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Flying High 03

The RAF team, competing against the other Armed Services, got a team second and a team third. Juliette got an individual fourth in the Junior Derby.


Juliette said: “In the show jumping competition I was faced with my first 1.20 metre course. I was petrified. The thought of going flying at 250 feet at 500 mph doesn’t worry me at all, but the thought of going over 1.20 metre jumps on horseback was a bit much for me. But my horse was an absolute star and the sense of achievement I got from that was quite amazing.”


Her horse, Saxon Warrior, is a 16.1h chestnut gelding – an Irish Draught cross thoroughbred. Almost inevitably he gets called Buzz.


Now 12, he’s been in the family for the last 4 years, shared between Juliette and her sister.


“I’ve only had him for the last seven weeks, so I haven’t had a lot of time to prepare him for competition work,” she said.


And the future with Buzz? “Hopefully next year there is the opportunity to ride in the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The military also have classes in the world of eventing so I hope to get him into the British eventing sections over the next year.”


As for her RAF career, she would like to end up on the JSF Programme – the Joint Strike Fighter.


“Not Hawks this time, but a new aircraft which is being brought into service in about 2012,” she said.


My inevitable question about Juliette’s role in the event of any future war brings an unwavering response.


“First I need to get through all my training before I can get onto a frontline squadron,” she said.


“But as soon as you have got that ‘tick’ against your name and you are qualified, then women jet pilots are treated in exactly the same way as the men – which means, of course, that you could go into action. And that won’t be a problem.”


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