With some difficulty on occasions. It can get very busy, but I've got no complaints. I love what I'm doing. Life is a bit of a balancing act. If it's not about footy or harness racing, it's working on the family farm.

I've got footy training during the week and play on Saturdays.

The travelling to harness races is probably the biggest aspect of my job in that sport. I can be driving at Bendigo, Melton, Ballarat or anywhere across the state or interstate, and I've got to get home to prepare for footy.

Let's talk about your career in harness racing. When did you have your first drive?

I was 16 years old. My first drive was up at Maryborough and it was a winner. It's name was Jilliby Dasher.

Matter of fact, my first four drives were winners. I thought to myself "how easy is this?" but I came down to earth with a crash.

I think in my first year back in 2011 - I drove 27 winners and 26 of them were owned by family members.

Eight years later, I drive over 100 winners plus and 40 of those are owned in my family.

Driving in harness races is a bit like being a jockey, you have your ups and downs. You've just got to make the most of your opportunities.

I've been fortunate to have driven nearly 600 winners, and in that amount nine have been in Group One races and five of those have been for the family. Which is really special.

Jason, your mum Marg is a well respected harness trainer with an enviable record of training winners. How does it all come about?

I would have to say hard work. None of it has come easy for my parents.

They have a great work ethic and that has been passed down through the family. I'll never forget the night I drove my first Group One winner Jilliby Jitterbug in the 2015 Australian Pacing Gold Final at Melton, and my grandmother Alice Craven was there. It was a very special night.

We have about 30 harness horses in work at home and among the ownership of many of the horses are my uncles John, Des, Peter and Harry plus my parents - so it's a real family affair.

We breed about 15 horses a year and may buy two or three at the yearling sales.

Do you get nervous before driving in Group One races?

Yes, I get a bit nervous, but to be honest with you I get a bit nervous before driving in lots of races.

In the warm-up when it's just you and the horse is a very special time.

I usually just sing a bit of a song in my head to keep me focused on the job at hand.

Jason, are there any particular harness drivers that you have based your career around?

I'm always looking at how the other drivers perform.

I think in any walk of life, you're trying to learn as much as you can.

There are lots of harness drivers I respect, but in my opinion Chris Alford, Gavin Lang and Luke McCarthy are the pinnacle of the sport.

My cousin Glen Craven has been a great sounding board. He's been there to assist and support me during my career.

Undoubtedly you would have driven in a lot of harness races at Terang. How do you rate the track?

Terang is an awesome track. There's a very strong following for harness racing in Terang and around this area. Good crowd numbers usually attend meetings.

This area has been blessed with the amount of excellent horsemen, whether that be in the harness racing or thoroughbred racing, and the same can be said about horses from this area.

Let's talk about your footy career. Where did it begin?

I started off playing under 12s with Kolora-Noorat before going into Terang.

I played through the various junior grades at Terang Mortlake before making my senior debut.

I played just over 30 senior games with Terang Mortlake.

I played some junior and senior footy with Lewis Taylor, who now plays with the Brisbane Lions.

Lewis was a freak footballer in the local footy ranks and it hasn't surprised me to see how well he's played in the AFL.

During my footy career, I played in eight grand finals between seniors and juniors.

I've played in two senior premiership sides and three juniors ones.

My footy career with Terang Mortlake ended in 2014 when I went out to play with Nirranda.

My grandfather Harold Craven played in a couple of premiership sides with Nirranda.

The Craven family has had a long association with the Nirranda Football Club through different family members, so I suppose it was natural I would play there at some stage.

The two senior premiership sides that you've played in are at Nirranda in 2016 and 2018. What are your memories of those flag wins?

We were the underdogs in 2016. We had come from fifth on the ladder and ended up beating Old Collegians by seven points.

We played our best footy at the end of the season when it counted.

The win meant a lot to the fans and community of Nirranda, as it was their first premiership win since 1999.

We defeated Old Collegians again in 2018. We won by 31 points.

It was not a great game of footy as a spectacle but that can happen in grand finals.

I note you were among the best players in Nirranda's win over Dennington on Saturday. How do you think the side will go this year?

It's very competitive at the top of the ladder.

The Power, Merrivale and Old Collegians will all be hard to beat when it comes to finals time.

But we'll be giving it our best shot.