46 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019
andsplittingherpancreas.Andyet,
despiteherdoctors’warnings,
Michelleis stillin thesaddle.
EvenBrigid’sdeathin 2007– after
a seizurefollowinga fallfroma horse
- didn’tdeterher.“Itprobablyspurred
meonmore,”Michellesays.“Itmade
methink,liveyourlifeanddon’thold
back,becauseyouonlygetonechance
at it.Life’swaytooshorttonotdo
somethingbecauseyou’rescared.”
Hercouragepaidoff,ofcourse,
withtherealisationofherwildest
dream,butwhatcomesafterthat?
“Iwasa bitlostfora while,”admits
Michelle.“Ididn’tknowwhattodo.”
Fameopenedupopportunities– she
metPrinceCharlesandDuchess
Camilla,forexample– butit also
becamea dailyhindrance,being
stoppedforselfiesandhaving
strangersshowuponherdoorstep.
Herprofilehasalsomadehera
biggertarget.Shemadeheadlinesin
2017 whenshereceiveda one-month
racingbanfortakingtheappetite
suppressantPhentermine,andreporters
wereclimbingherfenceforcomment
earlierthisyearwhenPrinceof
PenzancetrainerDarrenWeirwas
bannedforfouryearsforhaving
taser-likedevicesin hispossession.
Michelle dismisses both incidents.
“Itwasn’tanythingbutI knewthey’d
blowit intosomethingbig,”says
Michelle,referringtothedrugtest.
“Ishouldhavebeenmorethorough.
There’sa certainperiodoftime[before
races]you’reallowedtotake[appetite
suppressants]... butit’sprobablyjust
bestnottotakethemanyway.”Asfor
Weir,Michellehasnotworkedwith
himforyears,andneversawany
illegalactivitywhenshedid,shesays.
Perhapseagertochangethesubject,
Paddypipesupfromtheblanket-
coveredcouchbytheheater.“I
wonderhowlongit’llbebeforethe
nextgirlwinstheMelbourneCup?”
hemusesat topvolume.“Thereare
a lotmoregirlsnowhavinga go.”
“Andmoregettinga go,whichis
themainthing,”Michellecorrects
him.Sixyearsago,Michelleand
Stevieboughtthe40-acreproperty
nextdoortogetherandshehas
starteda trainingcentrethere,with
fivefemaleworkersplusStevie.
“He’s a ladies’ man,” she jokes. “He
doesn’tcomplain.”
Women,shesays,changethe
atmosphereoftheplace.“Ilikethat
softapproach,”saysMichelle.“The
horsestillhastorespectyouorthey
walkalloveryou,butthehorsesjust
lovetheaffectionthat’saroundthe
stables.Everyonewillstopandgive
a horsea pat– ‘Oh,I lovethishorse’
- whereasmostblokeswilljustget
onwiththeirjob.”
Thatsoftnessis thepointof
differencefora lotoffemalejockeys.
“Therearemorewaystogetthebest
outofa horsethanbrutestrengthor
standingoverthem,”shesays.“Ifyou
cangeta horsetotryforyou,they’ll
giveyoueverything.”
Beforesheretiresin thenextyear
ortwo,Michellewantstorideanother
GroupOnewinner,butthenherfocus
willturntotrainingandcreatinga
familyofherown.Hopingforfour
children– a largebroodbytoday’s,
if notthePaynes’,standards– she’s
awarethatthebreedingprogramme
hastostartsoon.Shehasbeenseeing
anEnglishtrainerand“couldn’tbe
happier”,buttherelationshipis
young.“Wedon’twanttoputtoo
muchpressureonit justyet!”she
adds,laughing.
Stevie,too,willalwaysbecloseby.
“Thatgoeswithoutsaying,”shesays.
“EverybodywouldtakecareofStevie
if theyhadto.”AsMichellehassaid,
thePaynesmightnotbethemost
effusivefamily,buttheyneverneed
questiontheirloveforeachother:
“Wejustknow.”
MinuteslaterSteviearriveshome
fromthelocalhospital,wherehe
volunteersat thecafeteriatwodays
a week,singsin thechoirandplaysin
thenetballteam.Hehasalreadyhad
a photoshootwiththelocalpaper
thismorning,andhe’sgearingupfor
evenmoreattentiononceRideLike
a Girlhitscinemas.
Askedhowhislittlesister’sbiopic
stacksupagainstPharLap– the
filmthatapparentlywarranted 500
viewingsin thefamilylivingroom–
Steviedoesn’tmissa beat.“This one,”
hesays, “is better.”AWW
Ride Like a Girlis in cinemas September 26.
StevieandMichelle
wereascloseas
kids(below,inan
undatedphoto)as
theyaretoday.One
ofMichelle’smost
vividmemoriesfrom
herMelbourneCup
winis havingStevie
byhersideafter
the race.
Champion
HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY JULIA GREEN. ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
SUPPLIED AND USED WITH PERMISSION.