Girls dominate pony club, the training ground for professional horse riders, so why aren’t more women jockeys?
I crunch over the stony car park and through the gate of Viewbank’s pony club. Smells of mown grass, sweaty horse hair and manure drift along the breeze. A horse whinnies to another in a nearby paddock.
The footsteps of two girls mingle with the hoof beats of the two horses they lead. I glance over at a lesson in the largest sandy arena – six girls atop six horses. Behind me, another ten girls laugh as they groom a tiny pony and clean a saddle. There isn’t a boy in sight.
Girls make up 85 per cent of pony club memberships in Victoria. Some clubs may only have one or two boys in their entire enrolment. But when you look to professional equine sport, such as horse racing, it is almost completely male dominated.
In the past five years, the number of female jockeys in Victoria has rapidly increased but they are still significantly outnumbered. Girls from pony clubs aren’t growing up to be jockeys. And all these male jockeys are coming from somewhere else.
Pony clubs were first established in England in 1929 to teach kids how to ride and introduce them to horse sports. In 1938, Mrs Marjory Hirst opened the first pony club in Australia, in Ingleburn, New South Wales.
Pony clubs create pathways into equestrian sports such as eventing and showing. It is common for there to be training clinics and competitions in these disciplines every weekend.
The break in the link between pony club and horse racing is their different focuses in the world of equine sport. “Horse racing is a different sport,” Rick Gill, Pony Club Association of Victoria (PCAV) Executive Officer, said. “Girls are attracted to the sport of pony club.”
Even if girls were attracted to horse racing, they haven’t been welcomed. Horse racing is known as the ‘Sport of Kings’ and has been a man’s game since its origin in around 4500 BC. Thoroughbred racing, the type in Australia, became popular amongst the British royalty and aristocracy over 300 years ago.
In 1810, Australia’s first official race meeting was held in Sydney. It wasn’t until over 150 years later, in 1979, that women were finally allowed to ride in races against men.
Today, in Victoria, 75 per cent of jockeys are men. In the top 15 of the current Victorian metro jockey premiership there is one woman. But when you look at the Victorian rankings that combine city and country race results, that woman – Linda Meech – is second. Women are making strides in country racing, where it is easier to break through tradition’s barriers.
The barriers Linda Meech has had to overcome as a female jockey have been very unfair. (Brendan McCarthy/Racing Photos via Getty Images)
Overall, male jockeys still get more opportunities to ride than women. Matthew Hyland, chief executive of the Victorian Jockeys’ Association (VJA), sees this as expected. If there are more men, men will get more rides, is his point of view. “By pure numbers, males are going to be more in demand,” he told me.
But Hyland is well aware that women are on their way to making the jockey gender ratio 50:50. He speaks proudly when he talks about how tantalisingly close women are getting to equality. “Racing is an equal workplace in that men and women are paid the same. In other sports, women aren’t usually remunerated as much as men.”
Applications for Racing Victoria’s apprentice jockey program have highlighted the recent influx of women. The newest class of apprentices is predominately female.
Traditionally, most jockeys come from racing families. Hyland is a good example as the son of Australian Racing Hall of Fame jockey and trainer Pat Hyland. The young Hyland spent five years as a jockey before another 17 years as a trainer.
Modestly, Hyland agrees that the majority of jockeys get their start by “following their family”. I get the sense he fears being thought to brag.
Having a family grounded in racing gives hopefuls a leg-up into a tough industry. Early mornings and late nights, animals for friends, lots of money at stake. The industry is not always inviting to outsiders.
But not all jockeys have famous racing parents. Some have to come from elsewhere. “The second type of people who become jockeys are people that just love horses,” Hyland said, adding that this is often where females come in. Girls that have grown up loving horses at pony club are just who he means.
Inspired by a mix of horse love and family roots, Victorian apprentice jockey Georgina Cartwright decided to leave university and start riding racehorses. Cartwright rode ponies growing up and competed in eventing on retired racehorses.
“I’d always been interested in racing but had never worked in the field,” the ex-accounting student mused. When her younger brother became a jockey, her interest turned into action. “Mainly because of my brother, I decided to take the plunge. No one else in our family was into racing.”
Cartwright was accepted into the four-year Racing Victoria apprentice jockey program in 2015. At 25 years of age, she is older than the typical apprentice. The joyful gleam in her friendly brown eyes shows that she has chosen the right path.
Her cheery voice exudes confidence. There is barely a pause between the end of my questions and the start of her answers.
The disproportionate gender ratio in her new profession has never fazed Cartwright. Her voice grows even stronger as she recounts her lack of concern. “It’s not really something that came to my mind early on. It didn’t really worry me at all,” she said. “In racing, it’s mainly the harder you work the more rewards you get.”
Cartwright is one of a flood of new female jockeys who are bursting with belief in themselves and what they can achieve.
Michelle Payne was the story of the 2015 Spring Carnival, winning the Melbourne Cup. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
The VJA, Racing Victoria and PCAV are all working hard to increase young women’s awareness of careers in the racing industry. Ride To Time is a joint program between PCAV and Racing Victoria which gives pony club riders the opportunity to learn to ride horses at a specific tempo. This is an essential skill for jockeys and track riders in the racing industry.
Hyland is confident that the initiative will bring a new group of skilled, female jockeys into the industry. Pony club riders with experience in eventing and jumping are “accustomed to speed and adrenaline”. This makes them the perfect candidates for a career racing horses at over 60 km/h.
As PCAV Executive, Rick Gill is also excited for the changes the initiative could bring. He believes it is already making a difference to how many kids are making the transition from pony club to racing.
“Ride To Time is the marrying of the sport of pony club and racing. It’s already attracting a number of riders through to the industry as trackriders and stablehands,” he announced with pride. “This year we had something like 160 riders come through the program. The year before it was about half that number so it’s grown in popularity as something that’s fun for the riders.”
As a pony club program, Ride To Time should encourage more females into racing. “Every single rider in the finals this year was a girl,” Gill said. “It’d be fantastic if we see a few more girls do well as jockeys.” Gill is hopeful Ride To Time will lead to the number of female jockeys experiencing an increase similar to that seen in female AFL participation. “AFLW has gone gangbusters,” he laughed.
One of Pony Club Victoria’s strategic objectives is to “encourage young people to ride and to learn to enjoy all approved types of sport connected with horses and riding”. Today, PCAV is putting immense effort into achieving this.
Where previously racing was shunted to the side to allow for promotion of eventing, showing and even mounted games, initiatives are being introduced to increase young riders’ awareness of racing as a viable career option post pony club.
Optimism and excitement flood through conversations about the future of gender equality in racing. Women are making their mark, gaining respect in leaps and bounds. The horse girls are coming to take their rightful place.
Have you ever tried your skills in a Racing daily fantasy competition? Put your best picks to the test for one day and see if you can scoop the pot with Draftstars. Looking for great odds on racing and sport? PlayUp is your best bet. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Without a Fight completed the rare Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double on Tuesday as star jockey Mark Zahra went back-to-back in the big one after…
The race that stops the nation is upon us again. Every horse in the Melbourne Cup has reasons they can win, and reasons they…
Those who want to have a really big collect on Australia’s greatest race, without risking too much, have to look at the exotic bets.
While most of the attention is on Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's Gold Trip, there's no reason why stablemate Future History cannot upstage him.
Champion jockey Damien Oliver is quietly confident his Melbourne Cup mount Alenquer will be passed fit to give him a farewell ride in the…
Melbourne Cup day is here again, and it’s never anything less than exciting. The Cup itself will of course be full of drama and…
