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VOGUE CULTURE
While the ending of the film will come as no surprise, the number of
setbacks Payne endured makes for an emotional story arc. At six months
old, Payne’s mother Mary was killed in a car accident, leaving Paddy to
raise 10 children by himself on the family farm. Then came a major fall
in 2004 that left Payne with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain
- injuries so severe it took seven months for her to recover. (Two separate
falls in 2012 also resulted in fractured vertebrae.)
In 2007, the eldest Payne sibling Brigid, also a jockey, was killed
following a seizure doctors believe was linked to a fall from a horse.
“I think they’ve been very sensitive,” says Payne of seeing her family’s
story on display. Given she was “a little bit overwhelmed”, she chose not
to be involved in the making. “I trusted Rachel and [producer] Richard
Keddie. I didn’t want to have to be putting in my two cents’ worth and
upsettingtheir plan.”
Naturally, there were a few lump-in-the-throat moments when Payne
saw the final cut. “I found it really confronting the scene when my sister
Brigid passed away,” she says. “That brought back so many memories
and I think it will for my family as well.”
Reliving the dark days of her recovery from her
career-threatening accident was also tough, but
Payne says: “I feel proud to share that story of
fracturing my skull ... how tough it was and then
being able to get through that and live a great life.
I want to share that with people who might have a
similar situation and for them to think: ‘Oh, there’s
hope.’ Because if I was watching a film [with this
message] back then, it would’ve helped me.”
The scene where a 16-year-old Payne defies her
dad’s wishes by moving away to pursue her riding
career hit home, too. “That was hard, because we
were really close, but I didn’t feel like it was fair,”
Payne says of the estrangement with her dad,
which lasted a year. “I understood why, but I didn’t
want to allow him to do that.”
What the audience will take away fromRide Like
A Girlis that it’s a father-daughter love story and
a heart-wrenching one at that. “I think Sam [Neill]
is incredible as Dad – he couldn’t have been better,”
says Payne. “I always grew up thinking how
amazing my dad was, how strong he was. If ever
I was having a bad day, he would be like: ‘You
know what, it’s not a bad day,that’sa bad day,” she
continues, alluding to when her mother was killed.
“So that gave me strength, his strength, and I feel so lucky to have had
that in my life.”
Sam Neill may have nailed the resilience of Paddy Payne, but the
breakout star ofRide Like A Girlis actually Stevie. Rather than casting an
actor to play Payne’s older brother, who has Down syndrome, Griffiths
offered him the role after he auditioned in her home.
“I had a scarf on a hatstand and he was talking to it like a horse,” she
recalls. “He picked up a hairbrush and was brushing it like it was a
horse’s mane. The tenderness of it was so beautiful, Richard [Keddie]
and I just looked at each other and knew he was going to be great.
“He was wonderful on set because you could also say: ‘How was
Paddy feeling here?’ or: ‘What was Michelle doing at this point?’” she
adds. “He would talk to the actors and made it very magical for
everybody. It also gave us an extra layer of responsibility – Stevie was a
constant reminder that to be entrusted with a real person’s life story,
someone who belongs to a family, is an enormous responsibility.”
Speaking of her brother’s star turn, Payne couldn’t be prouder. “He’s
takes it to another level. He is really funny [in person] and that’s what
I said to them – he’ll surprise you.
“It’sgreat for Down syndrome,” Payne adds. “I think it’s important
for people to see how much more people with Down syndrome can get
out of life when given responsibilities.”
Payneand her brother remain the best of friends and live just 500
metres away from each other: Stevie still with Paddy and Payne down
the road on her own property, Nottingham Farm, where she is building
a new house. While Payne hasn’t retired from horseracing, she has
slowed down (thanks in large part to another injury in 2016, which
resulted in major pancreatic surgery). There have been other public
setbacks, too – including a one-month ban for taking an appetite
suppressant prescribed by a doctor in 2016 and a falling out with trainer
Darren Weir after it was decided Payne was no longer the right jockey
for Prince of Penzance. Weir has since been banned
for four years after illegal ‘jiggers’ (electronic shock
devices to make horses run faster) were found on
hisproperty last January.
Payne is now looking for her next challenge as a
trainer – at Nottingham Farm she houses 25 horses
and trains 16 of them. “I’m waiting for when it feels
right [to retire],” she says. “I know it’s coming, but
I’ve got a few dreams in mind I hope will come
before then.” Payne reveals top of the list is to train
andride a horse of her own at Royal Ascot and win.
“Her name is Sweet Rockette; she’s probably my
besthorse. That would be the ultimate.”
Payne says she might also like to become a nurse
one day (“I’ve spent so much time in hospitals so it
would be nice to give something back”) and that she
also can’t wait to be a mum. “I’m dying to have a
family, and that’s probably the next step.” Since she’s
in “a very new relationship”, she won’t be drawn on
details. “It’s going really well but I think it’s a bit
unfair to share at this point.” She does, however,
reveal that if it “continues as strongly as it has been
going” she will have a date on her arm at the film
premiere. “He’s red-carpet ready,” she jokes.
Payne hopes the film will inspire hope. If her life
has any lessons, it’s that things will be okay if you
stay strong. “Also the fact that no dream is too big,” she adds. “For any
child growing up, anything is possible. We were poor growing up and
you had to work hard and make it happen for yourself. But I think if you
really want to do [something], you have to believe in yourself.”
Herwin was about more than a horse race and a cup. “I feel like there
was some [higher] reason for me winning and I think it’s to do good
with it. I felt that straight after the race – when I got off and was being
interviewed I could feel there was more to this than my achievement of
winning the Melbourne Cup.”
Something shifted inside Payne that day: “I must have thought
subconsciously it was the right time to stand up for what I felt so strongly
about and had to battle through, because I didn’t know what was coming.
It felt really strong and I’ve felt it just as strongly ever since.”
Ride Like A Girlis cinemas from September 26.“I must have thought
subconsciously it was the
right time to stand up for
what I felt so strongly
about and had to battle ...”