is happy to stay focussed and determined on eventing for the moment.
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