Jye Thurgate, pictured here leading Topaze, is the Guest Rider for the NSW Young Horse Championships at the Sydney CDI. Image supplied.
Rhythm, balance, harmony – three vital elements to good riding… and dancing. Just ask Jye Thurgate, the German-based Aussie expat who has been invited to make a special appearance at the NSW Young Horse Championships as part of the Sydney CDI at the end of April.
Jye competing at the Australian Dancesport Championships in Melbourne one year. Image supplied.
“From the get-go he
was a true horseman.”
Originally from Wagga Wagga, Jye Thurgate was a competitive ballroom and Latin dancer before he took up riding. For 10 years he immersed himself in dancesports, competing interstate and winning a raft of Australian junior championships.
Jye was 16 before he began riding. Now, at 31, he has been invited to Sydney as Guest Rider for the Young Horse Championships held in conjunction with the Sydney CDI.
Jye’s horse journey took him to several countries to equestrians specialising in various horse sports. And working in these different disciplines moulded him into a proficient all-round horseman. He also rode trackwork for several racehorse trainers, describing it as “really hard on the body as different muscle groups are used to those in classical riding”.
As a teenager his initial interest had been eventing, where he had an off-the-track mare and later an experienced three-star star horse. As a student he boarded at St Paul’s College. “It was about an hour from my home and I could take my horse,” he recalls.
Jye was drawn to veterinary medicine or physiotherapy; a sedentary profession had no appeal. “I wanted to be out and about.”
He decided to take a gap year in which time he would consider continuing with his studies or being serious about working full-time with horses. He went to stay with elite eventer, Christine Bates, and her husband, Matt, at their Wilberforce facility in NSW.
Jye began riding at age 16 and is talented at working with young dressage horses. Image by Thoms Lehmann.
“Christine was a tough mentor, but in a good way, which I am grateful for today,” Jye tells Equestrian Life from his current home in Hagen, Germany, where has been based for the past eight years working with Stefan Wolff preparing, riding and successfully competing young horses.
‘CULTURE SHOCK’
Christine Bates recalls that Jye had to adjust pretty quickly when he arrived at their property as a teenager. “He started at the beginning of the year, he was about 18, and did a full season with us,” recalled Christine. “I think it was a culture shock moving somewhere strange and living with strange people. With many young horse lovers, they don’t realise the huge responsibility which goes with managing 40 horses. And they don’t initially appreciate that horse people might be ‘living the dream’ but are working extremely hard to fulfil that dream.”
Jye took the challenge in his stride. Each morning he was always first at work starting with Matt’s barn and then over to Christine’s facilities. Because of her husband’s breaking-in business, Jye learnt about the ways of horses at the beginning of their education and how to “read” each of them. “I’d like to feel we helped give him a good grounding. And inviting him to be the Young Horse Guest Rider is a great choice.”
“He had a wonderful
feel for the horses.”
Jye working with young dressage horse Elvitano. Image supplied.
Another elite equestrian, Australian-born Boyd Martin who now rides for the USA, also recalls Jye very fondly. This five-star Olympian lives in Pennsylvania and was walking the course somewhere at an event in Georgia when Equestrian Life rang him. “From the get-go he was a true horseman. He had a wonderful feel for the horses,” says Boyd, “and I was sorry to see him go.”
Jye’s introduction to esteemed dressage rider Stefan Wolff had been via Sydney horsewoman Dianne White. As a result, he worked for Stefan in Germany for three months before having to return home. “In the beginning he didn’t know all that much about dressage, but he had a feel for horses, he was very talented,” explains Stefan, who says he told Jye if he was serious about developing as a dressage rider he could return to his barn, provided he undertook a proper apprenticeship and passed the Bereiter exam. He says Jye was too good to be wasted in various facilities just as a working student.
Dianne recalls Jye giving his first ever clinic at her NSW property in 2023. “He was fully focused and happy to get on any of the horses – he’ll be conducting another one here very soon!”
In 2021 Jye had successfully completed the Bereiter exams – and learnt the German language! Stefan had completed his Bereiter education years before with the legendary Klaus Balkenhol, German Olympian and classical dressage rider and trainer. Later he went on to serve as the acting director of the Westphalian Riding School, then on to living and coaching in California before returning home.
Because Jye’s strengths were starting off young horses, he prepared them for competitions and future sales. He was successful with many wins and placings ranging from three-year-old to young horse medium classes (five to seven-year-olds). Currently he doesn’t start off quite as many and is focusing on training and competing at a higher level.
Jye is currently based in Germany and works for Stefan Wolff. Image by Max Anker.
GERMAN IMMERSION
Obviously, learning German was immensely beneficial and the locals appreciated that he made the effort when he arrived. “It helps me become part of the local culture, is especially useful when I’m teaching, and assists me in building my clientele,” says Jye. “Hagen is a very horsey community, and we are only two minutes from Hof Kasselmann.”
Being surrounded by equestrians in a region where dressage is big business, it’s inevitable a major conversation theme is horse talk where differences of opinion are aired regarding systems, styles and highly profiled riders.
Jye cites Jessica von Bredow-Werndl as one of his current favourites. “Jessica represents a positive for the sport of dressage, most recently riding Dalera; always a harmonious picture and open in the neck.”
On the very top of his list is Isabell Werth whose horsemanship he so much admires. “Isabell rides different shapes, sizes and mentalities, understands the biomechanics and how they function. That’s impressive. And she always has the horse on her aids – Isabell’s a real horse person.”
What impresses him and how he has been trained is an indication of what Jye will be looking for when riding at the CDI. It is unlikely he will be impressed by tense “artificial” movers with tight necks and flailing front legs. He wants those competing to be willing, comfortable and to have been trained according to the Training Scale.
“I’d prefer to see the horse tracking up with a topline that moves,” he says. “There shouldn’t be too much other than that unless the horse offers it. I’d rather see at an early age more swing than cadence – then later the rider can reach higher.” Not tracking up with knees too high is not what Jye will be looking for.
The Young Horse events are to be held in Sydney in conjunction with the 2025 CDI. This annual international event is at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC) in Horsley Park from 30 April to 3 May. Qualifying rounds for the Australian Equestrian Incentive Events Young Horse Championships will be on 1-2 May. The winner and runner-up in each age group (4/5/6/7-year-old) in round two will go forward to the finals with Jye as the Guest Rider. These finals will be held in SIEC’s indoor arena on 3 May from approximately 11.30am. Check the website for details closer to the event. EQ
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