Jovie Nesbit is quite shy when you first meet her and yet you can feel a quiet determination in this horse-loving teenager. She left school during the pandemic and was home-schooled, and the criterion laid down by her mother was that she had to study. So she set about gaining her British Horse Society (BHS) challenge awards, first bronze, then silver, gold and platinum. Her mum, Debbie said: “Jovie, being Jovie, couldn’t do just the minimum; she had to do all the modules. I am so proud of the way she just knuckled down and worked hard.”
Jovie has been setting her own goals and achieving them all. She has been riding since the age of three when she had lessons in the yard on a Shetland pony. She was a natural and was determined as she grew up to get qualifications which would enable her to work with horses and teach people to ride with confidence. The modules you need to acquire range from horse health to first aid at work and require many hours of dedicated study.
She has a knack with difficult horses and coaxes and encourages them. Duke was a horse just like this and everyone comments these days that he is a totally different animal. This gives Jovie so much pleasure: it is what she is good at. She is also a steady, guiding hand to youngsters who are starting. She is caring and kind and knows from experience what it is to be new and nervous.
I asked her what was next and she replied: “Dressage. It is a challenge, but I like challenges.”
The rosettes at home tell their own story. She has won very many and intends on carrying on and winning more. The rosettes are from sponsored rides, in-house competitions, clear rounds and show jumping shows.
Jovie is now seventeen and one can only admire how far she has come and how much she has achieved. She owes a lot to Gaynor at Cuckoo Riding Centre for giving her the space to train and gain her BHS qualifications and she cannot thank her enough. She is currently working on her stage 2 BHS with a view to her being able to do freelance teaching as well as being at Cuckoo with the students she is already working with.
Image Credits: Kt Bruce , Debbie Hams .