Then many years later, my older sister, who is based in Melbourne, started competing in fashions in the field competitions and was doing really well. Naturally, I wanted to reclaim my self-appointed title as the fashionista in the family and decided to give the competitions at Ellerslie a go. My first sash was Boxing Day 2018 when I was 5 weeks pregnant, so very memorable. Now working at ATR, I love being on the other side and putting the fashions competitions together.

If you’d like to give a fashion in the field competition a try, go for it. But… definitely do some homework around what to wear and what not to. Various racing/ racing fashion social media accounts are great for this, as well as talking to some of the girls who already compete who are always happy for give newcomers advice (and someone to hang out with on a raceday). Don’t think that you need to spend hundreds of dollars to put an outfit together. You can absolutely put together a winning look on a tight budget. Op shops, hire places, high street stores or even borrowing from friends are all great options or like me, who started competing shortly before maternity leave, pick one or two competitions you’d like to aim for and plan/save for your outfit with plenty of time in advance of the date.