The Ballard family from Mount Isa are a recent popular induction into the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame.
They have been synonymous with racing in the country for more years than most probably care to remember, but their role shows little sign of diminishing.
Keith, Denise and son Dan have all made their names in the saddle, but their influence extends much further.
By Ross Prowd
Keith Ballard (pictured right) was born in Longreach in the 1950s, one of seven sons for parents Bill and Peg. It was a traditional upbringing for a child in rural Queensland. Bill was not only a regular racegoer, but also the local farrier and Keith loved to accompany his father to the races.
One of Keith’s first memories was being sure that their horse, Wickets, was going to win and pressing his father to have five bob each way on it for him. The horse had poor barrier manners and his dad refused. Keith still remembers how she bolted in, although Denise said that he has never let that go.
Keith started riding at his uncle Jim’s dairy. Jim himself was a professional jockey and it wasn’t long before Keith was apprenticed to local trainer, Vic Ward. He rode more than 20 winners in Central Queensland and had outridden his claim before transferring to Rockhampton.
After completing his apprenticeship, he returned home and took out a trainer’s licence.
“I trained for probably 12 months, but it wasn’t my cup of tea, and Clive Oates took over the training,” Keith said.
"We brought a team of horses to Mount Isa about 18 months later for the carnival, and I liked the look of the place, so I stayed here. Forty-five years later and I am still here. When I was in Longreach training and riding I made a living from racing, but it was a pretty poor living, When I moved to Mount Isa, everyone here had a job, so to have a job and ride every week made it pretty good.”
Keith had always wanted to see Sydney and soon moved there.
“I went down for about four months and strapped and rode trackwork for Neville Begg. It gave me a bit of a look at how tough Sydney was. Ron Quinton was the stable rider and Kevin Moses his 2IC. Peter Cook used to fill in the loose spots, so it was brick wall,” he said.
“Not only did I never have a race ride there, but I was never going to get one. So, I came back to Mount Isa and have been here ever since.”
Around the same time a young Denise Williams was growing up in Central Queensland. Born near Winton. Denise‘s parents Alf and Lenore managed a property near Kynuna but later went mustering and managed different properties with Denise in tow.
Many claim to be born in the saddle, but it has rarely been truer than with Denise. By the time she was 16, the family had moved to Cloncurry and her father had taken out a trainer’s licence.
“I went to Melbourne to ride trackwork for Bob Hoysted, and I just did freelance so that gave me some income,” Denise said.
“I was there for about three months and then came home and worked as a barmaid, and still rode trackwork. I went to work at Lindsay Park for three months the following year until it got cold, and it wasn’t long after that I got my licence.”
Naturally Denise and Keith met at the races. Denise had returned from riding in what used to be called a Ladies Race in Darwin on Melbourne Cup Day when she met her future husband.
“He asked me out a couple of weeks later, but Keith had also asked Dad for a ride on one his horses called Sergeant,” Denise explained.
“Dad said if you win on him, then you can go out with Denise.”
Denise was a major influence in the emergence of female riders especially in the country. Throughout the 1970s Denise was one of the leading female riders in an era that saw them blaze a trail for our current crop of champion jockeys. Denise stopped riding in her mid-30s.
“In those days I had about 15 ladies’ races because they used to have them in different places like Cairns and Roma. We even had a full day at Mount Isa of only women jockeys. It was the first in Queensland and was the first meeting of its type in Australia,” Denise said.
“Pam O’Neill, Cheryl Neal and Judy Curran, probably about 10 came up for the day and Mount Isa did a lot to facilitate the bigger races that followed.”
Keith and Denise had only one child in Dan, who himself is a talented jockey. Dan started his apprenticeship with Denise.
“Di Jones used to be the trainer that I rode for in Mount Isa when we settled here and, when Di decided to retire in 2009, I decided to take it on properly,” said Denise, who was registered as an owner/trainer when Dan started riding.
“I finished Year 12 on the Friday and was on the plane to the Gold Coast on the Sunday,” Dan said.
“I was on loan to Trevor Whittington but ended up being indentured to Alan Bailey.”
In all he spent around three-and-a-half years on the coast before returning to the Isa around Easter 2005.
“I came home with no real plan. I was at the end of my apprenticeship, and I didn’t really feel that I was carrying enough momentum into being a senior rider to make an impact. I felt I would have to work really hard to be run-of-the-mill at that stage,” he said.
“Knowing full well that riding is not a full time proposition in the north-west, Mum was pretty insistent that I got a job quickly. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to do an apprenticeship as an auto electrician and that came within six weeks of moving back.”
Dan (right) met his future wife, Lacey, who came off a cattle property, at the races and their daughter, Lily, of course was riding almost as soon as she could walk.
The family is incredibly close and there is no doubt racing has been central to keeping them together.
The Ballard clan, though, is very different to many racing families. While racing is central to their lives, they have rarely been able to pursue it full time. All have worked other jobs and, although Denise has now retired from paid employment, she is the only one with Keith and Dan continuing to work outside jobs.
Dan in particular is committed to his career outside of racing.
“I am very lucky. I have found a career outside of racing that is very rewarding, Racing is what I am outside of work. I come from an electronics technician background and now I am the branch manager of an automation and control company. I work with some fabulous people, but I look at myself and think ‘what would I be if I wasn’t a jockey?’,” he said.
“I have such fond memories of the races. As a kid you think you own the racetrack because Dad had just won the Cup, and I want that for Lily because it was always a great thing for me growing up to see Mum and Dad and their success.”
On top of that, the Ballards have been committed to Mount Isa Race Club in a range of capacities. Like many country race clubs, Mount Isa has had its highs and lows. At one point, Keith was responsible for the upkeep of the track as a volunteer while Denise was vice president.
Around 2005, the club hit one of its lowest points and Dan stepped up. He was president for three years and helped get the club back onto an even footing. Under his guidance the club was able to fix much of their ageing infrastructure and bring it back to an operating profit.
The Ballards' induction into the Hall of Fame comes only as a surprise to the Ballards themselves, who are humbled by the award.
“It is remarkable to be given such an honour simply for doing what you love to do,” Denise said.
In a way that rings very true because their success is a result of the work ethic that underpins the family. Keith probably summed this up best when he said, “I don’t think I really ever had the talent of so many of the other jockeys. I just worked hard and persevered.”
The most remarkable part of the Ballard story is their connection to racing. While the family received the award, they see themselves as simply being a part of a much bigger racing family. Their connections with others from the racing industry throughout Australia are such an important part of who they are.
As Dan so succinctly said, “We don’t feel that any one of us has done anything that would warrant this recognition. But somehow all of us together just seem to have done something that we could never have done by ourselves.”
While it has been a long time in the making, the honour has rarely been more deserved.