Jock Paget is all about performance. As Equestrian Sport New Zealand’s General Manager of High Performance, he spends most of the year juggling the many balls involved in helping the country’s elite horse and rider pairs – in all disciplines – prepare for international success.
Whatever the level of rider, performance in our sport involves “feel” to a unique degree. And feel is hard to articulate. “A big part of coaching riding is coaching a feeling,” explains Jock, who – along with British eventing legend Ian Stark – is a special guest coach during Galway Down’s annual Fundraising Clinic Jan. 16-18, 2026.
Riders working with Jock will start with him observing them in action briefly, then having a chat. “I want to understand a bit of where they’re at and where they want to get.”
From his own experience as a rider and a high-level coach since 2016, the 2012 Olympic bronze medal eventer can usually assess what a pair should work on quickly. But he’s not the one who needs to be clear on the goals and the steps to achieving them — it’s the rider who needs that clarity.
“I much prefer that riders use their own words to describe how things feel,” Jock explains. “I’ll make them sweat a bit on describing what that feel is in ways that make sense to them. Because when you are clear on the feeling, then the skills and steps that enable you to achieve that feeling become repeatable.”
Thirsty For Knowledge
He’s excited to return to the Galway Downs clinic for the fourth time as a guest clinician. “It’s refreshing,” he says of his annual January jaunt to coach in the States. “Most of these riders are riding because they love the sport and the horses. In my fulltime job, it’s all about the championships and hard focused on representing our country. I love that, too, of course, but it’s very different.”
“I really like coaching in America,” he continues. “Everyone is very friendly and they’re good learners. They’re thirsty for knowledge, and everyone wants to get every bit of knowledge they can out of it.”
The Fundraiser clinic’s format can look a little chaotic to an outsider. On cross-country in particular, Jock and Ian join regional professionals who donate their time to work with riders on various segments of the course. “There’s a lot going on – some of it overlapping! — but everyone seems to know where they should be, and it runs smoothly,” Jock observes. “My impression is that it’s a well-oiled machine.”
Jock recalls it was Tamie Smith who recommended him to Robert Kellerhouse as a Fundraiser clinician. And he sees parallels between his ascent in the sport, coming from New Zealand, and a West Coast eventer’s, like Tamie’s, challenging path to international success. In both cases, the home base is far from the sport’s international hub.
“As I’m floating around as a coach, I see a lot of really good riders and horses who have to work very hard and travel a long way to get exposure, competitive mileage and diverse experiences.” West Coast-based pairs, for example, have few places to gallop on grass cross-country tracks, which are the norm in the East and around the world.
The West Coast’s international contenders and hopefuls are lucky to have Galway Downs, Jock notes. “It’s a great facility that puts on a proper competition at the right level. It gives the proper atmosphere, so when you ride on an international stage, the horse is not going to feel too star struck.”
As part of the General Manager role with Equestrian Sport New Zealand, Jock oversees a system which supports more than 100 athletes across all the disciplines. Jock is also the eventing team’s chef d’equipe, working with veterans and prospective team riders to monitor their plans and progress and provide guidance.
He’s used to juggling time zones and geography.
Loves It All
In short, he starts early, his days are long and he loves it all. “I love performance in any fashion and my work enables me to be involved in it every day.” New Zealand’s team approach is individualized, he explains. “We work on a needs-based system, depending on what the athletes need.”
Surfboards are Jock’s ride of choice these days. He and his wife Tegan’s two boys, Max and Billy, 5 and 8, enjoy surfing near their home on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. He loved his many years of riding “all day, every day,” but is happy to leave it to others now. “I’m happy to get on a horse if it’s appropriate when I’m coaching someone, but I got my riding time in all in one chunk. I don’t wake up yearning to do it.”
Jock’s “chunk” of riding resulted in an impressive resume. Born in New Zealand, Jock moved with his family to Sydney, Australia, when he was 5. Although he started with horses relatively late – first as a rodeo rider at 18 — he took to it quickly.
His early resume includes going from first jump to a 3* event in two years. Australian Olympic eventer Kevin McNab coached Jock as he splashed onto the international scene and remains a mentor.
Jock finished 7th individually at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, helped New Zealand earn team bronze at the 2012 Olympics and was one of only two riders to win the Badminton Horse Trials in his debut there, in 2013. (Fellow New Zealander Mark Todd shares this accomplishment).
As Jock continues to make his mark on the sport of eventing, Galway’s Fundraiser clinic gives everyone a chance to benefit from his experience and insights.
Photos: Courtesy of Sally Spickard
