MOUNT Gambier has become a stopover point for Victorian apprentice jockey Jessica Eaton as she heads north to race in Adelaide.
Eaton hales from Frankston in the Melbourne region and decided to base herself at the Murray Bridge stables of Michael Hickmott for the next three months.
Crossing the border into South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic meant social isolation and Eaton chose Mount Gambier mainly for convenience.
“I thought if I stopped here for my isolation it would be a good way to break up the drive,” she said.
“It is bit more of a relaxing atmosphere to spend my two weeks in isolation.”
The idea of heading to Adelaide to ride at this point in time came from a desire to improve her career prospects.
Eaton said many senior jockeys had remained in the Melbourne region due to the coronavirus travel restrictions, rather than chase the sun in the winter months.
“This is the time of year a lot of seniors in Victoria go away on holidays to escape the winter,” Eaton said.
“Given the (coronavirus) climate that is not possible, so they are staying back and riding.
“We have some talented riders in Victoria so it makes it a lot harder to get opportunities.
“I thought I might as well move over to Adelaide to continue progressing with my career and learn as much as I can while I can.
“Being an apprentice I am limited to my time with what I have with my claim, so I want to make the most of my claim while I still have it and try to ride some more winners and get more opportunities.”
Eaton said she thought about the option of Queensland or Adelaide, but strong support from Hickmott helped sway her to the SA capital.
“Having established contacts and connections in Adelaide previously I thought it was a more logical move for me,” she said.
“It would not be as hard to establish myself having already ridden there in the past.
“I have ridden a fair bit in Adelaide, just flying over from Melbourne.
“Michael has always been a good supporter and was keen to get me over when he heard it was a possibility.”
Eaton said it had been a bit of a shock to the system during the coronavirus period, with restrictions limiting her ability to compete.
She would normally travel from one side of Victoria to the other, with opportunities interstate as well.
The move will be complete soon and Eaton said she has so far kept in touch with friends while in isolation on social media.
But with plenty of time on hand, she came up with a novel way to keep in shape both physically and mentally.
It involves the dreaded beep test, completed in the driveway where she currently resides.
“I am used to working early hours every morning then driving all over the state in Victoria for work,” Eaton said.
“Being stuck at home for two weeks doing nothing is very frustrating.
“I have been doing the beep test in the driveway purely because it is a good way to get to max effort and really push myself.
“Home workouts can get a bit boring and tedious and I think it is hard to really push to a level you are getting benefit out of.
“I thought adopting the beep test might be a good strategy to work hard and I work on a PB every time I do it.
“I am trying to do some form of exercise, anything really, daily, just to keep myself busy and my mind active.”
Of course Eaton has had to contend with the recent cold weather, which she said was a shock to the system.
She said the nights were often clearer, with little rain, but the icy conditions made for an interesting workout.
“I have found the weather has been a little bit better at night so I have been doing some of the beep tests down the driveway at night,” Eaton said.
“I was actually surprised I came back inside sweating, it was that cold one night, but it is still good to keep active.”
Once Eaton’s isolation period is up – at midnight tonight – she hopes to have a good look around the Blue Lake city before heading up to Murray Bridge to chase some winners.
