Melbourne Cup 2018: Ambassador Olivia Rogers gets carnival off to stampeding start
MELBOURNE Cup Carnival ambassador Olivia Rogers has experienced a huge adrenaline rush by standing amid a throng of 40 galloping horses for an exclusive shoot as the carnival launches today. VIDEO: See how the stunning image was made.
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THE Melbourne Cup carnival officially kicks off in style on Monday with racing, fashion, food and fun the focus of the 158th running of the iconic race.
Victorian Minister for Racing Martin Pakula will officially declare the 2018 carnival open at a VIP and media event in The Park at Flemington hosted by international racing expert Francesca Cumani and Channel 7’s Jason Richardson.
Melbourne Cup Carnival ambassador Olivia Rogers, who will also attend the launch, is accustomed to watching horses race past her on the track at Flemington but she experienced an adrenaline rush of a more dramatic kind for this exclusive shoot for the Herald Sun.
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Rogers says she loved every minute posing with the iconic cup as 40 mountain bred horses galloped around her in celebration of the carnival launch.
“I was surrounded by horses but they were all so chilled, which was amazing because they were all running towards me. I wasn’t really worried about myself I was more worried about looking after the Cup, making sure I didn’t drop that,” she says.
“I’ve done a few shoots with horses before but never like that, they’re always standing still usually, not running at me so it’s a bit more exciting. It was fun, I love horses and I trust the owners here, they know what they’re doing so I wasn’t stressed. It made for an epic photo.”
Rogers will join celebrities and VIPs including Gai Waterhouse, Myer Fashions on the Field ambassadors Kirsten Clemens and Dalton Graham and some of the star talent from the rock musical School of Rock at Flemington to kick off the carnival.
“I’m really excited to officially start my role with the VRC with the Melbourne Cup Carnival launch. It will be a preview to what The Park will look like during the Melbourne Cup Carnival and I can’t wait to see it all come to life,” Rogers says.
The Melbourne Cup Carnival begins on Saturday with AAMI Victoria Derby Day, and continues with Lexus Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday November 6, Kennedy Oaks Day on Thursday November 8 and concludes with Seppelt Wines Stakes Day on Saturday November 10.
The 2017 Melbourne Cup Carnival injected more than $444.5 million into the Victorian economy, and was broadcast into 163 territories worldwide. More than $20 million in prize money will be won by connections, with $7.3 million on offer in the Lexus Melbourne Cup, the world’s richest handicap.
MAGIC TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING
IT WAS almost too close for comfort for Olivia Molly Rogers, but Herald Sun photographer Jason Edwards has captured his dream Melbourne Cup photo.
The stunning image, on the front page of Monday’s Herald Sun, is proof the effort was worth it.
After seeing Lin and Clay Baird gallop their mob of more than 40 horses down their Tawonga driveway, Edwards decided he had to capture a portrait of somebody “standing strong in all that chaos”.
Bad weather ruined attempts in past years but, when the former Miss Universe Australia Rogers agreed to stand in the path of the horses, Edwards signalled the Bogong Horseback brothers over a radio to open the gate.
The first attempt failed when the mob charged faster than anyone expected before being shocked to see Rogers in their path and changing direction 10m from her.
With some further coaxing from the horsemen and their dog to split the mob, the magic then happened.
“I knew the picture would live and die by being able to find a model who was brave enough to have her back turned to so many almost out of control horse as they thundered directly for her,” Edwards said.
“As terrifying as all that is she would then also be clutching the $200,000 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup in one hand, all the while trying her best to look stunning in a beautiful gown ready for spring racing.
“After a little more encouragement from salty the dog, all the horses flew past her only inches away then swarmed past me also sitting in the middle of the road whipping my face with their tails leaving so much dust we could both hardly breathe.”
Originally published as Melbourne Cup 2018: Ambassador Olivia Rogers gets carnival off to stampeding start