GIVING BACK WITH GRAEME WATTS

from Equestrian Hub Magazine October 2019

by equestrianhub.com.au

YOUNG RIDER THEA HORSLEY

GIVING BACK

The deceiving designer

Graeme Watts has been at the forefront of Australian jumping for decades, and for good reason, writes JO MCKINNON.

Graeme Watts is one of the most recognisable and loved characters in Australian show jumping.

A revered course designer, Chair of the Australian Jumping Committee and Chairman of National Selectors, he’s been at the coalface of the sport since he left school at the age of 17 to become a travelling groom for former Olympian Guy Creighton.

“When I finish this term on the selection panel for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics it will be 28 years. You get 27 years for murder,” he laughs.

Graeme attends up to 40 events per year in his capacity as a course designer which assists him greatly in his role as a team selector, allowing him to watch so many horse and rider combinations compete.

Once a rider himself who attended Pony Club during his childhood, he doesn’t miss a trick and knows just about everyone there is in the industry, from grassroots right through to the elitelevel nationwide. The knowledge he gathers at competitions across Australia is invaluable when it comes to earmarking up and coming riders and giving inform combinations a deserved shot at representing Australia.

“You need to be fair to all riders and go to events and watch them. Unfortunately it’s a job that doesn’t help you make friends because someone will always feel disadvantaged,” he says. “Every rider has a dream to represent their country and unfortunately selectors sometimes have to deny them that dream so you have to be very conscious about your decisions. Not everyone will agree with our choice but in the end it’s our role to put the best team on the jumping field.”

He manages to earn a bit of money from course designing but all the work he does in helping to select teams is done in his own time and at his own cost. “You get paid for course designing but you don’t make money out of it – you’ll never retire rich from course designing,” he says, “but it’s very rewarding and I get a lot out of watching the classes.”

There’s also a significant amount of administrative work involved behind the scenes. On average he spends two hours per day, seven days a week answering emails and queries and doing plenty of forward planning. He also travels many miles to attend Australian Jumping Committee and National Selector meetings, but although he has a lot on his plate, he’s adamant that he loves every minute of it.

“I must do to keep doing it, or, I am stupid. I haven’t worked that out yet,” he jokes.

Watching Graeme at events it’s easy to see how engrossed he is in the role. He’s deeply driven and has a genuine passion for seeing horses and riders develop for the greater good of the sport.

“I want to see the sport progress on a level playing field to make sure that everyone is given an equal opportunity to qualify for a team,” he says.

Each year he designs courses for the Victorian, Queensland and Tasmanian State Show Jumping Championships. He also travels to Perth twice every year to design championship courses at events hosted at Yalambi Farm, and whilst all the travel might sound glamorous and exciting the reality is that it’s a lot of hard work.

“You travel everywhere but all you see is the inside of a hotel or motel and the showground. It’s not an easy life,” he says.

In 2009 he earned the accolade of Equestrian Australia Official of the Year, which he treasures – as he does the friendships he’s made.

“There are some terrific people in the sport and you get to meet people from

A: Course building. B: Checking the course.

all walks of life and different lifestyles. It’s interesting to sit and talk to people,” he says.

Fellow National Jumping Selector Stephen Lamb has huge respect for Graeme and his tireless commitment to show jumping in Australia.

“Graeme’s skill and expertise as a course designer are well recognised,” says Stephen, “but I think sometimes people don’t appreciate the enormous commitment he has made through his role as a national selector. It’s often quite a thankless task. His attention to detail and deep understanding of the technicalities of the sport are what make him such a good selector. He can be quite deceiving, as his ‘knockabout bloke’ character can be mistaken for someone who doesn’t think deeply or critically about things – but nothing could be further from the truth.” The pair have worked closely together for more than 20 years and Stephen says Graeme’s skills are unique.

“I’ve seen first-hand just how analytical he is. Even when we’ve looked at various selection methods, using different systems or gauging performances at different shows, Graeme has always been at the forefront of putting forward suggestions, and coming up with sound principals of what may, or may not, work,” says Stephen.

With the Tokyo Olympics less than 12 months away there’s pressure on Graeme to ensure he’s across Australian horse and rider performances both here and overseas. And what makes his job as a selector particularly challenging right now is the depth of our international standard riders.

“There’s probably eight or ten riders at this point in time in the mix with the likes of Edwina Tops-Alexander, Rowan Willis and Scott Keach, and then there are all the guys based here in Australia. Over the next eight months to June 1, 2020, when we pick the team, a lot of things will change because that period of time is a long time with a horse, so nothing is set in stone.”

At this point, all the indicators are there to suggest a strong performance from an Australian show jumping team at Tokyo, which, with a bit of luck, Graeme hopes will lead to a podium finish.

“There would be nothing better for me to see,” he says. “The ultimate would be to snag a medal. We have some very good riders, so who knows?”

Who knows indeed, but if Graeme and his long-term dedication and passion for the sport has anything to do with it, we will have our best chance for success.