By RUSSELL BENNETT
SAFFRON Wardrop-Brown is still just nine-years-old, but with her trusty horse Twilight Jester she can already jump her own height – 132 centimetres.
Since the Gazette last caught up with her roughly a year ago, Upper Beaconsfield’s rising equestrian star has reached staggering new levels.
She has qualified to represent her state at the nationals later this year, after claiming the Primary 80cm class in the Peter Horobin Saddlery Interschool Equestrian State Championships.
The Haileybury student was also a member of the second-placed school in the championships, but her staggering recent list of achievements doesn’t stop there. Not even close.
She has won around 15 sashes or trophies in the past year. We say around, because she’s lost count of how many exactly.
They line the wall above the head of her bed, right next to a chalkboard sign that simply reads “jump higher”.
Saffy, as she prefers, has won competitions and titles everywhere from the Moomba Showjumping Championships (where she claimed first and third and was named reserve champion), to the Emu Creek Interschool Dressage Challenge (where she claimed a series of first placings), to the Upper Beaconsfield Pony Club show-jumping titles.
She also has her sights firmly set on one day wearing Australian colours at Olympic level – whether that’s in equestrian events alone or, failing that, pentathlon for which she’s already in training.
But whatever you do, don’t confuse her bright and bubbly temperament with someone who doesn’t have a ruthless determination to achieve her goals.
She has a game face on competition days – so much so that she considers her mum Louise a jinx and refuses to let her watch during show-jumping events; only training and dressage.
Saffy is already a four-year competition veteran and was only 18-months-old when she first sat on a horse. When she’s not competing, she’s training; or dreaming about what goal she can achieve next on either Twilight Jester, or her other horse Barrington Royal Ensign – ‘Ernie’ for short.
She’s consistently beating other riders more than a decade older and it would be hard to find anyone with such a flawless consistency at an elite level.
“It’s ridiculously expensive and there’s no one else in our family who are horsey – this is a complete indulgence and just a random talent we found that she had,” mum Louise explained last year.
“I couldn’t even tell you what parts of the horse are what!
“She often yells at me because I’ve done something wrong!”
And it’s not just competing where Saffy excels, either. She also teaches and trains horses for other riders as well. What a remarkable nine-year-old.
