Quantum Savvy Student of the Month Interview- 08/2007

Tanya Jacobs

Area: Lake Clifton WA
Horse: AT (Best Buddy) and Bandido
Level Achieved: Level 1 with AT

Goals:

To achieve Level 3 and then at that stage set other goals. Also to bring my yearling up through the levels and to compete in Eventing with him (and do well) which I hope will inspire other people to gain a beautiful partnership with their horses. I would also like to help people with their horsemanship journeys because I feel there are many horses out there who are not getting a good deal from their owners. I hope to be a GO sometime next year.

Life goals - To help people find their way in life. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we don’t appreciate the simple and beautiful things which are right there before us.

Horsie background:

I was taught to ride at the age of 10 by my Aunty and her partner (he was named one of the best horse breakers on the stations when he was alive). I can remember them yelling at me to ‘stop bouncing around like a sack of potatoes’. I had my first horse when I was 11 (standardbred)and he was so reliable and I could do anything with him.

I had a couple of other horses in my teenage years who I did some Eventing with. When I was 15 my dad started training race horses and I was his track rider for a few years. Then came AT. We were living at a horse property and he was dropped off by his owner to be agisted after racing. He was 3 and I fell in love with him. I knew the man who owned him and to cut a long story short he gave him to me with two exceptions…that I did not race him and that I looked after him. Well that was 12 years ago.

Why you started Quantum Savvy

I had a bad fall off AT on the road about 7 years ago and then after that I lost my nerve and he became a bit of an ornament in the paddock. After being such a confident rider when I was young….I had lost my nerve and I started looking in the paper for a nice quiet horse….why?? I know now because I didn’t have the tools to work through it all with AT.

About your journey:

It has been amazing…all the beautiful, supportive people I have been privileged to meet…and everyone’s horses have taught me a lot too. The students in WA have been fantastic and I hope that more people will join QS in WA in the near future. I attended the Level 2 Camp this year and wow everyone was wonderful. Tracey picked us up, looked after us, dropped us at QS and then dropped us back at the Airport…how lucky were we? Shane, Meredith and all you girls are forever in my greatest memories…with all of our achievements and how we all encouraged each other over the 10 days. I have learnt that we get out what we put in and that it’s ok to have bad days as we progress. We need to learn from this and have a look at ourselves why things are not going to plan.

Things you have achieved with QS?

Well…there are so many…. I have had AT for 12 years and since joining QS I have a better relationship than I did in all the years prior. QS has helped me to understand a lot about the horses point of view.

Most Important Lessons Learned:

Sometimes I get stuck in trying to achieve too much too soon but I am learning to appreciate how far we have come since joining QS.

Claim to fame:

I don’t really have a claim to fame at this stage of my life… maybe it could be riding track work at Ascot Race course at 15 years old. (Tanya is very modest.....she is one of our lovely models for QS clothing! Check out the inside cover for ladies shirts. Ed)

Anything else you’d like to add?

I have to say that without my husband's forever support I would not be able to do what I do with my horsemanship. Gary has been wonderful and supportive in everything I do and I hope that one day soon he may want to join me on horseback.