Competitive Colleen makes her mark

By Jordan Gerrans

Trainer Mark Palmer uses the word ‘competitive’ prolifically when he talks about his apprentice rider Colleen Krahnen.

In a seven or so minute chat, the Beaudesert horseman refers to the emerging rider in that way a handful of times.

After giving Krahnen her first job in the industry and guiding her through the stages of the game before she made it to her race day debut, Palmer is a good judge on the topic.

He believes competitiveness defines the 26-year-old.

The natural lightweight arrived in the riding ranks in Queensland last year with one of the more unique globe-trotting paths to becoming a young jockey that you will ever find.

Krahnen jokes that she has been on horseback since before she could walk with her family long involved in endurance racing, with her mother representing Australia in the USA at one stage.

As a teenager she competed around Australia and in New Zealand alongside her sister in the sport as well as being selected to represent Australia in France in the discipline.

The apprentice hoop also competes with her own horses in show jumping events.

She has studied a Masters in Architecture after previously studying a Bachelor of Design while majoring in Architecture, which she achieved with distinction.

To fit in all that as well as work herself into being an apprentice jockey by the age of 26, she must be ‘competitive’ as her boss says.

“It is a great asset to have with her upbringing,” Palmer said.

“She is a hard worker and really dedicated to the horses.”

In endurance racing, Krahnen often competed in events where she would ride her horse for 80kms, with some bigger races going to 160 kms and beyond.

It is most certainly a serious change of pace for her riding speedy thoroughbred race horses for a job compared to her previous focus, but it is a switch she is thoroughly enjoying.

She has 15 winners to her name in the infancy of her riding career.

The smiling apprentice says her extensive background in the work force helped her, in her own words, to not be shocked by the heavy work load that comes with being an up-and-coming hoop.

According to Palmer, Krahnen riding as many as 15 horses in work around the Beaudesert track every morning is commonplace as she completes his team as well as helping other local barns.

“When I reflect on the experiences I had growing up with endurance horses and the people I had around me and then coming into my family business – which is something that is hugely important to me – it has allowed me to mentally be in a good place,” Krahnen said.

“It helps you to know what you want.

“It definitely helps to get fixated on a goal and work towards that.

“I think starting my apprenticeship, it really shined a light on how much work goes into it and getting familiar with form, horses and tracks.

“And, the conditioning of yourself, making sure you are the best you can be on the day and I think all that work ethic I have learnt, makes being a jockey a bit easier for me now.

“I have a habit of getting a run on with things and then looking back and being surprised at what I have achieved.”

While Krahnen was busy with her endurance riding, show jumping and her architecture studies, she landed in the racing industry completely by chance.

She lived at a property not far from Palmer’s and would go along his fence line on some afternoons.

Palmer’s dog would often chase her and she would need to bring the dog back to the veteran trainer.

They got chatting about his thoroughbred gallopers and she offered to give him a hand around his stables when she had the free time.

Palmer – a former jockey himself – knew of the Krahnen family as they are well-known in endurance racing and the plan for her apprenticeship was initially hatched then.

She started as a stable hand which progressed to track work.

The trainer believes his apprentice’s background in endurance racing is beneficial to riding in races.

“She certainly knows if a horse is not feeling 100 per cent,” the trainer said.

The Krahnen and Palmer team is one that is running smoothly.

The apprentice is yet to ride a winner in 17 attempts for her boss – picking up three minor placings so far – but a victory cannot be far away.

“He is incredibly supportive with balancing my studies and my work load,” Krahnen said of Palmer. 

“I am very grateful for his support.

“With Mark being a former jockey, he says things to me that I would not have known without him when I reflect on some of my race rides.

“It is great to have that perspective to help me develop as a rider with his prior knowledge going through what I have been there.”

While it is only early in her riding journey, Palmer believes Krahnen has already shown her versatility in the saddle and has been able to win races with horses with different racing patterns.  

“She seems to have the ability to make the right choices at the time,” Palmer said.

“You could see her focus change after she rode a few winners. She got the competitive edge after that.”

The high achiever outside of her equine pursuits says being a jockey has been a huge learning curve but she is relishing the challenge.

“I have loved it the more I have got going and it makes me want to be there more,” Krahnen said.

“In some ways it is very similar to endurance racing while we are working over much shorter distances, it is about feeling your horse and getting the happy and travelling.

“I have that element of familiarity in terms of sensing the horses breathing to ensure they are ok. It is something that I have grown a huge love for, race riding.”

Krahnen heads to the Dalby and Northern Downs Jockey Club on Thursday for one ride in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Benchmark 60 Handicap over 1100 metres aboard The Lucky Alien for trainer Greg Cornish.