Text: Amelia Campbell-Horne
If you think you can fit a lot into your day, you might reconsider after speaking to a young rider, aspiring jockey and BCom Student working in the financial markets – Savanna Valjalo. We caught up with Savanna, who not only claimed two big Young Horse Titles last year but also took the win in her first race as a jockey: the Okapi Ladies International Maiden Plate!
HQ: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
SV: My name is Savanna Valjalo. I’m 26 years old and born and raised in JHB, South Africa. My surname is Croatian, and my mom’s side of the family is Italian! I am currently studying my third year of BCom Accounting as my second degree. My first degree was a BA in Marketing Management. I started working in the financial markets during COVID and was lucky enough to work remotely, which enabled me to continue riding. I have recently started at the South African Jockey Academy, working towards building a career in the horse racing industry!
HQ: Wow, you’ve done a lot! How and when did you start riding?
Savanna: I believe I became very fond of the ponies at a birthday party I had attended; I can’t remember this, but as a result of it, my parents took me for lessons, and I have been passionate about horses ever since! I started riding at Chartwell Stables when I was three years old (2001) and then moved to Farnham Riding School with Tamar Gliksman for my pony rider years. My first pony’s name was Silwan. He bucked me off and took off with me a couple of times, but for the most part, he was a great first pony and clearly made me tough! He was generously given to me by the McHardy’s of Rathmor Stud, and we had him until he passed at over 30 years old.
HQ: Well, maybe he was your first taste of going fast! Could you tell us about some of your greatest jumping achievements to date?
Savanna: I will never forget my first graded win on my pony, Little Gecko. I was 10 years old and jumped 60cm at Equestrian International in 2008.
Other highlights include:
- Winning the PR1m Spring Fair Youth Extravaganza in around 2009/2010 on my pony Summit Ridge Prince. I also won the Nissan Easter Festival Championship classes, jumping PR90cm and PR1m in consecutive years on Prince.
- 10m/1.20m classes, so this is where I have kept him, and we always have so much fun going to shows and being competitive together. Two memorable wins we have shared include the overall 2020 FEI World Jumping Challenge Category B and Nissan Easter Festival in the 1.10m some years ago. I still have him going on 12 years later!
- My most recent memorable achievements are taking home the overall titles for the 2024 YHPS 5yo Sport Horse and Potential 5yo Show Jumper on Beneficent Van Balou. Strix (as he is affectionately known) has been such an amazing young horse to produce!
Personally, though, I must say that my greatest achievements are not the wins but rather the journeys I have taken with the young horses I have produced.
HQ: So, you had a solid background in showjumping. How did you get involved in racing?
SV: My great-grandfather, Nick Van Der Walt, was a jockey dating back to the 1920s, so one could say it is in my blood. But my dad has also owned horses in partnership with some of his friends for as long as I can remember and has taken me to the auctions and the track on Saturday mornings to watch them train.
Racing was, therefore, always something I wanted to try, but I didn’t quite understand how things worked. I was under the impression it wouldn’t be a big deal just going for one gallop down the track, but this is a task done mainly by licensed riders (work riders/jockeys) or capable grooms who spend every day working with the horses. Given the nature of racing being relatively high risk, and possibly because it’s a male-dominant sport, I was never really allowed to give it a try when I was younger.
In 2021, I had a young stallion, High Street Kensington, aka ‘Shaggy’ (that I tragically lost to colic), who spent December with a wonderful friend of mine at Randjesfontein, training with the Thoroughbreds. When I started introducing him to shows, he would get anxious and sometimes dangerous to handle, so this was the perfect exposure for him! I have four stables at home, so our horses grow attached to one another. Sending him to Randjies made a world of difference when he returned home and went to shows, and this experience gave me another, more recent, taste for the sport.
I then bought shares in my first racehorse in October 2022. My dream had always been to partner with my dad in a racehorse. His name is Twenty Drachmas, and he is currently a two-time winner! As a result, I started spending more time at the track and in racing. I wanted to better understand how Thoroughbreds’ lives differ during their racing careers, as opposed to what I knew from showjumping, having produced a few TBs once they had retired from the track.
