SITTING pretty in a private box at Ascot during the biggest race week on the UK calendar, jockey Courtney Pace felt like she could get used to the royal treatment.
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“I went to the Royal Ascot carnival completely as a spectator and it was out of this world,” she says, still shaking her head at the memory of watching carriages bearing the queen and her family coming down the famous straight.
“At one stage I looked across and Prince William was in the private box next door.
“And because we were in the royal enclosure, the royal family was just strolling around the grass enjoying their day off. It was all a bit of an eye-opener for me.”
Courtney, who is a regular in the saddle at picnic meetings across country Victoria and also works for local trainer Shaun Dwyer, was recently named Employee of the Year at the 2014 Bendigo Horse of the Year awards night.
She was in England in June on a month-long job placement facilitated by jockey mentor Darryn Murphy and Racing Victoria international recruitment officer Leigh Jordon.
The 25-year-old from Strathfieldsaye rode track work for leading trainer Andrew Balding at the Kingsclere Park House Stables, home to more than 100 horses and 60 full-time staff.
Balding is in Australia for the Spring Racing Carnival with international Melbourne Cup nominee Lord Van Percy and Cox Plate entry Side Glance.
“Everything there was so different to what we do here,” Courtney says of the experience.
“Here, I could ride between 12 and 15 horses of a morning for 12-15 minutes each. At Andrew’s, you only ride a maximum of four and you are on them for about an hour at a time.
“They are very fit horses and they can get them to run first-up from the paddock over 2400m and be competitive, but we’d give a horse two or three races to get them over a longer trip.
“I think they train the horses to race, whereas we perhaps race them to get fit and step up.
“They also feed the horses a lot less, while for all the training they do you would think they’d feed them more. And the younger horses seem to do exactly the same work as the older horses, where we are a little more protective of them.”
Courtney says her first overseas trip was an amazing opportunity that added to the wealth of experience she has garnered over her years in the industry.
“I am interested in training myself one day,” she says. “I have been to a few places and seen how everyone does things differently and take a little bit off everybody so I could do my own thing.
“I have been fortunate enough to be around such good people who have shown me so much.”
Courtney was introduced to horses at a very young age by her dad, Bendigo trainer and former jockey Arthur Pace, and she rode her first race as an amateur and scored her first win on the picnic circuit for him.
After finishing VCE, she was apprenticed to Lee Hope at Kilmore and spent time with Rod Symons in Bendigo before joining the Dwyer stable in 2010.
But the constant battle with weight eventually took its toll and Courtney walked away from her professional riding career, returning to the picnic circuit where it all began.
“I battled with weight from the start and I found the more I worried about it, the worse it got,” she says, explaining how the minimum weight for a professional meeting is 54kg, while at picnic races it is a more comfortable 63kg.
“My natural weight is around 57kg, so as an apprentice to ride 53-54kg all the time was pretty tough. I have no problem with a huge workload of training, but when you are running on empty and there’s nothing else you can do, that’s when it takes it toll.
“There are plenty of jockeys who do it day in, day out and I take my hat off to all of them. I idolise Brad Rawiller and Steven Arnold and others like them, because what they put themselves through every day to do what they love is unbelievable and a huge effort.”
Courtney recalls one time she was called the day before a meeting and offered a ride.
“I was young and wanted to make the most of every opportunity so I didn’t want to say no or let anybody down, but I hopped on the scales and had to lose 5kg to ride the next day.
“That afternoon and whole night was torture. I had my own sauna at the time and was in and out all night. I know now that’s not good for your body, but what are you meant to do?
“I remember I made the weight but I think I slaughtered the horse, so probably wouldn’t have got another call again from that trainer anyway."
Though she enjoys riding the picnic meetings - the season starts on Saturday at Alexandra and runs through until the end of April - Courtney has not ruled out making a professional comeback.
Riding in the first place is a highlight... I’m pretty proud I have been able to achieve something I wanted to do my whole life.
- Courtney Pace
“I love it, but it’s not the same when you’ve had a taste of the other side. My weight is okay at the moment, so I think maybe I should have another go.
“I’m just not done with it yet, so I’ll see how it goes. Now I’m older and know a few more things, I wouldn’t do it the same way again. Back then, you’d either eat normally or binge or eat nothing. There was never any consistency. Now it’s no bother at all, which makes me think now I’m older and more experienced I might find it a little bit easier. Who knows.”
Courtney would also love to become involved in the media, sharing her industry knowledge with punters and race fans alike.
“I got approached on Golden Mile day to host the Sponsor’s Marquee and I really enjoyed it,” she says. “We provided entertainment for the day and I had to give tips, talk about what races were coming up and what Group One races were on interstate.
“I think I tipped five winners for the day, so they were stoked.”
She will play a similar role at the Bendigo Cup on October 29.
It’s a complete change from her regular working week, which sees her start at the Dwyer stable at 4.45am and give her dad a hand during the day as well.
Courtney was surprised to learn her boss had nominated her for the employee of the year award, citing her horsemanship, dedication and reliability.
“It was great to win - any award is good,” she says. “But the other finalists are also just out there doing their job and I wouldn’t have been at all disappointed if any of them had won.”
Courtney maintains her fitness through running, netball and as much riding as she can.
“I ride a fair few horses and am pretty fit in the areas I need to be, but I also have a mechanical horse and I’m on that a fair bit,” she says of the $3000 machine that looks like a real horse and comes complete with tail and mane.
“It is unreal now that I know what I am doing, but when you are an apprentice and they chuck you on it feels awful. You can even adjust the neck so when you are pushing it out, you choose how hard you want it to be.”
Asked about her career highlights, Courtney cites her trip to the UK; any race where she’s first past the post (especially winning for her father); and the fact she’s even there at all.
“Riding in the first place is a highlight, because I am not the specific build to be a jockey. I struggled with weight from the word go, so I’m pretty proud that I have been able to achieve something I always wanted to do my whole life.”
She hopes to still be riding track work well into the future and says time will tell whether she returns to professional racing and it’s a decision only she can make.
Whatever her future holds, you can be sure she won’t be too far away from the thunder of thoroughbred hooves.
“I’d find it very hard to turn my back on it all and I’d definitely fret,” she says. “On my last four days in London, I had nothing to do, nowhere to be and I felt a bit lost. I’m not a very good holidaymaker away from the horses, to be honest, so I think I’ll always have a place in the racing industry.”