By Darren Cartwright
Sisters Alyssa and Caitlyn McDougall are only in their early twenties, but have spent more than a quarter of their life working behind the gates as barrier attendants in South East Queensland.
The pair has been leading horses into barriers and been a calming influence for agitated thoroughbreds just before a field jumps since they were 15.
The sisters usually work behind the starting stalls at Kilcoy, Gatton, Esk, and at Corbould Park on the Sunshine Coast where they are pictured at the gates.
Their ‘racing careers' started when their father Brad, who is a clerk of the course at several tracks, asked his daughters if they would like to help behind the barriers, Alyssa (pictured right) said.
“We’ve always been around horses from a very early age. Dad had racehorses, and Caitlyn and I had mini trotters,” Alyssa said.
“We were 15 and still in school and Dad was working at meetings on weekends, and he asked us to try out as a barrier attendant.
“Dad being there and working with us helped, and everyone took us under their wing. We were lucky we got along with everyone very quickly.”
Across the seven years they have been helping load and calm thoroughbreds, their mishaps have been few, but notable.
Yet, nothing that would ever stop them from doing the job they love, says Caitlyn, (pictured left) with amusement.
She was left in the wrong stall after a horse reared in the barriers at Kilcoy and knocked her backward. On another occasion one of her fingernails needed to be extracted after a horse firmly flicked its head.
“A horse that was standing perfectly still and not doing anything wrong suddenly went up in the barriers at Kilcoy,’ Caitlyn (pictured, left) said.
“As for the other incident, I’m not sure why I had long fingernails at the time but not anymore.
“As many times as I’ve been hurt, I just love the job.”
Even though they have left high school and started full-time employment, they have not resigned from their race day roles.
Caitlyn, a part-time model for fashion magazines, is studying to be a nurse and Alyssa works with children.
They love the industry and being around horses so much that they don’t consider being a barrier attendant, like being behind the stalls at Esk pictured, a chore.
“Ever since I was young, I wanted to be an equine vet and I have a completely different career working with children, and I love that job,” Alyssa said.
“But working behind the barriers does not feel like a job, it feels like a hobby, and getting paid is a bonus.
“Both Caitlyn and I load them into the gates, and if one needs us to stay a horse in the gates, we will.”
Alyssa’s main mishap sidelined her for three months after a horse, which had been loaded in the gates at Kilcoy, kicked out and fractured her arm.
“We don’t get behind the horses and push them in, but we do shut gates behind them, and one broke my arm kicking back, and I wasn’t ready for it," Alyssa said.
"That was last year, and my arm was in a cast for 12 weeks.”
Despite the pain and setback, nothing was going to stand between her and her hobby, she said.
“I had no hesitation, I went straight back,” she said.
“I am not scared, but I am now wearier about how they are going to react and what to look for.”