Stable and Racecourse Tour

This month we went for a tour of Peter Wiggins' stables and the working side of Thoroughbred Park.

It was a beautiful Autumn morning and a perfect time to visit the racecourse - not too hot or cold.  The sun was out, there was no breeze, and no need for warm clothes.  We all met at Peter Wiggins' stables, and after a quick champagne we headed off for a tour of the training facilities whilst breakfast was being cooked.

Firstly we saw the swimming pool, where Peter showed us how the trainers exercise the horses in it.  Then we walked over to the grass track where Peter, who had a previous career as a jockey, explained the features of grass tracks and the differences between different courses, and what jockeys like in a track and what they watch for when they are racing.

Next, we went over to the synthetic track where he explained about the mixture they use and how some horses love it and some hate it.  But overall, it is a very consistent surface for racing on.

Finally, we saw the starting barriers that they use to train the horses on how to jump.  He explained how they get the horses in, and the risks that the barrier attendants take when leading the horse in - because there is nowhere to go if the horse rears up.  He explained how the jockeys have to be ready to leap off the horse if it plays up, and how the barrier attendants get them out if necessary.  He said the barrier attendants are the bravest people on the track.   He also explained about why some horses, like Black Caviar, need to wear a blanket into the starting stall, and how they get it off them at the start.

After that, we went back to the stable for barbecued bacon-and-egg rolls and champagne in the warm sunshine.   Peter then brought out one of his horses that he has started to train and explained about the process of training and selecting horses, and how difficult it is to predict a fast racehorse when it is young.

Port Macquarie

One of the great things about Women In Racing are the friendships you make.  And because of our common interest in racing we bump into one another regularly at race meetings in and around Canberra.  So some of us decided to get together and head off somewhere over Easter looking for some racing and a bit of fun.  Personally, I thought it sounded a lot better than 4 days of housework.

This year it was Port Macquarie.

We seemed to converge at PM from all directions as several people had been on holidays elsewhere, but as Good Friday progressed more a more people turned up.  The word got around that we were meeting up at the local bowling club so we met there and sat between the people watching the football and the people watching the Easter-egg raffle. By the end of the evening we had a table piled high with Easter-eggs.  Fortunately we didn't have far to stagger home as the club was about 5 minutes walk away.

The next morning we headed off to the Port Macquarie races.  We couldn't get up to much mischief before the races because the women needed so much time to get ready.  The track at Port Macquarie was well laid out and modern, and thanks to Sue's preparation we had reserved tables overlooking the track.  If there was one problem with the track it was the airconditioning that only had one setting - freezing.  It seems the downside of the women looking so elegant was the difficulty of keeping warm. At one point Gloria went home and got changed into something warmer.

Another new innovation we saw at the racecourse was champagne served in plastic bottles.  Maybe it was standard at Port Macquarie, or maybe they'd planned for Women in Racing to visit.

Here are a few pictures from the day at the races.


After the races we all met up for dinner in the barbeque area of the apartment complex, overlooking the pool and spa.  Here we cooked up a BBQ feast and watched the sun go down as Willo, Maz, Burl, and Philippa danced around in their Easter bunny outfits.

There was nothing planned for the next day, so everyone did their own thing, typically shopping for the girls and golf for the boys.

That evening we met up for a cruise on the river on a tourist boat that we booked for ourselves.  It was a wonderful evening, with daylight savings giving us daylight on the way out and night on the way back, so we got to see two different aspects of the river.  We cruised up to what had to be millionaires territory, with large houses and expensive boats moored to their private jetties.  There are plenty of photographs in the slideshow below.

Being our last evening, we all seemed to meet up at Sue and Gerd's apartment to continue the party and eat and drink the remaining supplies.  A short flight of stairs from their kitchen took us to a rooftop patio area with a hot spa.   The spa was a hit and it sometimes seemed like a competition to see how many people could get in it.  People were in and out of it all night.  Dawn found a comfortable spot over one air jet and kept inflating her swimsuit so she looked more like Dolly Parton.



All too soon it was time to head back to Canberra, and for the first time it started to drizzle, so we had to contend with rain on the way home.  Below are some pictures of the holiday apartments that we stayed at and the views from our rooms.  We were ideally located, about 5 minutes walk from the beach and bowling club, and 10 minutes walk to the supermarket in the centre of town.

Maybe in the future we can get a trip like this added to the annual programme.