ON HIS way to becoming a dual-national judo champion, Bendigo's Caine Stuart became accustomed to the bumps, knocks and bruises that come with the territory.
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But as harrowing as that might sound, it pales in comparison to the tumultuous and wild ride he endured on his way to becoming a professional jockey.
The 23-year-old, who has jumped from stable to stable across Victoria, Canberra and New South Wales over the past five years in pursuit of his decade-long dream, was finally granted his licence to ride by NSW racing authorities late last month.
He hopes to make his arce-day debut at this Saturday's Coff Harbour meeting, which is expected to be transferred to Kempsey due to heavy rainfall in the region this week.
Stuart will have two rides for his master, Grafton trainer Dwayne Schmidt, for whom he has worked for since April.
He will be aboard the first starter, Lucky Dream, in race one on the card, and Manic Light, a winner of two of 11 career starts, in the fifth.
Manic Light, by Nicconi, was a winner two starts ago at Injune, and followed up with a close second at Roma on June 22.
The four-year-old gelding is the early $4.40 favourite on the TAB, giving the debutant an early chance at a quick breakthrough.
For Stuart - a former Eaglehawk Secondary College student - his debut in the saddle is not just the realisation of a long-held dream, but a triumph over adversity and a win for persistence and sheer grit.
"I pretty much cried when I found out I'd got my licence ... it finally happened," said Stuart, who completed 54 trial rides from September 2022 through until last month, while undergoing a few changes in stables.
"All my hard work has paid off.
"I can only say to people, 'never give up, no matter how long something is going to take you'.
"That's how I've lived my life. Becoming a jockey has taken so long, but I've finally got there.
"Dwayne (Schmidt) has been an amazing help. I couldn't have done it without him.
"I'm excited for Saturday."
Stuart, who claimed double gold at the 2018 Australian National Judo Championships in the 55kg under-21 and 50kg under-18 cadet divisions, said while nothing had ever come easy during his martial arts career, becoming a jockey had been infinitely harder.
"Hands down ... and winning a national championship was far from easy," he said.
"Trying to get my ticket to ride, it seemed like I never knew when the road would end.
"I'm proud to say I finally got there and prouder to say I never walked away.
"I thought about it once ... that was when COVID hit. I felt pretty isolated at times.
"And there were a few times when I've thought, is this even possible?
"But my attitude from judo of 'never giving up' carried me through.
"I'm sure my head will be spinning on Saturday."
FOCUSED FROM AN EARLY AGE
Bendigo born-and-bred, Stuart's curiosity about horse racing was piqued early in life.
"I rang up (former Bendigo trainer) Todd Rawiller when I was about 10 - I just wanted to be around horses," he said.
"From the first day there, I've loved it ever since.
"When Todd moved to Sydney, when I was 12 or 13, I would go up there every school holidays to Warwick Farm and watch how he operated.
"He was always a good person to me.
"From there I worked at a whole lot of different stables, pretty much as a stablehand."
Over time, he has had stints with trainer and pre-trainer Pat Starr at Bendigo, Darren Weir (for a couple of months), Brent Stanley while based at Sutton Grange, Keith Dryden in Canberra, Trevor Sutherland at Wagga Wagga, Phil Sweeney at Jerilderie and Peter Clancy at Leeton, before his eventual move to Schmidt at Grafton.
Stuart declared his time under Sweeney, who died in April last year after a battle with cancer, as a 'definite turning point' in his quest to become a jockey.
As it did for many people in the industry, the legendary trainer's death hit Stuart hard.
"He was renowned for being great with young apprentices coming through the ranks," he said.
"Phil did a lot for me. He taught me how to ride.
"To this day, I still have the utmost respect for Phil. He was a father-figure to me.
"I was with him for three years and he was one of my biggest supporters.
"It's probably the greatest loss I've ever suffered."
Trying to get my ticket to ride, it seemed like I never knew when the road would end
- Caine Stuart
Stuart reflects equally fondly on his time at Leeton with the legendary Clancy, which stretched five months until only a few months shy of him obtaining his licence.
"We've always had a good connection. He's a really nice bloke," he said.
"He's got so much experience with apprentices and taught me so much.
"He taught me how to be gentle with a horse and to be connected with the horse.
"He got the ball rolling by getting me signed up as an apprentice.
"It seems like I've been in the industry for so long, but I've finally got to where I want to be.
"You can't get any better people to learn from than Peter and Phil. I pretty much hit the jackpot with those two.
"Phil pretty much saved my riding, and Peter helped polish me up.
"When I win my first race, I'm going to dedicate it to both of them."
Just as important for Stuart has been the support and advice from the jockey ranks, particularly in New South Wales.
He offered the names of John Kissick, Brad Clark, Tim Clark, Nick Heywood, Kristen Smart, the recently-retired Danny Beasley and fellow Bendigonian Nash Rawiller as some of those he had learned from along the journey, or had been kind enough to offer sage words of advice or encouragement.
CLOSE FAMILY
When it comes to support, Stuart said there had been none better than from his tight-knit family, dad Stephen and mum Annie, and sisters Shayanne and Jessica.
Like Caine, Shayanne was a world-level judoka, whose bid to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics was undone by an untimely elbow injury.
"There have been some setbacks in becoming a jockey, but I have always wanted to keep going," Stuart said.
"Mum and dad and my sisters have been a huge help in keeping me focused. They've always encouraged me to keep persisting with it.
"They could easily have said, 'do something else', but they know it's what I've always wanted to do.
"I want to have a long and successful career, like my judo career.
"But I'm just proud of how far I have come and I want to be the best jockey I can be."
There have been some setbacks in becoming a jockey, but I have always wanted to keep going
- Caine Stuart
While his career in the saddle is only getting started, Stuart hasn't closed the door on his other sporting love.
Having competed overseas in judo in Germany, Russia, Chile, Tonga and New Zealand, he plans to pursue his black belt.
He still makes the two-hour round-trip to Coffs Harbour to train at least once a week.
But more pressing for Stuart is chasing his first winner and rewarding the faith shown in him by many across his journey to become a jockey, including his new boss Schmidt.
"It's been another good move for me up here to Grafton," he said.
"I have been riding about seven or eight horses a morning.
"Being an ex-jockey himself, he has a lot of knowledge and has taught me a lot, particularly about riding young horses.
"I hope to repay his faith in me."
