By Jordan Gerrans
As a veteran of more than four decades in the training ranks, Central Queensland’s Christine Pollard is well-placed to evaluate the growth of female participation in the greyhound industry.
Pollard prepared her team of dogs for around 20 years at Bundaberg before relocating to Emerald where she has lived and worked for the last 20 or so years, as well.
In that time, she has gone from one of the few female trainers at the track on a weekly basis to today being a part of a strong cohort of ladies training greyhounds in Rockhampton.
The Callaghan Park-based club’s most recent meeting underlines the depth of the females training in the city.
Pollard was joined by Juanita Thompson, Amber Boody, Peta Boon and La Reina Ottermann in starting dogs from their kennels, while Michelle Brider also is a regular at the track.
“We have got more women trainers in Rocky at the moment, the numbers would have doubled or tripled in recent years,” Pollard said.
“There has certainly been a lot more interest.”
The Rockhampton Greyhound Racing Club’s female participants will be on show this week as the Queensland racing industry will again celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women across the state in honour of International Women’s Day.
With IWD celebrated annually on March 8, Racing Queensland has programmed showcase meetings across each code to mark the occasion, with Rockhampton representing the greyhound code.
Queensland racing industry participants will be highly visible, with livery including specially commissioned handlers and strappers’ bibs, saddle cloths, harness colours, helmet covers and winners’ presentation rugs and trophies.
All the races from Rockhampton on Wednesday will be named after female Central Queensland stakeholders such as kennel staff, trainers and administrators to display the industries appreciation of their efforts.
Across the Sunshine State, 21.4% of greyhound trainers are female while 46% of attendants in the code are females.
An attendant is defined by being a staff member for a trainer and that is an area where Pollard believes there is scope to lift the numbers for female trainers in Queensland.
Pollard has noted the emergence of the daughters of leading trainers such as Ken Boody and Andrew Suli in Rockhampton and is eager to see them progress through the industry.
“There is a lot of women coming through the ranks in the industry lately, more handlers,” she said.
“Tasmyn Boody and Jess Suli are coming through and loving their greyhounds and the sport.
“We have seen growth in that area.
“Hopefully those girls can step up and stay involved.
“There has been an explosion of prize money in our code and people are transitioning into greyhounds from other codes, I have seen people come over from horses to dogs.”