Michelle triumphs over pain

Melbourne Cup jockey Michelle Payne, this newspaper’s Australian of the Year, broke records and warmed hearts.

“Get stuffed” is not a phrase one would usually associate with a national hero and it is perhaps only in Australia that such a hero would be crowned with the honour she so richly deserves. We have the great pleasure of announcing today that Michelle Payne, the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup, is this newspaper’s Australian of the Year.

For Ms Payne, the opportunity to ride to victory at the Melbourne Cup was hard won. As the youngest of 10 children, whose mother died in a car crash when she was only six months old, and a woman in a male-dominated sport, Payne had to beat odds that would leave weaker competitors in the dust. She rose to the challenge with the grit, determination and good humour that tends to mark the best of our national character. Despite the challenges she faced on track and off, Ms Payne was blessed with the strongest of foundations supporting her triumphant ascent: a big Irish-Australian family. Led by their father Paddy, a trainer and former jockey himself, the Payne clan has several sibling jockeys in tow, rising from humble origins in country Victoria to become racing royalty.

In true Aussie battler style, Ms Payne has fallen off the horse and gotten right back in the saddle since she was first thrown from a capricious shetland pony at the tender age of four. She fractured her skull after falling off a horse in 2004 and was back in hospital again after an accident at Sandown in 2006 when she was trampled underfoot as the pack galloped over her. But worse was to come. In 2012, she suffered a cracked collarbone, broken ribs and vertebrae after a horrific fall.

Despite her proven dedication and talent as a jockey, some tried to stop Ms Payne getting into the saddle for the 2015 Melbourne Cup. Speaking after the race, she was candid in expressing her frustration: “It’s such a chauvinistic sport. Some of the owners wanted to kick me off the horse, but I thought he had what it takes to run a race in the Melbourne Cup.” To the male chauvinists, she offered that now famously frank advice: “Get stuffed.” Everyone else was thanked with grace.

A gaggle of competitive sisters and schooling at Loreto College prepared Ms Payne to compete as a good sport. The flash of anger after the race at Flemington soon subsided as she took to the podium to receive the Melbourne Cup. In its place came a heartwarming speech of unbounded affection for her brother, strapper Stephen. The siblings share a special bond not only as the youngest of the clan, but because they were, until last November, treated as outsiders in the racing industry — Michelle for being born female and Stephen for being born with Down’s syndrome. It took a trainer of Darren Weir’s mettle to give the pair a chance at success. With Stephen doing his bit by drawing barrier one and Michelle guiding Prince of Penzance to the first 100-to-1 victory since 1940, it is fair to say they repaid his faith.

Former winners of this honour have risen against the odds, showing that in a land of equality, success is there for the taking regardless of colour, creed or gender: Jamal Rifi, Warren Mundine, Marcia Langton, Fred Hollows and Noel Pearson testify to this fact. Michelle Payne is an inspiration, proving ours is a land of opportunity where anyone can succeed given a fair chance and the luck of the Irish, which is child to the same spirit as the Aussie battler: sheer, unbreakable will.