Winners of the 2019 Garryowen Equestrienne Turnout - Jess Stones & Mikimoto

This article is from the November 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

What’s a show without a bit of drama,” says leading Australian equestrienne and winner of the 85th Garryowen Memorial Equestrienne Turnout class, Jess Stones. On her two previous attempts, taking second place in 2016 and 2017, everything went smoothly, but perhaps it is necessary to suffer for success, as this year, getting into the turnout boots required a lot of effort and an equal amount of pain. But in victory all that is forgotten, almost.

“The last two times I did this class, there was no drama at all” continues Jess. The boots were snug then, but between then and now I have given birth to my daughter Eva. Once they were on, they were comfortable, but we had to cut them off and my husband Rhys did a fantastic job cutting stitch by stitch, so it is to be hoped they can be reinstated.

“I have been coming to Melbourne Royal from NSW for 21 years, so I know the story behind the Garryowen and Violet Murrell’s heroic and ultimately tragic attempt to save her horse from the burning barn. For sure I would attempt to save my horse in those circumstances and I think it is very cool to have this memorial class for Violet and that it has been going for 85 years. To think that I am the winner this year and thinking of all those women who have won the class before me is incredible, it is such a prestigious event. There is a whole culture of excellence surrounding the Garryowen and I really buy into the perfection of every aspect of the class; the clothing, the saddlery and of course the horse. I remember after coming second for the second time saying in jest, I need Mikimoto to win this. And driving home from Melbourne in 2017, Michael Christie rang and said that he and owners, Joh Bailey and the McCann’s would like me to ride him in the Garryowen!

“Last year it did not work out, but this year, I had Pearl at home for a while before I came down to Melbourne. He is a fantastic horse and rarely makes a mistake and I had complete faith in him for the workout. It was just a matter of me getting used to the little buttons. He has been ridden by Michael all his career and he has him very finely tuned and I had to make sure I did not make a mistake, as I knew Pearl would not let me down. I was not nervous because I had ridden Pearl in the Pope Cup the day before and won that, so by the time the Garryowen came around, I could not have been happier. Then we had the boot issue and getting them on was very painful, as was the final adjustment of breeches and buttons and I was crying in pain for about the eighth time that morning just before I went in. Once on and after the initial effects of getting them on, the boots were comfortable to ride in.

“The full impact of winning the Garryowen hit me when I walked into the traditional post-event lunch and everyone stood and applauded and toasted me. I have won a lot, but I was not used to that amount of attention. It is not like Europe here, when we win something, we usually just head back to the stables. At the lunch too, I had to make sure they only photographed me from the waist up, as I had changed into more comfortable non-turnout boots.

“Now that I have won the Garryowen, will I go in it again? I will never say never and I did say to Joh and the McCann’s, you can’t retire Pearl, he has to do the Garryowen next year. We’ll see.”

What Rhys Stones had to say...

“I am glad it is over and I am glad she has won. This is a stressful, stressful event. Everything else goes well, but when the Garryowen comes around the pressure is on,” says Rhys who watched the class nervously with six-month-old Eva in his arms.

“Oh mate, did we have trouble with the boots! At one point, I did not think Jess was going to get into the ring. But it is 100% worth it. This is a special class. Jess has won a lot, but the Garryowen is just the tops.”

Article written by Anna Sharply

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