Schoolgirl jockey jumping at chance to follow in idol's footsteps

By Jordan Gerrans

It is only early in Julie Busuttin’s journey in racing but those that have watched her closely believe she is on a similar path to Brisbane’s champion jockey James Orman.

On Tuesday of this week, the 16-year-old rode at the Deagon trials alongside the leading hoop in the Sunshine State.

The youngster with a famous last name in racing did so at another trial session last month as well.

While no one is comparing a teenager who has not yet ridden in a race to arguably the best jockey in the state, there are certainly many similarities between the pair.

Orman and Julie have both grown up around the industry with one of their parents being a trainer of gallopers.

The 26-year-old Orman started his journey as an apprentice jockey while he was still studying at high school, which Julie is working towards.

Orman had his first official race rides while he was still a student through Racing Queensland’s school-based traineeship program.

With five official trials under her belt, Julie is hopeful she can map the same path as Orman and also eventually make her own race day debut while still completing her studies.

“He was one of our first with a family in racing with his mother being a trainer and James being an accomplished horse rider,” Racing Queensland’s Senior Apprentice Coach Shane Scriven said.

“He caught on quick and went through the system quickly and smoothly. Obviously, we do not have to tell anyone about how that has benefited ‘Jimmy’ and what he has gone on to achieve and become in the industry.

“Julie is along that same sort of pathway, coming from a racing family with the same sort of riding skills.

“She has got to where she is now rather rapidly and I would dare say that there is every chance she will be race riding whilst she is still attending school down the line.”

Julie first completed her Certificate III in Racing (track work rider) and has now progressed to her part-time Certificate IV in Racing (jockey).

Julie is now in Year 12 and will continue with her Certificate IV after completing Year 12 and her Queensland Certificate of Education.

It is rare to see a jockey begin race riding while still studying like Orman did but the programs Julie has completed in recent years is an element of the industry that Scriven believes could be more utilized by trainers.

The natural lightweight is indentured to her father Patrick at Deagon.

Scriven is keen to see more trainers take on high school students to help progress young people into the industry.

On top of training his own team of horses and mentoring Julie, Patrick has for the last year worked for Racing Queensland in a casual capacity as an Industry Mentor.

He works closely with stable hands and beginners to the sport to teach them stable work and tasks around handling horses.

Patrick is watching on with pride as his daughter works towards fulfilling her dreams of riding in races in the near future.

“Julie has always been keen on the horses since she was young,” Patrick said.

“It is great working with her and seeing her progress in her career. I think Julie went very well in her first trials, she was quite nervous before the first one but once she had that under her belt, she went out there and competed quite professionally.”

Patrick spoke to senior jockeys and stewards after Julie’s maiden trial rides and was pleased with the feedback he received on how well she performed.

Julie commenced her school-based traineeship in 2022 in Year 10 while a student at Sandgate High School.

Being a school-based trainee, Julie and others in similar programs work toward a nationally recognized qualification and study toward their Queensland Certificate of Education at the same time.

The student is released from school to work 7.5 hours per week as well as attending school for the rest of the week.

The student will participate in regular theory training delivered by RQ.

The smiling teenager says her studies through RQ have been the perfect foot in the door to the industry.

“I think it is a great headstart to get into the industry while still being at school,” Julie said.

“It has been great; it has been so much fun.”

Julie considers respected Queensland hoop Tegan Harrison as one of her idols and top Brisbane jockey Samantha Collett was offering the youngster a few words of advice at Deagon’s trials on Tuesday.

After riding track work and in gallops in recent months, Julie thrived at the opportunity to take part in trials for the first time and declared she felt comfortable in the environment.

“Going up against those older jockeys, they have helped me out,” the young hoop said.

“I think I went pretty good in my first lot of trials; it is just like riding in a real race pretty much – it is a lot more competitive and professional.

“It is a very supportive community.

“The senior jockeys are always helping out and if you are doing anything wrong, they will let you know in a nice, supportive way. It is team work if we all work together then it makes everyone’s job easy.”

Scriven was a multiple Group 1-winning hoop before he retired and he is impressed with how Julie is progressing along.

The former jockey says Julie goes to the track every morning with a passion for her job and displays a work ethic which is second to none.

“Julie has got everything going for her as a jockey – she has been brought up in it and she is little,” Scriven said.

“She is light and rides very well.

“She loves the animal and has a passion for the industry, she has got it pretty well made.

“She is showing great dedication at the moment and I cannot see that waning any time soon. She has made leaps and bounds through her studies to get where she is now.”

Julie is likely to add to her number of trial rides in the coming weeks and months before being considered ready to make her maiden race day appearance as a jockey.