FEATURE
Clare Lindop, inspired the young girl from South Australia, Jamie hopes her hard work and success inspire the next generation of female jockeys. “There are a lot of good female apprentices coming through and I think that women are now treated equally in the sport,” she said. “I have had people come up to me and tell me I’ve inspired their young daughter – and I love that.” And when she sees the little girls at show jumping events on Sundays, running up to tell her they have a pony too, that they want to be just like her – she knows exactly what it means. “Even if I stop racing one day, I’ll be able to say, I made that kid proud. I made that younger generation want to get into this industry because of me. And that’s really important.” As for what comes next, Jamie’s ambitions still burn brightly. Half Yours is being aimed at the Cox Plate, and she’s clear-eyed about the challenge ahead. “There are always good horses in this industry and there are a few stars that have stepped up recently – that’ll be a tough race to win. But Flemington’s his favourite track. Well, it’s definitely my favourite track too, so hopefully we can tick that off as well.” The Lexus Melbourne Cup win has also changed the texture of everyday life. “Everyone knows you now – just little things, like going down to the shops and people running up to you.” But it’s the global reach of the race that still stops her in her tracks. “You can go overseas and people know about the Melbourne Cup. They might know nothing about racing, but they know you’ve won it. It makes you feel like you’ve got a legacy now. It’s going to be in the history books for life, and they can’t take that away from me.”
Embracing Michelle Payne after her Lexus Melbourne Cup win.
Fancy a Gallop? | 21
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