From Saddle to Finish Line: How One Jockey Found Her Passion for Camel Racing

My journey into camel racing was a whacky but wonderful one.

I have worked for an amazing family business called Oakfield Ranch for years who have all sorts of animals and do all sorts of jobs. When I returned home to Australia last year (2023) they offered me to come work with their camels as they provide camel rides for customers on a local beach. I instantly fell in love with the camels and their quirky personalities. Every year Oakfield Ranch takes a caravan of camels to outback Queensland to competitively race against other trainers all over Australia.

When I heard about it, I immediately wanted to go to spectate, and while I was there help out where I could. However, one of the long reigning jockeys, unfortunately, wasn’t going to be able to make the trip. That’s when my boss asked if I could come along not only to help out but also to ride! I was super nervous as I had only raced camels once and it was not competitive, but it was too good of an opportunity to miss so of course I said YES!