Nikita Beriman glad to have close mate alongside her

By Jordan Gerrans

As an accomplished high-level rider as well as being an astute horsewomen, Nikita Beriman could have comfortably forged her own path in the training ranks anywhere around Australia.

With the title of being the first female jockey to win a Group 1 in Victoria – in the Emirates Stakes on Tears I Cry in 2007 – Beriman has a big enough name in the industry to attract owners if she wanted to go down the training path alone.

When she did finish up riding and become a mother to Ella, the 36-year-old did not want to go it alone in her venture into training and was keen to have someone along for the journey.

Enter Melbourne Cup winning hoop Michelle Payne – a close friend of Beriman’s from their earliest days in the riding caper.

Beriman is running Payne’s satellite stable on the Sunshine Coast with the Ballarat-based Payne regularly making trips north and is hands on from afar, in regular contact with her Queensland foreman.

“It never really interested me to be a horse trainer – that is the bare bones of it – I never thought I would do this because it is such an intense job and there is never a break,” Beriman said.

“When you were riding, you got off them and it is not your problem any more.

“Being on this side of the fence, it is tough.

“I am glad I have Michelle there to bounce my ideas off and gain more knowledge.

“It is difficult to train horses but it is rewarding.

“I did not want to train in my own name because it is new to me and I would rather work with someone like Michelle who is my best friend and already has horses and is established.”

It has been a homecoming of sorts over the last few years after finishing up riding for Beriman, moving to the Sunshine State to be closer to her mum.

She remembers riding pony club on the Sunshine Coast as a youngster before relocating to Victoria as a 14-year-old in pursuit of her dreams of becoming a jockey.

“I always knew I would come back to Queensland; it was always my plan ever since I left home,” she said.

“I am a massive Mumma’s girl and mum lives up here, as does my sister, and it was always the plan to move up here when the time was right.”

To have Beriman prepare gallopers in her name, Payne has plenty of trust in her mate.

“When Nikita said she was keen to help me set up a base up here, I absolutely jumped at the opportunity because she’s a great horsewoman and you really need someone on your side who’s 100 per cent in it,” Payne said.

“Nikita just seemed the perfect fit for me; she’s retired from riding and had a baby so she’s keen to get back out there again.

“We’ve ridden against each other for 20 years and we’re really good mates; when she puts her heart and soul into something she gives 200 per cent and I can really get that feeling from her that she’s all in and that she’s really excited about it.

“That’s so important for me to know that I’ve got someone passionately running the stables up here, so it was just the perfect fit and it’s going to be a lot of fun to work with her.”

When it came about to set up the new venture, the plan was for the stable to be run with a laid back nature with the gallopers not in their stables all day every day.

Just a short drive from the Caloundra track itself, Beriman – as well as her family and her staff – are working on upgrading the facilities, which will include an eight-horse walker a treadmill, which should horse around 10-12 in work in the near future.

“Hopefully it can be a really happy environment and it can come up beautiful,” she said.

Still learning the training game, the former jockey jokes that she sounds like an idiot at times talking to people within the industry because she asks so many questions.

Beriman is back riding a little work, as well.

While the official trainer is two states away, Payne is involved in all decisions for the Queensland-based team.

“Our mindset is very similar, especially with the way we operate and think about how we are going to do our work lists,” Beriman said.

“I speak to her at the end of every night and we go back and forth with the plans for the horses for the next day.

“We bounce ideas of each other.

“It is all new to me, obviously I have ridden horses all my life but being on the other side of the fence is very different, so I am on the phone a lot and ask a lot of questions so we can get the best out of the horses.

“I like to get everyone’s opinion and then form a judgement of my own and then run it past Michelle.”

While finding her way as a trainer, Beriman has her daughter Ella by her side every day at the barn.

At almost two years of age, Beriman was keen to spend time away from the horses in Ella’s first year before returning to the industry.

Ella is a natural around the horses.

“I always wanted to have a property so she can get on her bike and ride her pony in the outdoors instead of being inside looking at a TV,” Beriman said.

“She thrives here, she is never on a phone or a tablet, she always wants to be outside.

“She loves horses and is naturally gifted – horses just love her.

“She has a special bond with a few of the horses – it is really beautiful and I love it.

“She helps with the horses and she gets her hands dirty.”

The Payne-Beriman team claimed their first victory of their new venture at Doomben in the middle of February with Group Think and the stable are hopeful there are many more around the corner.