Page 114 - June 2017

A Jockey’s PersPective
cassandra Jeschke by Marie Littlefield
“Make sure that you stick with your convictions. What you believe is what you believe, and you have to be strong enough to stand up for it.”
cassandra Jeschke came into Quarter Horse racing without any knowledge of the breed, but with plenty of horse riding experience.
Cassandra had been a successful 3-day eventer and competed for more than seven years, which made the transition to galloping racehorses easier. The multiple stakes winning jockey has made a name for herself at Ajax Downs in Ontario, Canada. Cassandra is a tough competitor with outstand- ing convictions and a sureness of herself that is refreshing.
Q. When were you first introduced to Quarter Horse racing?
A. It was in 2011 and was very random. A friend of mine met a Quarter Horse trainer who was looking for someone to gallop horses, and she gave him my phone number and I’ve been galloping ever since then.
Q. Is your family involved in the horse business?
A. No. My family is a hockey family. I’m the only one who’s in the horse business. The babysitter I had while growing up had a daughter who rode horses, and I was able to go to the barn with her and started asking to ride. All I ever asked of my parents was to go ride horses and my mother indulged me. I learned how to ride, muck stalls, and clean. Everything you could learn to do around horses I wanted to learn and know how to do and my parents supported me. I eventually started competing in 3-day eventing and competed for several years.
Q. What made you decide to become a jockey? Did you originally set out with this goal in mind?
A. I definitely fell into it. I didn’t know anything about Quarter Horses or Quarter Horse racing before I galloped my first Quarter Horse.
NaMe: Cassandra Jeschke
HoMe Base: Cobourg, ontario, Canada
Years of experIeNCe: “a lifetime of riding horses, but seven years riding racehorses.”
raCeTraCks THaT You rIDe aT: ajax Downs
favorITe HoBBY: “I enjoy drawing and I try to spend my time relaxing when I’m not busy working or at the racetrack.”
Q. Is there someone that you admire or look up to as a jockey?
A. I tried to watch Kim Ito a lot. I admired her and she actually was one of my instructors when I was event- ing. She’s retired from racing now and trains horses.
Q. What made you decide to ride Quarter Horses versus Thoroughbreds where there are typically more female jockeys?
A. Mostly, the opportunity I had to ride Quarter Horses, but also the weight. I could never make the Thoroughbred weight for a bug. At Ajax Downs, we used to weigh in at 126, but they changed that this year and now it’s between 120-130 pounds. So long as you come in between those two weights, you are okay. I usually weight between 124-126 with my tack. Thoroughbreds usually run around 118 pounds. When you have your bug running Thoroughbreds, it’s a 10 pound bug and it allows you to ride at 108 pounds. So, that is what entices the trainers to put you on because you get an inexperienced rider, but you get a lighter weight allowance. I’m 5’8 and I can’t eat properly to make the weight, so I won’t do it.
Editor’s Note: A “bug” is an apprentice jockey and must be licensed. An apprentice jockey has a master, such as a horse trainer, and is allowed to “claim” weight off the horse’s back in some races. This allowance is adjusted according to the number of winners that the apprentice has ridden.
Q. What is something that you consider important to assist in your mental and physical preparedness for your profession?
A. The most important thing in my mind is
the riding. It doesn’t matter how much you run or workout, you will never be as fit for riding without riding. There is no exercise you can do that prepares you for racing. I have an Equisizer that I use and that helps me stay fit as well. And I think, to be mentally
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SPEEDHORSE, June 2017
Marie Littlefield
THE BACKSIDE