Ten years ago, Michelle Payne became the first woman to win The Melbourne Cup but in the years since she's had to face many challenges, including a life threatening injury and family heartbreak. Fortunately if there is one thing Michelle knows a lot about, it's how to get back up.

Michelle Payne grew up on a farm, the youngest of ten kids, in a family were everyone was mad about horses and horse racing. Her dad always said girls could be great jockeys if they were given the opportunity and she was determined to prove him right, despite some big challenges.

She won her first race at age 15 and in 2015 became the first woman to win The Melbourne Cup and her beloved brother Stevie was her strapper for the race.

Michelle Payne's memoir is called Ride On

The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison.

It explores horse racing, the Melbourne Cup, female jockey, large families, grief, death, animals, disability, training, injuring, horses, gambling, physical endurance, extreme weight loss, women, head injury, life threatening injuries, horses, recovery, resilience.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

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