After 20 years in the saddle at the trots, Kathy Gray has hung up the reins for the last time after an incredible career as one of WA’s best harness racing clerk and catchers with her trusty equine partner, Jimmy.
As she approaches 70 years of age, Gray made the decision to retire so that she could spend more time doing what she loves, and also because she doesn’t bounce like she used to.
“I started when I was 50, which is late to start at that sort of job, but if I have a fall, it takes me twice as long to get over it, and I just feel like it’s time to do other things. Gary still has a couple of horses in work, and we want to do a little bit of caravanning and things that we haven’t done because we’ve been tied down with horses.”
It was only by chance that she made the decision to pursue this risky but fulfilling career path; after offering to keep Judy Pope company on her drive to Narrogin one night back in the early 2000’s, Judy convinced her to bring her horse as well
“She (Judy) was doing Narrogin and Wagin on her own, because back then you only had one clerk, and Bill used to go with her, but it got a bit much for him and she was going for a run on her own, so I thought I’ll come for a run with you and keep you company in the car.
“And she said bring your horse, and I said are you sure. And it started from there. She taught me what to do and then she went to America and through me in the deep end, so there was a method in her madness.
“We used to chare the meetings, and I used to do the gallops with her, but I gave that up two or three years ago now.”
Whilst she may only be seen with Jimmy these days, Kathy has had five or six different clerk horses over the years, with three still ornaments in her paddock, one being 29 years old, but it truly is a partnership, and Jimmy does hold a special place in her heart.
“I was at Perth races, and I was clerking, and I saw him race and he ran last, and he was a real steel grey, and he looked quiet, and Jimmy Taylor had him and he said I could have him.
“He must have foot problems, because they had a special shoe on him and they ripped the shoes off of him, so when I got him, it took me a few months to get his feet right, but from there on, it went on.”
Jimmy was a trots special after only making an appearance a couple of times at Larkhill trials, with Kathy making mention he was much more tolerable of the trotters and their antics on race day.
“When you lead gallopers, if their horse bites yours and yours retaliates, they’re likely to kick them and you can’t kick the thoroughbreds.
“Jimmy bites the trotters back if they push him, but he’s pretty good.”
With plenty of catches in her 20-year career, it’s hard to pinpoint the one that is most memorable, but Kathy Gray has fond memories of the Harvey Harness Racing Club and the time she spent there clerking and catching over the years.
“I had the couple in the one race, I caught two and kept the race going, and at Wagin one night, there was three, Emalee was out there, and I caught one and gave it to her and went on to catch the others.
“But you always had fun at Harvey.”
Travelling to the outer tracks such as Wagin and Narrogin makes the job the hardest, with the late nights and the back up the following day always a harder recovery, but they’re an integral part of race day and the meetings cannot go on without them.
The clerks and catchers are the unsung heroes of the meetings and often have to have multiple horses in work to ensure they’ve always got a horse ready for race day.
“Judy’s got five or six and I had two on the go, because they’re like racehorses, they hurt themselves, when you need them and you go out to get them, they’ve got a sore leg and you think ‘what am I going to do?’ because you let the clubs down if you cant get there and a lot of people are relying on you to get there.
The clerk horses are a special breed, often having to deal with pushy horses, noisy carts and sometimes even carts travelling on their side, they have to be brave enough to get into the mix of things to get the job done.
“The one at Narrogin the other night, I couldn’t go in a grab it because it was going to go over the rail, the cart was banging along the fence, even when I caught it, it must have slipped its crupper because the hopples came down and it stumbled, and pulled out of my hand and I caught it a little bit further up.
“I had to laugh because Kevin (Bailey) had his helmet on ready to drive the horse back and I said you won’t be driving this one back, Kev.
“I’ve enjoyed working with the starters, Kevin and Keith and the new chaps that are on now, it’s a good atmosphere.
“We all worked in together, if one of us missed something, the other would pick it up and vice versa.
“Theres a bit more involved in it, fair enough you have to catch, but we still had to make sure drivers had the right colours and numbers on, because if they go out, they get fined $100, so we try to pick that up before they go out there.”
As Jimmy approaches 20 years-old, the pair will now enjoy the occasional ride together, but Kathy is now looking forward to the next chapter of her and Gary’s life, although they will still be regulars around the trots with their racehorses.
Judy Pope and Kathy Gray at Narrogin.
Images: Photography by Jodie Hallows
Ashleigh Paikos