By KATH GANNAWAY
HEALESVILLE Greyhound Association is good at firsts.
Apart from all the obvious ‘firsts’ on the track, Healesville’s straight track was the first in Australia.
On Sunday 17 July, Healesville made history again hosting the first official celebration of women in the sport.
Presented by Greyhound Racing Victoria, ‘Women on Track’ brought together nearly 100 female participants in the sport, including track managers, trainers, handlers, a panel of industry speakers and guest speaker, and guest caller, Australia’s only female race caller, Victoria Shaw.
In a dining room decked out in pink and with champagne and a high-tea menu on offer, Ms Shaw and other speakers gave recognition to the significant role women play in a sport that is facing huge challenges.
Ms Shaw said the depth and breadth of female talent in the industry was not widely known.
“There are over 1200 women registered by GRV to train and those licences are not handed out lightly,” she said.
“That’s a huge number, and I think that speaks volumes about women’s affinity with the sport and the opportunities there are within the sport,” Ms Shaw said.
As a part-time caller in the horse racing industry, Ms Shaw said she was given her first opportunity to call the greyhounds at Sandown last year.
It was a learning experience at Sandown, and having since called at Healesville, she says the straight track is even more challenging.
“The skill-set you get out of calling greyhounds is tremendous,” she said.
“It’s so intense, such a brief moment in time, and the skills you acquire will serve you well in any code.
“Whether it’s harness or gallops, what you pick up from the greyhounds in terms of response time, economy of words, honing quick reflexes, it really rounds you off as a caller.”
Ms Shaw rates Healesville as the most difficult track in Australia to call, but loves that it is unique.
“For some dogs, they’ll enjoy running in the straight, others won’t, they like the corners.
“It’s the opportunity to give your dog a point of difference,” she observes.
For the caller, it’s a different point of difference.
She said the dogs were basically running past the caller’s shoulder when they hit the finish line.
In an industry that’s still a male domain, Ms Shaw said her ultimate ambition was to be a full-time caller.
Throwing herself into every opportunity, as other women in the industry do, is part of the plan.
She was full of praise for Healesville caller James van der Matt, saying he did fantastic calls on the day.
“You can’t say you want to do this, and don’t want to do that, because the boys do it all,” she said.
Her passion for horses, for race calling and for the role of women in the racing industry, is never far from the surface.
She talks passionately and knowledgeably about the success of women in three codes last year.
Kerryn Gath who was the first woman in the world to win the New Zealand Pacing Cup, an event she says is the biggest trotting event in the world, Michelle Payne whose success on Prince of Penzance in the Melbourne Cup did get international recognition, and Andrea Dailly whose win with Fernando Bale set the pace as the first greyhound in the world to win over $1million in any currency in stake earnings.
Whether women can change the perception of greyhound racing in the public arena is not something Ms Shaw says she can comment on, but she does believe that there is more acceptance of women in the industry, greater opportunities across the board and a high level of women keen to take on the challenges and rewards of playing an active role.
If the world is not yet fully across the achievements of women in the racing industries, the GRV was certainly happy to acknowledge its women on Sunday with general manager Strategic Communications Louise Martin saying it was a day to celebrate all women have to offer the sport.
“The historic occasion attracted nearly 100 people for a day of top quality racing in the picturesque surrounds of the Yarra Ranges,” Ms Martin said, adding it was a chance to meet and catch up with other females involved in the sport.
