My name is Jake Hunter and I thought i would share with you what I love about show jumping, and my experiences with this sport that’s a passion of mine.
Show Jumping has been a way of life for me since I was born. Traveling from show to show with my mother Gail Hunter right from the start. I fell in love with the sport from a very young age and knew that it would always be a passion to me. Show Jumping in particular is a very special sport. Being a team with an animal over 500kg is something really special to me. I am lucky enough to have been taken some amazing places throughout my career. In 2008 I traveled to Colombia South America to compete in the FEI world children’s jumping final in which I placed 9th.
Since then I have completed school and continued with the sport I love. Recently this year, I was lucky enough to have been selected as the only Australian Athlete to compete at the youth Olympic Games in Nanjing China. It was a competition on borrowed horses with riders from around the world. I was lucky enough to get and individual Bronze medal which undoubtedly is the highlight of my career so far. At China I met an Irish Rider Micheal Duffy, who offered me a position to ride and train in his yard in Knockmore Ireland. This is the beginning of my European career and am incredibly lucky to have been offered the position here. They have a big training program and have people continuously coming to train from all over the world. The horses are all fantastic and I am very excited with what the future will hold. At this stage I am aiming for the next world equestrian games and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Until then, I just have to be patient, learn and wait for the right horse to come into my hands.
Jake Hunter – 2014 Youth Olympic Games Bronze Medalist.