Meet apprentice Sam Kennedy-Roessling

You won't meet many more determined young riders than Sam Kennedy-Roessling.

One of 11 new inductees into Racing Victoria's Apprentice Jockeys' Program, the 20-year-old has had to move states and away from her close family to pursue her riding dream.

"I moved down to Victoria about two years ago from northern NSW to work for Matt Laurie and apply for the apprentice program.

"I didn't make it unfortunately the first year, but it was probably for the best because I've made it this year and I'm very excited for what the future holds.

"When I found out I got in I was just about in tears and very excited.

"This is something that I just have to put everything into because this is it for me, this is everything I've dreamt about."

She admits she's been horse obsessed since she was very young, coming from a family who also loved the animals but otherwise had no connection to racing.

"My mum is German, she moved from Germany about 30 years ago, she had some ponies in Germany and learnt that traditional riding style," she said.

"My sister was horse mad, especially show jumping, so I've grown up with that side of the industry and pony club and having my Shetland pony.

"But also a fixation on a movie Racing Stripes, I watched it so many times I can't tell you.

"I used to have this rocking horse and my dad had to bolt it down to the ground because I rode it out so hard.

"I transferred that quite quickly to my Shetland pony, I used to gallop her around the paddock."

She says her horse obsession only grew as she got older, but she struggled to find the right outlet to turn her passion into a career.

"I was in a bit of a rut in northern NSW because there aren't any large stables there and there wasn't enough horses for me to learn on," she said.

"Then we decided that I'd try for a job somewhere in a bigger stable that could teach me.

"My sister's boss he had one horse from Matt Laurie's that he'd bought and we had no other connections to anyone in Victoria apart from that.

"So we gave him a call and Matt said 'When can you start'?

"My sister and I flew down and we met him and had a look at Mornington and the stables and Matt threw me on six horses that morning and I just knew it was going to be the place.

"I've learnt more from him than I have from anyone else in my life, he's just an amazing horseman.

"I love doing everything around the stables but as a job I absolutely adore the riding side.

"There's nothing better than getting up and getting to ride your favourite horse."

She says it still doesn't quite feel real yet that her own name will be in the racebook shortly.

For the record, the name on her birth certificate is Sam, she's never been a Samantha even though sometimes people assume.

Not that she really cares what people call her, she says, she just can't wait to have her crack and live out her dream more than a decade in the making.

"It's so exciting to think that I have now the opportunity to race ride in Victoria," she said.

"When I have my first race ride, I'm going to have to try and keep myself quite calm because I think the nerves are going to be very high.

"But I think it will be one of the best experiences of my life, even if I run last it's going to be such an accomplishment."

The Racing Victoria Apprentice Program provides the technical classroom element for new riders and is the school-based component. Across the four-year apprenticeship, inductees complete a Certificate IV in Racing – Jockey qualification, covering subject matter including exercise science and athletic performance, personal and professional wellbeing, finance, media and business skills, defensive driver courses and of course the rules of racing.

Riding-specific technical training and performance analysis are major parts as inductees begin to find their seat in the saddle, with coaching by former top jockeys Alf Matthews and Darren Gauci.

Meet new apprentice Nadia Daniels

Trainer Pat Carey is known as an astute educator of apprentices, not afraid to deliver the tough advice needed to help his young riders reach their potential.

But his latest new apprentice 18-year-old Nadia Daniels says he’s not the strictest taskmaster in the stable. And it isn’t his co-trainer Harris Walker either.

It’s her long-time friend and Carey’s most recent apprentice the talented Celine Gaudray.

“I like to say that I’m not actually apprenticed to Pat, I’m apprenticed to Celine,” Daniels said with a laugh. “She’s tough as nails, very tough on me, but she wants the best for me.

“She’s a great coach, a great mentor, she’s been through the ringer with racing, and she knows all about it.”

It was Gaudray who first suggested to Daniels that she should come and work at Carey’s yard three years ago.

They’d known each other since they were young, and Daniels says she was just happy to get a part-time job.

“It’s a funny story, my family don’t come from a racing background let alone horses at all, they wouldn’t know what a mane on a horse is.

“I asked my mum if I could start riding lessons at 10 years old, I’d never really had a true hobby or anything and I just liked the ponies.

“I started in a little place in Cranbourne, that’s where I met Celine, and when I was 15, she asked if I wanted a job at Pat’s, so I called him, and he got me in there straight away.

“I started working on the ground there for about a year and learnt all the bits and bobs about racing.

“I was very green and raw, I had no idea about racing, I didn’t even know how to put a rearing bit on properly.

“It was a big adjustment, it’s very different from the equestrian background.”

Daniels and Gaudray also bonded over similar backgrounds of having parents who grew up overseas and were not connected to the racing industry.

