At Home with Michelle Payne

This article is from the October 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

An idol to the young and old, when Michelle Payne was the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, riding Prince of Penzance in 2015, it was a pivotal moment in history. Five years on, and with box office hit Ride Like A Girl showcasing her journey, Michelle is still as hardworking as ever. The now dual licensed jockey and trainer has set up her own facility just out of Ballarat, Victoria, and along with her everyday equine jobs, she balances interviews and public campaigns. In between filing a post-race report for her last runner and liaising with the rest of her team, Horse Deals was lucky enough to score a chat with Michelle.

Michelle, what is life like at Nottingham Farm? We moved out here in 2016 when we were still in the process of building the stables. We pretty much built everything up from scratch on the 40 acres. It’s busy, there’s always something to do here, but I’m doing what I love and I’m really enjoying training horses. It’s not a job, I love getting up and working them. I’ve got a great team behind me, which is probably one of the hardest things I’ve found with setting up the stable. The team behind you is so important and we are really fortunate.

What does the average day look like for you? It depends. Today I was up at 4.30am, training the horses from 5am to 11.30am, so it was a really long morning. Then I usually go home, do some preparation work and planning; where the horses are going to go, where they are going to race, where we’re going to gallop them next, where we’re going to take them for a trial, organising everything for the next week. Then there’s always something on the farm, like mowing the grass. The day is finished with relaxing. I like to play a bit of chess or scrabble online. Usually it’s off to bed early.

How many horses are in your stables? We have 20 in training at the moment.

Which is your most exciting prospect? There are a few nice up and coming horses. We’ve got a really nice horse, Jukila (Lucas Cranach x Armure Royale), which has won four of the last eight starts and he’s going to the Jericho Cup which is exciting. Hopefully there are some others coming through that step up to the mark too.

What characteristics do you look for in a horse? You want to find a nice genuine horse, one that looks like an athlete. I look for horses that have a good temperament, really good kind eye, and good blood in them. The horse needs to look like an athlete, since that’s what we are trying to achieve in racing. That combination is what we seek out.

How important are bloodlines to you when selecting a horse? I think that’s important to a point, but I’m also very into the type of horse.

What has been involved in your progression to training? Basically just getting my licence. I’ve done a lot of work for many different trainers in the past in preparation for becoming a trainer myself and I learnt as much as I could; I’ve travelled around the world. I wish I had taken more notice of the feeding side of things when I was working for different trainers, like what some of the best in the world really focus on feeding. That has been something that I’ve had to learn along the way. I had good foundations and then had to work the rest out myself.

How have you found the increased management role? There’s plenty that comes with being in charge. You just have to keep on top of everything. It’s a pretty full-on job but training the horses is something that I’m very passionate about and really enjoy.

What are the challenges of training and then riding those horses on race day too? I obviously have to keep myself fit at home for riding race day. One of the challenges I’ve had is trying to keep up with other things. Since becoming a trainer, the training comes first, so sometimes I’ve had to take a step back from riding because I’m not sure if I’m fit enough or able to do the right job for the horse on the day. It’s not just a matter of showing up, putting your silks on and getting straight back out there; there’s all the preparation. I find that I’m keener to ride my own horses since I know them so well. But yes, I have to be careful with judging when those times are. Just recently, I hadn’t ridden for a couple of weeks because we’ve been so busy. It’s just something I have to manage.

Has it been difficult to take that step back from riding? I love riding, and I want to make the most of it while I can, but it’s also a lot of work, so it is nice to be able to hand the reins over and just watch the race, especially when you are busy working so hard.

Is it strange watching as a trainer rather than riding? It’s something I’ve got used to, but it was initially, and sometimes it can get very frustrating. I’ve obviously been in this industry my whole life and I know what I’m in for.

It’s now a year on from the movie Ride Like A Girl being released. How has life changed since? Not much really! It’s changed in the sense that I get a lot of people contacting me. As for me, I’m still the same person, living on the farm, training my horses. In my life, it’s still pretty much the same. I’m still treated the same by my family, people around me and people who work for me.

