{"id":203827,"date":"2025-10-16T08:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T08:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/203827\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T08:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T08:57:11","slug":"michelle-payne-celebrates-10th-anniversary-of-melbourne-cup-win-with-ballarat-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/203827\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Payne celebrates 10th anniversary of Melbourne Cup win with Ballarat tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI was just absolutely blown away from the very first moment I rode him … I tried to follow Prince Of Penzance all around the state. I rode him in every sort of workout he had, every trial, every race,\u201d she said,<\/p>\n

\u201cHe himself had a lot of injuries. He had to overcome four different surgeries. He had surgery on his joints just with racing and the pressure of keeping fit. Before he won the Melbourne Cup he nearly died of colic. He was on the operating table with his whole intestines out on the table, trying to find a blockage. So he really was amazing to come back from one, let alone four surgeries.<\/p>\n

\"Payne<\/p>\n

Payne with students from Miners Rest Primary School on the Melbourne Cup tour on Thursday.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day, the stars aligned. He was absolutely flying going into the race. And everything unfolded for us as the race unfolded. It was one of the most magical days that you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne made quite the impression on schoolkids on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Bonnie from Miners Rest Primary School was excited to meet someone famous. \u201cI have heard that she [Michelle] rides past my house,\u201d Bonnie said. \u201cI know Stevie [Payne], he rides his quad bike down there. I\u2019ve seen him ride the quad bike with a horse tied on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Loreto student Payne and current student Helena Ollerenshaw.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Payne is a former student at Loreto College, a school Helena Ollerenshaw attends.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was really nice, very friendly,\u201d Ollerenshaw said. \u201cI actually watched the movie, like most people, and I didn\u2019t realise that she was in hospital and things like that. So it came as a bit of a surprise. I don\u2019t really know too much about racing, but I find it interesting watching. I generally watch the Melbourne Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poppy Le Grand, also a Loreto student, rides herself and looked to Payne for advice and inspiration after taking a fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look up to her, especially after my fall. I had so many questions to ask her, and, yeah, it was just so amazing to see her. I was out on cross-country, just training on one of my horses, and he spooked, and I fell off and landed on one leg. So, yeah, broke my femur seven months ago, but we\u2019re on the up now,\u201d Le Grand said.<\/p>\n

\"Poppy<\/p>\n

Poppy Le Grand (far left), Ellie Fraser, Penny Halsall, Payne, Audrey Lewis, Emmie McMahon and Ollerenshaw admire the Cup.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked her if she struggles with confidence and how she overcomes it. She said, \u2018yeah\u2019, for a bit she did after one of her falls. She really struggled with confidence after that, so she recommended seeing a sports psychologist, and they gave her lots of tips, including having a \u2018word\u2019 to say to herself, which I think\u2019s a really good idea. I\u2019m definitely going to be trying that. I\u2019ve never seen the physical running of the Cup, but I\u2019ve watched the race every single year. My grandfather is quite involved with racing, so it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne also made a stop at Ballarat Base Hospital, where 22-year-old Gabrielle Holcombe is a patient. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was telling her, in 2015 we had a Melbourne Cup party, and our parents would let the kids bet on a horse, and I bet on her, and I won $150. And everyone was like, \u2018Don\u2019t bet on that one, it\u2019s not gonna win\u2019. I was like, \u2018Yes, it is\u2019. And it did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Imogen<\/p>\n

Imogen and Gabrielle Holcombe with Payne and the Cup.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Gabrielle\u2019s twin sister Imogen, who is also a patient, said: \u201cShe\u2019s just so inspiring, and I have always looked up to her. It was really special to meet her. I didn\u2019t back her. I think I bet on a horse called Jellybean or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Walters, also a patient at Ballarat Base Hospital, lives just down the road from the Payne family. \u201cIt was very nice [to meet her]. She\u2019s a lovely person. I have followed the Payne family and racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Payne<\/p>\n

Payne visits Gary Walters, a patient at Ballarat Base Hospital.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Rosie Currie brought her three-year-old daughter Claire in to meet Michelle and hold the Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m originally from Birchip, so I\u2019ve been here in Ballarat since 2012 and it\u2019s pretty special,\u201d Currie said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that a local girl, and the odds that the horse started, that they were able to come through and win. It\u2019s a pretty special local connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

Michelle Payne with Claire, 3, who came to Ballarat Base Hospital to see the Cup.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Payne\u2019s visit made the day of Joanne Rudland, another hospital patient at Ballarat Base Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome. I really like her. She\u2019s a really nice person. I held the Melbourne Cup. It did make my day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Payne<\/p>\n

Payne with Joanne Rudland (centre) and her carer Keisha Waller.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Rudland\u2019s carer, Keisha Waller, said: \u201cIt has been a bit of a rough time [for Joanne], so this was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

Michelle Payne with Ballarat Base Hospital patient Cathy Moore.Credit: Alex Coppel<\/p>\n

Cathy Moore, a patient at Ballarat, is a big fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable [to hold the Cup]. I have watched the Cup for years, gone in all those sweepstakes and that for years. Michelle is beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. I have seen the movie, of course I have. It is a sad, beautiful movie. I\u2019m a great fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Payne rode into our national consciousness 10 years ago. Since then, her life has been filled with agony and heartbreak, but she keeps getting back on the horse. Read our feature in this week\u2019s edition of Good Weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI was just absolutely blown away from the very first moment I rode him … I tried to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-203827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}