Daniels says her parents have gone through an adjustment as her part-time hobby has now turned into a full-time career after she was accepted into Racing Victoria’s prestigious Apprentice Program.

“My parents are very Russian and Ukrainian; we all speak Russian at home.

“My mum came over here when she was 18 and had me. I like to think I’m special because I was the first-born Aussie out of my cousins.

“My parents really want to come to a trial. I’m yet to bring them, they want to watch me and they’re really excited.

“They weren’t sure about it at first, but now they’re pretty stoked about it, they love it.

“Celine also came from a background where her family weren’t really involved with horses at all, so she understands my position.

“She helps me a lot with the mental side of things, she knows this job can be a lot of pressure on someone young like me and she was in that same position.

“She’s just told me not to take things too personally, be yourself and as long as you work hard, you’ll get the results.”

She’s also told her to keep learning as much as she can off their official bosses and Carey says the 18-year-old, one of the youngest in the latest program intake, has heeded the advice.

“She’s a good listener, she’s focused, and she doesn’t switch off from racing as soon work’s finished,” he said.

“She came into the stable with the expectation that she’d just give us a hand for a few weeks or a month or two and learn something and give us a chop out.

“Well, here she is today, she’s been inducted into the system and has a bright future ahead.”

For Daniels, she just can’t wait to get to the races, already daring to dream of what could be ahead.

“When I first found out I got into the program I was stoked, it was an amazing feeling.

“It was a long wait, but we got there in the end and I’m really happy to be inducted with a great group of girls and Chris.

“It will be really great and I’m really excited to start this journey."

Eliza Lloyd wasn't one of those people who grew up always wanting to be a jockey.

She hadn't dreamt of winning a Group 1 or a Melbourne Cup.

But all of that has changed very quickly in recent years for the skilled horsewoman, who is now one of 11 inductees into Racing Victoria's Apprentice Jockey Program.

"I only started in racing about two years ago, I never really thought of being a jockey to be completely honest," she said.

"I was working as a vet nurse for the vets at Cranbourne on course and I saw the girls ride past for trackwork and thought that looks like something I'd really like to try and do.

"So I kicked off my career and realised I really like doing jumpouts, I really enjoyed the thrill of it coming from a show jumping background.

"I show jumped from when I was young, nine or 10 years old and then have now got into racing and I found the same thrill."

The 23-year-old admits she's one of the least experienced from a racing perspective to get into RV's highly competitive apprentice program.

But after a lifetime of riding and almost 15 years in show jumping, it was also her connection with the horse through her work as a vet nurse that helped win her selection into the prestigious program.

"I started in vet nursing during COVID just after the start of everything getting shut down," she said.

"I worked at the vet nursing hospital doing surgeries for the racehorses specifically because this industry was still running.

"We did a lot of knee chip surgeries, throat surgeries and I just loved helping those animals and helping them get better and get back to racing.

"Doing a lot of the vet nursing has made me very aware on how horses feel, the way horses look and the way that they move and sound.

"And I think that's really helped me in my early riding career to be able to pick up when something is not right and then report back accurately and appropriately to my trainer.

"One of the great things that I love is seeing the whole process and outcome of where they end up after they've recovered and the lives they get to live."

Having worked on the road as a vet nurse helping racehorses all around Victoria during those times, Lloyd found her way back to the vet centre at Cranbourne.

She was again back next to the canteen where she had full view of the morning trackwork and the young riders out there, including her now housemate and fellow apprentice inductee Olivia East.

"I saw them ride past every morning, Olivia was actually one of them that I saw ride past laughing her head off as per usual, so when she rode past, I thought that looks fun, that looks like something I would love to do," Lloyd said.

"At the time I had a couple of off-the-track horses myself and my show jumping horse had just injured himself.

"I've always been around horses from a young age and I was friends with Georgia Price, Mick Price's daughter, so the day I decided to really give everything a crack I called Mick and asked if he knew of anyone who needed a trackwork rider and he said 'Yours truly' and I started on Monday.

"So after two years of vet nursing, I decided to just sort of push that aside and give it a go and here I am.

"All of the jockeys have been so helpful and so great to learn off and from working with Mick he was amazing, as was Michael Kent Jnr, with getting me running and getting me started for a couple of years.

"I decided to branch out to Luke Oliver's about three months ago to try and find more things to learn.

"I'm happy to get on anything, I'm happy to give anything a crack and that's my main priority now to keep getting better and practice those jumpouts and see where that gets me.

"The thing that I love most about racing is just the adrenaline rush that you get and just the love for the horses and the way that you can work with a horse throughout your trackwork and jumpout there on it and get those results on the track as well.

"Obviously there's very good money involved in racing as well if you're any good and I strive to give back to my parents and to give back to those people who have helped me along the way."