What do you perceive to be your role in the public eye? When I won the Melbourne Cup, I became a role model for a lot of young girls and people with dreams. The young girls are particularly important to me, because I had great role models in my life and I know how important that is going through to the next generation. I think that became quite apparent to me after the Melbourne Cup. My role is setting a good example and continuing to show — especially women — what’s achievable if you are willing to back yourself, have faith in your ability and work hard for it.

Equality in the racing industry was a hot topic following your Melbourne Cup win and Ride Like a Girl. Have you seen change? Yes, I think so, especially in recent times I feel like things are definitely changing. There are so many great female riders that are doing really well with the opportunities they’re getting, and I think we are gaining more respect, as a whole, in the industry.

Who are your idols? All of my brothers and sisters. Mainly my older sister Therese who was one of the first female jockeys to really get going in Melbourne, and in Victoria, where it’s one of the toughest states in Australia to make it. She did so well, so many years ago when it was extremely difficult. So she was a strong idol of mine because she got out there and did it and believed in herself, there was no fuss about it. And she continues to live her life that way. My brother Patrick was very successful and someone I looked up to when I was learning to ride.

There are always people who are ahead of you, other jockeys that show unbelievable dedication that you can take things from. And there are other sportspeople, the likes of Usain Bolt. I remember coming back from an injury and using him as inspiration, watching him in his behind the scenes training. Everybody thought he was a natural athlete and that it was so easy for him, but he had to work so hard to be the best. I gain a lot of inspiration from those sorts of people.

What mantra do you live life by? “Whatever will be will be”, a little bit of that and “It is what you make it”. If you want something to happen for you, you’ve got to get out there and do it, and sometimes it’s as simple as that. It can change your whole life if you can get yourself motivated and get up and do what you need to do to achieve your goals.

What topic do you want to chat about in interviews, but are never asked about? Probably one of the things I am really passionate about, and don’t get asked a lot about, is talking about the way that female jockeys ride and the difference of it. I think that people don’t understand that watching a female rider — like Jamie Kah for example, the balance and the way she rides with kindness — is different from the males. There’s so much that we could take from that, but a lot of people don’t. I think she’s setting a really good example and opening the eyes of a lot of hard-nosed men who think that strength is all there is to it. She’s a really good example of what we have to offer as riders.

What advice would you give an 18-year-old Michelle? From a very young age I was very determined to reach my goal and be the very best jockey I could. I guess I would do things differently in regards to the way I’d managed my diet and the way I trained myself, but I didn’t know any better. I think I would have asked for more help in regards to that, it would’ve made my life a whole lot easier. I would’ve also loved to have travelled more, I did a lot of travelling but I think the world is very big and that you can’t see too much of it.

What else is on your bucket list? I’d love to train and ride a group one winner but I’m probably running out of time, I don’t think I’ll ride for a whole lot longer. That would be amazing. I’d love to take a horse overseas too, especially if I could ride it.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years’ time? I really enjoy living on the farm, I’d like to have a family, relax a bit more — I’ve worked my whole life. I’d like to have a really nice team of horses. Not a big team, just a really good quality team, that’s what we’ve been building towards. A really nice lifestyle on the farm would be great.

What would you still like to learn? I feel like you are learning all the time with horses, every day of your life. I’m just continuing to love that education of living it every day. I think it’s so fascinating; there are so many different scenarios and different ways you can train horses to be successful. That’s what I’ve found working with so many different trainers, they can do things so differently but still be so successful.

Quickfire Questions

What was the last TV show you watched? I really enjoyed the series The Last Dance. I found it really inspiring listening to Michael Jordan.

What would your occupation be if it wasn’t horse-related? I’ve got a few answers to this. I’d love to be a nurse, I’d love to be a personal trainer, I’d love to have a restaurant, so a few things! I would really love to be a personal trainer though, that’s probably the big one.

What music are you listening to? I listen to a very wide variety of music. It could be so old school or it could be very modern, so basically depends on the mood I’m in on the day.

What’s your signature dish? I love cooking a nice roast lamb.

What inspires you? Being the best that you can be at whatever you are doing.

Sign up to our newsletter