GIVING BACK

GIVING BACK

It’s not an event without Janet

Janet Houghton is synonymous with eventing in Victoria and for decades has played a huge part in the development of the sport in the state writes JO MCKINNON.

Sixty-four-year-old Janet Houghton is currently the Chair of Eventing Victoria and Director of the Melbourne International 3 Day Event held on the June long weekend each year at Werribee Park.

Watch Janet in action there and you’ll observe one of the hardest working and most passionate people in the Australian eques- trian industry. She’s one of those dedicated volunteers that never stops, working the equivalent hours of a full-time job across the course of the year.

“I think my husband would like it to be a paid role but I just tell him don’t worry, it’s all right dear,” she jokes.

Janet’s passion for horses and competition began when she was a young girl growing up in Park Orchards.

She fondly remembers her first pony, ‘Stormy’, bought for her by her parents for £45 – which included his saddle, bridle and grooming brushes.

“I used to ride to Ringwood Pony Club. He was a super pony we did everything from games, to jumping and eventing and drill rides,” Janet recalls fondly.

When she outgrew Stormy she graduated to an Off The Track Thoroughbred and that’s when the eventing bug really bit. “He was an awesome horse. I went through with him and did State Championships,” she says. In the 1980s she rode in point-to-point races on a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred and enjoyed some success winning races in country Victoria.

Then along came marriage and children, and the commitment that goes with family life meant she had to give up her eventing career.

Of her four children, it was always the youngest two who showed the biggest interest in riding, and the youngest, Isabel, has since gone on to make eventing and the rehabilitation of performance horses for outside clients her life. She’s also one of the country’s most exciting young riders and recently won the 3* class at the Adelaide International 3 Day Event.

“I’ve had a hip replacement and will have to have another one in January and so I can’t ride anymore,” says Janet, with a tinge of sadness, “but it’s ok – I live vicariously through Isabel.”

Since 2009 Janet has devoted much of her life to not only supporting her daughter’s riding career but also to her role with Eventing Victoria, and as Director of Victoria’s premier eventing competition, the Melbourne International 3 Day Event.

The former teacher is particularly focussed on ensuring the healthy growth of the sport and of Victoria’s premier eventing competition.

Janet has been the Director of the Melbourne 3DE for the past five years and has overseen a raft of improvements and initiatives to ensure it becomes a world-class event.

“Any of these things I’ve done because I’ve surrounded myself with can-do people,” she says. “Good people are the key to anything in life. You need to surround yourself with

She fondly remembers her first pony, Stormy, bought for her by her parents for £45...

people that are supportive and capable and have the same pride and vision as you do.”

Janet invests a lot of time building her knowledge and inspiration at major inter- national events and brings a lot of the ideas she’s gathered back to Australia. This year she was one of 28 Australian volunteers who travelled to Tokyo for a test event for eventing at the 2020 Olympics.

“It’s great to see how other countries operate,” she says. “The Japanese take a great deal of pride in their organisation and how they do things. The facilities will be fantastic.”

Janet will return to Tokyo for the Olympic Games next July and will contribute her time as a cross-country judge, which is a huge feather in her cap. After that she might start to slow down some of her volunteer work to not only spend more time with her family and first grandchild but also to give others a chance to step up into her roles.

“We need other people to come through and we have some fabulous young people onzcommittees at the moment,” she says with pride. There’s little doubt that those people coming through the ranks will be able to learn a lot from Janet, which will not only be good for them but will also be of huge benefit to the entire sport.

Right: Janet with other volunteers at the Tokyo Test Event.

Below left: Janet Houghton with her daughter Isabel Houghton’s horse, Bloomfield Roderick.

Below right: Janet with her dog Florence and her daughter Isabel, who recently won the 3* at Adelaide 3DE.