Emerging reinswoman to turn a new page in Tasmania

By Andrew Smith

She may originally hail from south of the Tweed, but Paige Bevan will not knock back the opportunity of competing on the national stage – even if it means representing Queensland.

The young harness driver will don the maroon and gold of the Sunshine State at this weekend’s Australian Female Drivers Championship.

She will be joined by fellow young gun Chloe Butler at the annual series to be held in Launceston this Sunday.

The pair will come up against some of the nation’s most talented harness racing reinswomen, with representatives from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and the host state Tasmania all taking part.

Bevan was born in Wagga Wagga in country New South Wales, but has lived in Queensland since September 2020.

The emerging star joked that it had been slightly tough to agree to line up for her adopted home state.

“I’m a little bit dirty - I definitely would have loved to represent New South Wales, but I’ll take the opportunity if I can represent Queensland,” Bevan said with a laugh.

“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity, and I jumped at it.

“To be honest, I didn’t think that I would be selected so I got really excited when I got the phone call to ask to go down.

“Chloe is a real talented driver, she works really hard so she deserves to be going as well.”

Two drivers from each state will accumulate points over a six-race series, with the driver finishing the series with the most points declared the winner.

Victoria’s Michelle Phillips took home the 2023 crown from the series held at Albion, while the February floods washed out the 2022 edition in Brisbane.

Queensland’s last win in the series came in 2021 when Dannielle Veivers claimed victory, ironically in Launceston.

Bevan is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits when she comes up against the country’s best in the Apple Isle.

“I’ve never been to Launceston, and I’m expecting the cold weather,” Bevan said.

“I’ve been told it rains a lot down there so not too keen on that, but I’m hoping to be able to drive some good horses and have a good experience.

“They’re all really good drivers, I am expecting everyone out there to be doing their best.”

The 22-year-old continues to go from strength to strength in the sulky this season.

She has notched 53 wins for the year so far, already smashing her 2023 record of 33 victories.

Bevan, who also trains in tandem with her driving duties, says her confidence has swelled after being regularly selected by Queensland’s premier trainer Grant Dixon to steer some of his pacers.

“To be honest it makes me feel a bit special - obviously there’s so many good drivers out there, but for Grant to give me the opportunity makes me feel very grateful,” Bevan said.

“I would probably have to say my main role models would be Grant and Trista Dixon, just because I like the style that they drive and a lot of hard work they put into their horses as well.

“Of the things I have learned, patience is a big one - in a race or even just working with the horses in general.”

Bevan has been involved in the sport since she could walk.

Grandfather Claude and father Chris were both in the harness racing caper, and she was competing in Mini Trots from a young age.

Leaving school at the end of Grade 10, Bevan worked for multiple Group 1-winning trainer Bernie Kelly for just over a year, before young trainer/driver Jonah Hutchinson offered her a job as part of his stable in Queensland.

Four years later, the pair are now engaged and are based at Hutchinson’s 15-acre property at Logan Village.

Hutchinson said Bevan’s selection for the national series was a just reward for her commitment to the code.

“She works hard and she’s out here every morning working her butt off, and she’s at the races every day, she’s helping people and she really deserves something like this,” Hutchinson said.

“She tries her heart out and it’s good to see her rewarded.

“I’m really proud - it’s a good opportunity for her to show off how talented she is because she probably doesn’t get enough credit.

“The horses that we have are not expensive - we have those $2000/$3000 horses that just fly under the radar and if I have one that’s not performing to its best and I put her on it, it does find a few extra gears.

“So it’ll be interesting if she can get those horses down there to do the same thing she’s done for me.”

The pair currently have 14 horses in work, and usually rise at 4:30am every day to feed and care for their pacers.

With no training track at the property, they often load up their float and make the trek to the Dixon’s property at Tamborine to give their horses a run.

On top of that, there is racing five or six times a week at Albion, Redcliffe and Marburg.

Being together 24/7 has its pros and cons for the young couple, who believe they have found the right balance between working and living together.

“Some days it can be hard to put up with him, but it’s all good,” Bevan said with a laugh.

“We get to be a lot closer than most people, and we spend all day together - I love it.

“I’d have to say our favourite successes have been where we buy horses from the sale, because we break them in and do everything with them and when they win a race it feels extra special – Boston Harbour was one of them.”

Hutchinson added: “It’s not too bad, we disagree on things and she doesn’t like it because I can be quite particular about how things are done and make sure everything gets done perfectly and the tiny little jobs get done.

“It sometimes might frustrate her but we never end up mad at each other, we always go to bed happy and loving.

“It’s just good to be in a relationship with someone that you can just spend your life with and spend your love of the horses with and training together.”

Hutchinson himself is enjoying an outstanding year in the dual role, closing in on the half-century mark of wins as both a trainer and driver.

Despite a slow start to 2024, the 25-year-old remains on track to post career-best figures.

“We didn’t train a winner for the first three months with horses spelling and what not, but we’ve really finished the year strong and caught back up to our goals,” Hutchinson said.

“Our goal is to train a winner a week, and we’ve met that mark and the horses are racing really well.

“I think just each year the goal is try to be a little bit better than what we were, but if I can train a winner a week, I’m stoked.”

With such a busy schedule, wedding plans for the couple are on the back burner for the moment.

Their first priority is finding a property where they can expand their training operation and start competing at a higher level.

“In the next year, I really want to be situated somewhere else - I love this place, but it’s probably not the five-star horse place that we want,” Hutchinson said.

“It does the job, I can’t complain - we’re pumping out winners and the horses are racing consistently.

“But it would just be nice to have an establishment that you can be proud of and really make a name for yourself from.

“We more just wanted to get a property rather than putting money into a wedding…but it’ll definitely be in the next year or two and I think Paige will be happy with that.”