Life As I Know It

Michelle Payne · John Harms

Apr 2016 · Melbourne Univ. Publishing

About this ebook

Michelle Payne rode into history as the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. She and her 100-to-1 local horse Prince of Penzance took the international racing world by surprise but hers was no overnight success story. Michelle was first put on a horse aged four. At five years old her dream was to ride in the Melbourne Cup and win it. By seven she was doing track work. All of the ten Payne children learned to ride racehorses but Michelle has stayed the distance. She has ridden the miles, done the dawn training, fallen badly and each time got back on the horse. So when she declared that anyone who said women couldn’t compete in the industry could ‘get stuffed’, the nation stood up and cheered.

Michelle has the audacity to believe she can succeed against all the odds. Her story is about hope triumphing over adversity, and how resilience and character made a winner.

Ratings and reviews

Family faith and hard work to be the best you can be.

Great reading could not put it down until it was finished

Reality. Real life

About the author

John Harms is a Melbourne-based writer, historian, and broadcaster. His books include Confessions of a Thirteenth Man, Memoirs of a Mug Punter, Loose Men Everywhere, The Pearl, and nine editions of The Footy Almanac annual. He appears on ABC TV's Offsiders. He is the editor of the popular sports writing site www.footyalmanac.com.au.