Jo Rathbone has spent most of her life immersed in the world of jumps racing, with a celebrated riding career, a couple of champion horses, and a rising profile in the training ranks already to her name.
Growing up in the equestrian scene, Rathbone got a taste of the racing industry in her early teens, and after relocating to Palmerston North for university, a new door opened for the talented horsewoman.
“I used to do a lot of eventing growing up and when I was about 14, I started riding trackwork around paddocks for an owner-trainer, Philip Rogers, who lived just out of Hamilton,” she said. “I did that in the school holidays.
“When I went back to school, I rode for him in the mornings, then started riding for a couple of different people at Te Rapa.
“After finishing school, I went down to Massey and my sister was working for Mark Oulaghan and she got me a job with him. I’d evented and show jumped, but I’d never schooled racehorses before over fences, which I learned to do with Mark.
“I really enjoyed it, so I decided to give up university and ride jumpers instead.”
Over the next decade, Rathbone would establish herself among the leading jumps jockeys in the country.
She won over 100 races in the saddle, nearly half of those in partnership with Wanganui maestro Kevin Myers, and she also found plenty of success on her southern trips with former Ascot Park trainer Kelly Thompson.
Jo Rathbone riding Just The Man to victory in the 2005 Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m). Photo: Kenton Wright
Rathbone guided a number of top jumpers to feature race success, but it was Gull, a Myers galloper with a slightly lower profile, who made a lasting impression - one that would come back to reward her later on.
“Gull was a very special horse for me,” she said. “He didn’t win all the biggest races, but he made a really big impression on me and he’s the reason I bought Tallyho Twinkletoe, because his dam (Albacora) was a full-sister to Gull.
“Sea King was another, I rode him a lot early in his career before he went to Australia and things like that, and I won the Northern and Waikato Steeplechase on Just The Man.
“Rioch was another of my favourites, but he was pretty strong and you just had to lead or he would bolt until he was leading. But, once you were there, he was happy and would bowl along beautifully. I had quite a bit to do with him as I was working for Kevin at the time, he was a tough horse and would go all day.
“There were many that stood out, but Gull was such a tough horse and one I’ll always remember.”
Regularly travelling to each end of the country, Rathbone recalled fond memories of riding at Riverton, while the famous Ellerslie hill posed a challenge, both physically and tactically.
“I loved riding at Ellerslie, it was a great course,” she said. “If you rode a smart race at Ellerslie, that made all the difference, saving ground and conserving your horse going up and down the hill.
“Riverton was awesome, and not just for the course, it was always a great time going down there. The people were very welcoming and accommodating. The jumping course was great to ride around also, it had different jumps which made it interesting.”
Rathbone took every opportunity that came her way and rode professionally in America, Ireland and Japan, all experiences she would recommend to any rider coming through the ranks.
“It was an amazing experience, I think anyone that really wants to improve their riding will benefit from riding in another country,” she said. “It was fantastic, you see a different way of doing the same thing essentially.
“I got to do what I really enjoyed, while also travelling and seeing other parts of the world.”
Riding over fences is certainly not for the faint of heart and Rathbone endured her fair share of accidents, but injury was only a part of her decision to hang up the boots at the end of the 2014 season.
“There were always horses I was looking forward to riding, and even though I broke quite a few bones and had a number of crashes, I just really enjoyed it and looked forward to every season,” she said.
“It was only when I lost that excitement for a bit, that I decided it was probably time for me to stop riding.
“Injury was another reason, I smashed my shoulder quite badly coming off Sea King, but then I did just randomly come back a year later and ride one horse in the Grand National Steeplechase because I’d told Kevin that I really wanted to ride him.”
After piloting Roodyvoo to third in the Riccarton showpiece, Rathbone was all but retired, but after working closely behind the scenes with former Grand National Hurdles winner Mahanadi, she couldn’t resist the temptation to go one more time.
“I didn’t ride again for another year and a bit, then there was just one horse, Mahanadi, that I’d said to Kevin that I wanted to ride in the Great Northern Hurdles,” she said.
It was almost the fairytale finish, but Mahanadi was denied by stablemate Gagarin, and two races later, Rathbone got a surprise call up to ride the popular grey Snodroptwinkletoes in the Great Northern Steeplechase.
“Snowy was my partner’s (Simon Harrison) horse, but I didn’t plan to ride him because I thought I would be too nervous,” she said.
“I’d already got changed and gone down to the stables to put Snowy’s boots on, then the stipes came down and told me I’d have to ride him because Isaac Lupton was ill. I thought they were joking, I hadn’t ridden in a race for over a year and now I had to ride in two Northerns. But I did, and I made it around. Those were my last two rides.”
Magic Wonder
‘Snowy’ continued Rathbone’s bridesmaid streak when finishing second to a dominant Jack Romanov, but five years later, she was back on top of the podium with Magic Wonder, this time watching from the stands.
The daughter of Eighth Wonder joined her stable in early 2018, and by August, she was winning her first and second attempts over fences, albeit straight into the steeplechasing role.
“She was great, but she took a long time to get jumping,” Rathbone said.
“She wasn’t a natural which is why she never had a hurdle race because if she wasn’t jumping a big fence, she was pretty dodgy. But over a steeplechase, she had a bit of respect for the fences and jumped properly.”
Playing to her strengths, Magic Wonder would go on to do the Pakuranga Hunt Cup-Great Northern Steeplechase double in 2020.
“She was a big, tough mare and it was amazing that she achieved what she did.”
Amongst her success with Magic Wonder, there was another horse putting her name up in lights, that being Tallyho Twinkletoe.
From the influence of Gull, Rathbone outlaid $9,000 to purchase the son of St Reims at the South Island Sale in 2012, and in the following decade, Tallyho Twinkletoe built a legacy that will be long-remembered in Australian and New Zealand jumping history.
Initially trained by Rathbone, Tallyho Twinkletoe raced under Myers’ name as he transitioned into jumping and the gelding became the first horse to win the Grand National Steeplechase and Grand National Hurdle crowns on both sides of the Tasman, with Patrick Payne overseeing his Australian campaigns.
Rathbone revealed that it wasn’t all smooth sailing for her star jumper, with soundness issues throughout his career, but watching him complete the double-double in his swansong at Riccarton in 2021 made it all worthwhile.
“He was a very special horse to me, not only because he was so good, but he had a lot of soundness issues, so it was quite a process with him,” she said. “Those kinds of horses mean a lot more, because you spend so much time with them.
“He didn’t race between the ages of five and eight, because issues just kept coming up. I spent a lot of time just rehabbing him and getting him right, he only ever really galloped at the beach or in the forestry up the hill.
“Simon and I raced him with Dave Macnab, who has been a huge influence in my life and as a racehorse owner. He was a great guy, he became like a grandfather to me, and it was great that we could race Tallyho Twinkletoe in his colours.
“There were so many highlights with him, but winning the Australian Grand National Steeplechase was fantastic because we went over to watch him. I’d never been over to watch a jumping race there live and had a great trip.
“His last race in Christchurch showed what an amazing horse he was, to complete the National double on both sides of the Tasman.”
Rathbone’s story in jumps racing is far from over, exemplified over the weekend when her promising hurdler Billy Boy shot to prominence in the Manawatu Hurdles (2500m) at Trentham.
The seven-year-old has a massive frame but is nimble over fences and delivered a timely victory for connections after the very recent passing of his owner Denis Leamy.
“I was worried about the track and how heavy it was, but Denis was obviously watching,” Rathbone said.
“He was a lovely person and a very good horseman, he’s been a very loyal owner to me over the years to which I am very grateful.
“Billy Boy has always been a favourite of his.”