As Joshaviah “Jojo” Johnson walks towards a saddled horse in the middle of the round yard, he grins as he reaches out to pat the patchwork gelding.
Five of his Tennant Creek high-school mates hang from the railing, watching the silent conversation between man and horse with anticipation.
Then, with one fluid motion, Jojo puts his boot in the stirrup and swings up into the saddle.
The horse remains calm. Those in the audience shrug and move on to their own tasks. There would be no spontaneous rodeos today.
The students are part of the 2022 Juno program, a course aimed at giving Central Australian and Barkly high school students industry skills in agriculture.
At the end of the year, JoJo, 17, will become the second ever in his family to graduate from school.
“I went through a couple of hard [times] … but I pushed through with my mates.
“They’ll feel proud … I’ll just feel proud after that.”
A horse for a course
The program, in its fifth year, is part of Vocational Education and Training.
It takes place at the Juno Centre, one of two off-campus facilities that specialise in agriculture. The other is Taminmin College in the Top End.
The students are taught skills in cattle work, general farm maintenance like fencing, and horse breaking.
“It’s kinda hard if the horse doesn’t listen … you just move it around a little bit … pat it if it does something okay,” JoJo says.
Russell Young, the horse-care coordinator at the Juno Centre, is impressed with how hard his students work.
“They also [receive] accredited training and the beauty of Juno is they can pick a certain course, whether it’s fencing or cattle or horses, and focus on those skills.”
The reasons why students participate in the Juno program vary. For Stanley Waisfood, ringing was in his blood.
“It makes me think of my grandfather who used to work out on a station near Rockhampton,” he explains.
Friends helping friends
Tennant Creek has its social issues, with youth crime high on the list.
Many local kids do not graduate past middle school.
The majority of this year’s students have been together since primary school and have really pushed each other to get to graduation.
JoJo sheds light on his own struggles to get to his final year.
“Back in year 10, I probably got angry with schoolwork. I didn’t want to continue doing the work,” he reflects.
“Then my mate told me to come to school … Juno helped me a lot with staying in school.
Excelling in horse work
The course is not just for senior school students.
Danyel Forge, a year nine student, was offered a place in the Juno program after an incident at school. She has since excelled in horse work.
“I have been in trouble at school, and they took me out here … it made me calmer and more relaxed,” Danyel says.
For JoJo and his classmates, graduation will be a special day.
“I’ll feel proud that I did something before finishing school so I can take it out to the big world,” he says.