At the beginning of September 2023, I was contacted regarding the Okapi Ladies International Race, which was scheduled to be run on L’Ormarins King’s Plate Day 2024. I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and was fortunate enough this time round to have trainers willing to support me. I was immediately hooked after my first gallop and went on to win the Okapi Ladies race four months later!
Did you know?
Savanna was one of several lady jockeys in the field at the OKAPI LADIES INTERNATIONAL MAIDEN PLATEwho had not ridden in an official race before.
HQ: What is your experience with the racing industry, specifically regarding being a female jockey?
SV: I love the time I spend doing racing-related things; it’s always so much fun! I have had a lot of support from many individuals within the industry, and I couldn’t be more grateful. But being a woman in racing has its challenges; I think some still worry about my safety and think I’m crazy, but the sport is incredibly rewarding. I’m encouraged by the growing support for women in racing, and I’ve learned to stay resilient while focusing on improving and proving my abilities. Over time, I think my work ethic has spoken for itself, leading to a growing number of people within the industry being more willing to support me!
HQ: What do you hope to achieve through racing, and do you want to make a career of it?
SV: I have always wanted to have a career in horses but have never quite found the right path in showjumping. Being around and riding horses, as well as seeing the world, are two of my favourite things, so I’ve longed to find a path where both are possible for me, and I knew straight away when I had my first gallop that racing was exactly what I wanted for myself.
My age is my biggest challenge, as jockeys typically begin their apprenticeships below the age of 20. But I have acquired my Work Riders License to be able to essentially race as an amateur, and I am now a student of the South African Jockey Academy, where I will be working towards achieving my professional license as a jockey. Ultimately, I’d love to experience racing worldwide, and I’m excited about the opportunities that racing offers as a sport.
HQ: What does it take to be a jockey? And what would you say are the key differences or skills you need that are different between showjumping and racing?
SV: It’s typical for non-horse people to think riders ‘just sit there,’ but even as a horse person, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t underestimated what it takes to be a jockey! Being a jockey takes incredible fitness, mental focus, and the ability to connect with horses at high speeds. There are no excuses for poor body control, being unfit, and not having well-rounded strength. Compared to jumping, racing demands quicker decision-making, more precise timing and a greater ability to understand pace.
Key differences also include stirrup length, body position, and how you hold your reins – in racing, you have them in a bridge, and in jumping, you hold them in individual hands. Then, the goal in jumping is to keep your hands still, whereas, in racing, you push in the closing stages of a race and must be able to change your stick to use it in both hands if necessary. Finally, in jumping, you are riding from leg into hands, but in racing, you are riding with hands, body position and stick. Oh, and of course, you must be a specific weight in racing. Height is also a factor but less important than weight.
HQ: What does a day in your life look like?
Savanna: Before I started at SAJA, my routine was slightly different. On the days I would go to the track (three to four times a week), my alarm went off at 4:30am, and I would be on my first horse at the track by 5:30am. I would finish at track, whip out my laptop and log onto the necessary applications to listen into the office and perform my tasks in the financial markets. When I got home from track, I would generally ride my two jumpers. On the other mornings, I was up by 6:00 am and generally spent some time on my studies as well as logging into work before riding my jumpers at home.
Now, with SAJA, on days I am racing, I go home after riding at the track to freshen up and gather my necessities before heading to the Vaal or Turffontein. If I am not racing, my afternoons are typically spent juggling my job in the financial markets, studying, running errands, walking my dogs and miniature ponies, being with my horses, and/or going to the gym. My day would wrap up at roughly 6pm, followed by dinner, studies and bed by 9pm.
HQ: It’s pretty astounding that you fit that all into one day! When can we expect to see you at a race again?
SV: We’ll have to wait and see.
HQ: Is there a specific type of racehorse that you prefer to ride?
SV: I don’t have a preference on which Thoroughbreds I ride. They’re all different in their own way, and each ride is one that I can learn something from, which, to me, is invaluable!
HQ: And for some fun final questions… If you could race at any track in the World, which track would you choose, and which horse would you want to ride if you could ride any in the world?
SV: It’s tough to pick one, but I would say Ascot Racecourse (England); it’s a track one can consider to be at the pinnacle of the sport due to its history, tradition, prestige and recognition. And if I could ride any racehorse, it would be my dad and partner’s formerly owned Feather Boa. There was just something so special about her! She is now owned by Team Valor International and stands in the USA.