GUEST BLOG: LANI FANCOURT ON HAVING TO EARN YOUR SUCCESS WHETHER YOU ARE MALE OR FEMALE

By Alannah Fancourt | Friday, November 6, 2015

Emerging apprentice jockey Alannah Fancourt currently sits in sixth place in the Brisbane Trainer’s Premiership, just two wins off third placed Tegan Harrison. Both of these riders are doing themselves proud in a male dominated sport. In the light of all of the fanfare surrounding female riders following Michelle Payne’s stunning win in the Melbourne, Fancourt was invited to be HRO’s Guest Blogger of the Week. These are her thoughts on the hot topic of the moment.

The Melbourne Cup provided a great opportunity for Michelle Payne to shine on behalf of all of the woman in racing really and she certainly made the most of the opportunity.

To see a female win the Cup for the first time probably opens up a lot of doors, not just in high profile races like the Melbourne Cup but all around the country on all different levels where people might look at that result and think, maybe the girls can provide an option that should be used more often and so we’ll give them an opportunity.

Hopefully that sort of thinking does filter down through the grades.

In my case I have been fortunate in that, from the very beginning, I’ve had good trainers that have supported me.

When I started my apprenticeship with Norm Hilton they backed me one hundred percent. They put me on their horses and kept me on as they progressed to the next stages.

Even around the bush where I didn’t have Norm and Tracy looking after me because their horses were provincial grade or higher, I got a lot of respect from trainers and that stood me in good stead.

I am not saying it was easy, but I do believe a big part of how you progress and the speed with which you get ahead comes back to your work ethic. It comes back to working hard.

You do have to earn it whether you are male or female.

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I got a good solid background in that respect from Norm and Tracy when I was with them.

They set me well in my ways ... and that also goes back to Pat Duff who used to speak to me all the time about things like how you present yourself.

When many people see how hard you work at trials, on raceday ... and they look at how you present yourself it can make that vital difference.

There are different stages you have to go through whoever you are.

In the bush you tend to get in with certain trainers. Donald Baker, for example, was great to me. I rode a lot of winners for him and whenever he was taking a horse somewhere I was pretty much going that way as well.

With the smaller trainers, I found if you respect them they respect you and if you work well together as a team they are going to put you on.

So, I am a strong believer in the ‘work ethic’ theory, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have any excuse about not getting ahead if you are a female rider.

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Back in the bush and at provincial level I think it is easier for the girls to make their mark. At the metro meetings it is a more difficult.

The boys are still looking stronger there, the stakes are bigger and owners and trainers in town, generally, probably have a more set opinion and traditional view about who should be on their horse.

It really is up to us females though to break that mould as best we can and be as strong as we can in the saddle.

It really is up to us to keep working on our riding skill and, as I said, beyond that, it also up to us to decide how much work we want to put in behind the scenes.

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I’m obviously fortunate again to be working with Tony Gollan, Brisbane’s champion trainer, at this stage of my career.

Tony is the kind of person who will give you the opportunity if you are prepared to take that opportunity and step up to the plate. If he sees you do that it leads to more opportunities.

We’ve had massive talks in the past.

He has challenged me to step up on various issues and it was up to me to take that step. When you do the rewards do come along ... with a new set of challenges.

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I get goose-bumps every year when they come down the straight at Flemington in the Cup. This year I got four or five lots of goose-bumps on top of each other as Prince Of Penzance and Michelle Payne hit the front and just kept coming.

It was a great feeling about a great success story on so many levels.

From the horse’s courage to the trainer’s expertise. From the owner’s perseverance to the rider’s skill ... and to get such a positive spin off for female riders following Michelle’s post-race comments, well that was just a bonus.

She did make her point, didn’t she?

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