Madge Keane High Jump Record Heritage Highlight

On April 22,1935 in front of a capacity crowd of 30,000 eager showgoers, Madge Keane and the horse Domino, made newspaper headlines all around the country.

A dappled taffy, the beautiful Domino owned by Mr E Nelson, was known for his remarkable jumping style and had been beating much bigger rivals around the country for a couple of years. As Class 141, the ‘“Fay’s Boots” Ladies’ High Jump’ got underway, excitement was high. There was a total of £38 worth of prizes up for grabs for the horse taking the highest jump.

Riding astride, rather than side-saddle had become commonplace for women since the early 20th century and Madge Keane had been riding since the age of four and competing at the Sydney Royal since 1929. On this day, she and Domino approached the enormous fence with confidence and in a remarkable feat of athleticism from them both – managed to clear it, at the record height of 7 foot 4 inches. The previous high jump record, held by ‘Ben Bolt’ from the Albury Show in 1933, of 7 foot 3 inches, was smashed and Madge’s jump was also hailed as a record height for any female rider worldwide.

Madge Keane’s brilliant riding career as a show rider, hack presenter and bold high jumper, came to an end after a serious fall in 1949. Luckily the events of that remarkable day in April 1935 at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, had been recorded for posterity by Cinesound Movietone photographers under the direction of Academy Award winning Australian director Ken G. Hall. Today, in the RAS Heritage Centre  we are lucky to hold not only photographs and artefacts documenting Madge’s equestrienne pursuits, but also a copy of that remarkable footage documenting a unique piece of Show history.