Jo Jackson

Awards, recognition

In 1994 she was named Yardley Parallel Sportswoman of the Year. Two years later she was runner up for the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award.

In 2000 the Great Britain Olympic and Paralympic teams were named the BBC’s Sports Team of the Year with Jo in the para contingent.  

Then there’s international award-wining portrait photographer Jason Bell’s giant-sized colour plate book Gold Rush showcasing medal winning athletes from around the world. 

Jo’s in there. She was 28 when that was compiled. 

It bemuses her that she features.

“I think ‘what is little old me doing in a book like that?’ But, yes, I guess that’s one of my proudest achievements. It’s like the cream on top.”

All those awards relate to her time riding for her native UK.

In 2006 she moved to New Zealand. Although no longer a competitive rider the recognition of her abilities continued. In 2021 she was named this country’s 

dressage judge of the year.  She’d only taken up judging two years earlier after retiring from riding.

Arm flys off

Not only is Jo Jackson a crack horsewoman, she has a cracking sense of humour. Much of it centres on her artificial arms; the hairy and the hilarious moments they’ve generated.  

An absolute favourite funny is the time she was show jumping in the same class as ace New Zealand equestrian Blythe Tait.

“My horse stopped at the jump, I flew over him. My hook’s wires got entangled in his reins. My arm went flying off and was whacking him around the head.  

“Everyone watching was in shock. It was probably traumatic for a lot of people. I don’t think many knew I only have one arm.

“There was nowhere to hide. I just went off and got my horse and reclaimed my arm.

“Apparently Blythe still talks about it.” 

Three arms

Jo presently has three arms, two with hooks. She uses these when working with her horses.

“It’s nice to have a selection of arms.  It’s good if one breaks.” Each has a name. Her latest is called Edward. It’s made by the New Zealand company TASKA, is electronic and incorporates a hand. 

It’s the first time she’s had one and she has a heap of fun with it. 

“Kids love it. They ask to shake hands with it.”

In Profile was treated to a “cheeky as” Jo moment. She flipped us the bird . . .     

Kids are where her heart lies. As Parafed Bay of Plenty’s Play and Youth lead she spends a lot of time with them, encouraging them to have a go at every activity they possibly can.

 Rock climbing and boccia are a mere taster of what’s on offer.

 In summer there’s surfing and paddleboarding at Ohope and the Mount.

“They go into the sea a bit nervous and come out buzzing. That really gives me the warm fuzzies.”

Coping with life’s challenges 

Life hasn’t always been all medals, fun and games for Jo.

She has no recollection of ever meeting her father. 

“He walked out when I was born. He didn’t want to know me because I had a deformity.”

From that day on her mother instilled in her the need to never give up, to always find a way. “It’s something I’ll always be grateful for.”

Jo was bereft when her mother died unexpectedly at 62.  Equally unexpectedly Jo’s marriage collapsed a day later. Son Harry was an infant.

There’s another dose of Jo Jackson’s offbeat humour here. When she married her husband took her surname. 

“It meant I didn’t have to change the name on the horse truck.”

She swears her wedding day in 2001 was the last time she wore a dress.

“I had red cycle shorts on underneath. That was my bit of control. I’ve never been a girly girl.” 

She dealt with her double whammy of losses the way she always does. She coped. 

If there was a gold medal for coping Jo would be a shoe-in for centre stage on the podium. 

Horses lifetime love

Jo can’t pin down when she fell in love with horses but suspects she was about four when she first rode a pony. She was six when she began working on Saturdays at a local riding school in return for rides.

“Mum encouraged me to try everything. She always told me there’s no such word as ‘can’t’. She said if you have a difficulty and think you can’t do it I’ll help you find a way’. It’s the philosophy I use with the Parafed kids.” 

Jo had a go at everything her mother challenged her with - playing the piano, violin, trumpet, the cello.

“You learn to use whatever body part works.  I’ve got a few chipped teeth finding out.”

Despite her love of horses her mother was allergic to them. Jo had to keep hers at her grandparents. 

“I rode horses right through my school days.”

School wasn’t a welcoming place for a kid with a false arm.

“I was the one who was always last to be picked for a team. I could connect with horses, they became my friends. There were no expectations from them. That is how my passion grew.”

Proving independence

When it came time to study languages for her A levels [NCEA level 3 equivalent] she rebelled. After a term her mother let her quit but challenged her to prove her ability to live independently.

Jo took herself to stables in Wales.

“I lived in a caravan by myself, that was until the yard cat moved in. I mucked out and watered 40 horses. It took all day. 

“After six months Mum said I could come home, that I’d proved myself.”

She went to work at an equestrian centre named Wood Springs.

“It’s now called The Hand which tickles my sense of humour.”

It was suggested she go to Riding for the Disabled (RDA) so she’d be eligible to ride in para equestrian events. 

The invitation came to ride in national dressage championships. She won her first at 16.  She was already showjumping. 

