It’s easy to imagine the Clermont Race Club packed with revelers.
Bookies set-up beneath the Ridgeback® shed, taking bets from egar punters.
Families with children catching up with friends on the lawn – in the shade – in front of the home straight.
What’s harder to envisage is one unique entry into the Queensland club’s Fashions on the Field event.
“This young lady had the hessian bag as a dress,” Race Club committee member Cindy Kelly said.
“That’s the most memorable race meet for me.
“It was awesome.”
Cindy and other committee members including president Billy Bell, work hard to ensure the success of their Race Club in the Central Highlands.
For them, a Clermont race day isn’t just for the sport.
It never has been.
And that’s why it’s so important.
“It’s a great social event and it brings people together,” Cindy said.
“The races are two times a year and it’s a time that people – particularly the young ladies – are given a chance to dress up for an occasion and participate in fashions on the field.
“It’s an event to look forward to, to catch-up. People talk about all the issues, they let their hair down and they forget about the worst, even when we were in drought.”
Cindy said Clermont, with a population just shy of 3000, has an annual show, but apart from this and the two race meets there’s no other official community gathering or celebration.
She said the races boost the morale of the “small” community, particularly those from rural properties who can endure many hardships throughout the year.
The weekend race meets also inject vital funds into the town’s economy, and the wider region, with 800 to 1200 racegoers spending money on hospitality, accommodation, clothing, fuel and much more.
Given the importance of the races to the community, a suggestion to improve the trackside facilities with a new Entegra Ridgeback® shed had everyone’s support.
“We struggle to grow trees here because of the seasons and there’s never really been shade here,” Cindy said.
“This shed has replaced the old betting ring. The old betting shed had one roof and it was low. Because it was low, the noise just belted out.”
Sitting adjacent to the Clermont Race Club grandstand the height and shape of the Ridgeback® is striking yet subtle.
Its concaved curved roof is practical and aesthetically pleasing.
“This structure is certainly unique in design,” Cindy said.
“It’s appealing the way it lifts to the sky.”
Unlike the low shelter it replaced, the elevation of the Ridgeback® ensures maximum ventilation – even on Queensland summer days.
Afterall, Entegra’s patented Ridgeback® was initially designed to provide shade and shelter for livestock.
Not that this worried the Clermont Race Club Committee.
“Because we get a lot of people under there, we thought the hot air would rise and go out the top – like with the cattle – and it does perfectly,” Cindy said.
“And also the noise – that escapes too.
“Cows have got nothing on the punters, noise wise.”
But the shade and shelter isn’t limited to underneath the structure.
The Ridgeback® casts a shadow across the front of the grandstand, providing indirect protection from the sun and heat.
This additional shade was factored into the initial planning and design, according to Race Club President Billy Bell.
This same consideration also went into the Ridgeback® height and subsequent clearance from the grandstand to ensure everyone has an unobstructed view of the winning post.
Billy said the Ridgeback® added to what was already “the best track in Central Queensland”.
“The punters can’t believe the shed,” Billy said.
“And one of the bookmakers said it was the best bookies ring he’d seen because it has no noise and it’s so high.”
Country races the “backbone of the city”
There’s a patch of grass beneath the Clermont Race Club’s new Ridgeback® shed.
Like the shed itself, and the shadow it casts – this pasture has a purpose.
“We didn’t finish the concrete but having grass there, it gives it a bush atmosphere,” Billy said.
“Sometimes there’s too much concrete and bitumen. People love the dirt.”
But the “bush races” aren’t just for racing enthusiasts keen for a bit of dust on their boots.
Billy said bush races have developed some of the state’s best jockeys.
They are the “backbone” of city races, he insisted.
“Without bush races, city races don’t go,” Billy said.
“Over the years the leading apprentices (jockeys) in Brisbane – the last 10-15 years – have come from this country where we are now, Emerald, Clermont, Moranbah.
“Brad Pengelly, Ash Butler…all of them came from this Central West area and all are top apprentices.”
Billy was a jockey and now trains racehorses.
His daughter Emma is following in his footsteps, embracing life in the racing saddle.
Emma grew up across the road from the 2200 metre track at the Clermont Race Club.
“I’ve been around this track thousands of times,” she said.
“I know where every metre marker is, every bend in the track…I know it like the back of my hand.”
But despite her love of the sport, she wasn’t always destined for a career on the racetrack.
“I always wanted to be a jockey but my parents didn’t want me to be a jockey because it’s a bit of a rough game,” she said.
“So I went to uni after school and did occupational health and safety and human movement science and ended up in the mines as a health and safety advisor for seven years.
“Then I had a boss I didn’t like ,so I went and did my apprenticeship as a jockey.
“I started my apprenticeship when I was 26.”
While winning is the ultimate joy for Emma, she said the relationships with the horses she rides and the people in the industry is unmatched.
In August, Emma had won about 130 races from 1200 rides – including the Twin Hills Cup, Isisford Ross Cup, Ilfracombe Cup, Middlemount Cup, Emerald 100 and the local Clermont Cup.
Emma also rode in the “battle of the bush” – a race in Brisbane for the best bush horses – where she competed against some of the nation’s top jockeys.
But, when it comes to support, nothing compares to riding at home in Clermont – in front of friends and family.
“It’s unreal because everyone is just cheering for me,” Emma said.
“It doesn’t matter what I’m riding, it could be the biggest donkey, but everyone will back it.”
Now that’s something that’s very easy to imagine at a Clermont race meet.
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Leaning on the edge of a concrete feed trough with his arms folded across his chest, Ben Giblett tips his head back slightly while contemplating his answer.
It’s a cool yet sunny day in the rolling coastal hills of south west Victoria.
Dairy cows – mostly black and white Holsteins – dominate the lush green landscape.
From the top of the hills you can see the vast expanse of sea on the far side of the famous Great Ocean Road.
