Novak overcomes hurdle

Kingaroy teen Jayde Novak helped propel Queensland into third position at the Australian Interschool Equestrian Championships in Sydney last week.

Jayde Novak competing in the Hack Show Horse classification at the Australian Interschool Equestrian Championships in Sydney. Monday 26/09/16. Picture: OZ SHOTZ

JAYDE Novak overcame setback after setback at the Australian Interschools Equestrian Championships in Sydney last week to help lift her Queensland side to third place overall.

The Queensland vice-captain placed sixth in Show Horse and seventh in Dressage in an impressive showing that belied the struggles she had to contend with behind the scenes.

Novak and partner Ollie opened the championships on Monday morning at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre in the Hack Show Horse qualification, but the challenges started long before she and Ollie entered the arena.

At a competition a few weeks earlier, Ollie had changed the way he responded to Novak's commands, making for a stressful lead-up to the competition that was only compounded on the morning of the first event.

"A couple of days before the competition there was some tension between myself and the horse,” Novak said.

"On the day there was a lot of commotion around the area with people getting stressed. It affected the riders and the horses, and the tension showed in the first performance but we did really well in the second showing and managed to get sixth overall.

"Show Horse is a discipline where the horse has to be perfect in every way - cleaned, perfect rosette, tail has to be nice, not a hair out of place - but also the behaviour that the horse shows the judge is important.”

Novak's final event was the Dressage on Thursday morning, and the issues in the stables had gotten even worse since the first show.

"There were a few things happening in the stables, a lot of kids getting sick and the horses feeling ill as well,” Novak said.

"In such an atmosphere the pressure can get to anyone, even an animal, and Ollie and I struggled with it again.

The Dressage was split into two tests, and because of the issues with Ollie Novak decided to play it safe in the first test to see how the horse would handle the stage.

"In the second test the coach told me to just be free and push to go for the win and that's what I did,” Novak said.

"I ended up getting a really good percentage (66%) and just missed out on placing in the top six. "The difference between first and seventh was only 1%.”

Novak was the highest ranked Queenslander in the Show Horse, and she said being named vice-captain of the Dressage team was an honour she held in high regard.

"Being Dressage vice-captain brought on more pressure, but I enjoyed being able to help other kids and to help my Queensland team out,” Novak said.

Equestrian is a family affair for Novak, and credits her sister for pushing her into competitions. "I started off in little competitions like sporting day events with one of my old pony clubs,” Novak said.

"Then my sister became competitive and ended up winning (at the Queensland titles) in 2007, and from there I wanted to be just as good as her.”

Novak's impressive showing at the national competition has paved the way for future representative honours.

She has been asked to compete as part of the Queensland Dressage team in Southport at the end of October, and may also be selected to compete at the national Pony Club Elementary Class Dressage competition in Toowoomba next year.

Novak's goal is to one day be selected for the Australian Olympic team.