Dr Duddy, an equine vet who runs Riverbank Farm in Benalla in conjunction with her husband, was one of ten mentors in the program, which is in its second year.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Duddy’s love of horses has taken her around the world and she was keen to share her experience of working with thoroughbreds with her group of mentees, who were drawn from across the Victorian racing industry.
Monday’s graduation event was a bittersweet moment for Duddy, who was proud of the strides the group had made under her and co-mentor Gavin Corcoran’s combined guidance, but sad that the program had run its course.
“It was quite sad to go our separate ways,” she revealed.
“We’ve become a very close unit over the past months, and we’ve already made plans to meet up again soon.
“It was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience, and as a mentor I took as much from it as the mentees. It was very satisfying to see them all grow and develop their skills and confidence, and I’m sure they learned a lot about themselves.
“They already had the tools needed to further their careers and go far in the industry, our job as mentors was just to give them the courage and confidence to use those skills.”
The most nerve-wracking moment for Duddy was her poetry recital, which saw the Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria committee member far removed from her comfort zone.
“I do lots of public speaking so normally it doesn’t bother me, but I did get quite nervous about reading out my poem,” she admitted.
“I certainly won’t win any poetry prizes and I won’t be giving up the day job, but I thought it was a nice way to sum up my feelings about my time in the mentoring program.
“It was a great initiative by Racing Victoria and Tabcorp, and hopefully it makes a real difference to the people who took part in it. It would have given some of the male mentors an insight into the roles females play in the industry, and hopefully they benefitted from it just as much as the women they were mentoring.
“We had lots of open, honest discussions and encouraged our mentees to share their experiences of working in the industry. I’m sure some of them will go on to become mentors themselves in the near future.”
- This year the Women’s Mentoring Program, a joint initiative between Racing Victoria and Tabcorp, was expanded and run in conjunction with the ‘No Barriers, No Limits’ Steering Committee. A joint working party between RV, Country Racing Victoria, Australian Trainers’ Association, Victorian Jockeys’ Association and Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria, the steering committee is aimed at fostering female participation in the Victorian thoroughbred racing industry.