Jo enrolled at the Warwickshire College of Agriculture which linked in with Coventry University’s degree courses.

“That’s when my para equestrian journey in dressage really began.”

She graduated with a BA which she obtained with honours. Her degree was in equine studies which incorporated veterinary work and equitation theory. 

“My dissertation was on horses’ ability to discern colour.” 

The college’s third year students worked off campus. That was the year Jo focused on training for Atlanta.

Representing UK 

Naturally the Paralympics will forever be a high point in her life.

“We were riding on borrowed horses. That is where my strength lay, my ability to connect with a new animal. 

“I didn’t know the horse I won on at Atlanta. I had two minutes with him the night before and 30 minutes at the most on the day. We just clicked.”

“You got into the ring knowing you have trained for this moment. Everything you have dreamed of comes together. When the bell rings I take a deep breath, pat my horse and in I go.

“If you want a gold medal you just go for it, the worst bit is waiting for the results.”
At the end of the final round the scoreboard indicated Jo was in the lead but she was unsure if her golden moment had actually come.

 “I was pacing up and down. When it was confirmed I’d won the feeling was just amazing.

“Everything I’d dreamt of, trained for, had come true. Everyone wants the gold. I was the lucky one.”  

Not all Jo’s endeavours have had a golden glow. She trained for Sydney’s millennium year Olympics but didn’t qualify.

She’s philosophical in a very Jo Jackson way: “I got fifth. It didn’t feel good enough when I’d won gold before but that’s the way it goes.”

Jo’s ridden in a dressage display at Olympia and in a parade at Wembley, London’s indoor arenas.

“At Olympia I got to ride Cancara, the black stallion used in the Lloyds Bank adverts. I was so nervous. It was so cool.

“It was always great to have the Union Jack on my jacket.”  

After her mother died she worked for a couple in a Post Office shop, then their asbestos management business.

New Zealand appeals, Rotorua  RDA

“Their dream was to go to New Zealand. They talked a lot about New Zealand.” Jo pricked up her ears. “My life was in a slump. I knew I needed to reboot it.”

She had second cousins living in Katikati.

“In March 2006 I thought I’d visit them and get this stupid idea of coming here out of my system.

I’d been here two days and said ‘This is perfect, this is where I want to be with Harry’.”

She returned to the UK, quickly negotiated the vagaries of the immigration system and was back three months later.

“I still can’t believe I did it.  Harry was four.”   

While still in the UK she was put in touch with Rotorua woman Kate Honour who was then heavily involved with Riding for the Disabled.

The organisation needed someone proficient with horses. There was no doubt that Jo was the ideal fit. She moved here and set up home in a horse truck. “Bathing the baby in a sink. I loved it.”

She volunteered until her work visa arrived and she could join the permanent staff. 

She continues to follow the Olympics and Paralympics. She booked a week off during the recent Paris games to stay glued to her TV.

Crippled by pain

Jo’s working life went into a 10 year hiatus after an accident which left her with  Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). She’d been holding a sedated horse’s head during dental work when it moved, crushing the brachial plexus nerve in her left shoulder. It severely affected her arm and hand. To complicate matters that had been her “good” side.

“I had enough drugs to kill an elephant but still the pain persisted. It got to the point where I wanted to kill myself but I couldn’t get past the thought of ‘who would find me?’”. 

“ACC were great. I went on their multi-disciplinary pain course at QE Health.

“I came off the drugs, I learned to wood burn [art work]. That pretty much saved my life.” 

She began to volunteer at the SPCA. “It was ideal with my love of cats. I grew in confidence.”

After a year Jo wanted a new direction. Through ACC’s back to work programme she began volunteering with Parafed Bay of Plenty. She already belonged.  Very soon she was on the payroll.

Parafed, dressage judge

“I love it because I get to work with people and children with disabilities.

“I go into schools and get to deliver the FLIPA programme which encourages everyone to play together. Parafed is about encouraging people with disabilities to be active in sport, recreation and play. It’s great fun. We have our own Festival of Disability Sport, events like the Amazing Race in the Redwoods.

“I get to lead a team to the Halberg Games. There’s so much job satisfaction seeing these kids compete against their peers.” 
It’s amazing when they do things they couldn’t do before.”

Being a regular dressage New Zealand circuit judge challenges her.

“I need challenges. I’m presently at D level which means I can judge at level five. My goal is to be at A level in the next 10 years.

“I think I’m more nervous than the riders because I know what if feels like to compete and be judged.”    

Jo continues to work with horses. She has one of her own that’s on long-term lease and cares for two others.

“I didn’t come here [New Zealand] to chase medals. I came for a better life.

I found it. I love it.”

So will it be Great Britain or New Zealand she’s cheering for as the Paris ‘paras’ unfold?

“I support both but I’ll back New Zealand slightly first as this is my home now but my heart is with them both.”