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Pam O'Neill fought her way into the male dominated jockey world with perseverance, leading the way for female jockeys to ride as equals to men.

Pam saddled up in a professional race for the first time in 1979, becoming Australia's first female to ride out on to the track with the boys.

At a time when the women's movement was only beginning to gain momentum, Pam was finally issued her jockey's licence, age 34, after 14 years of campaigning and proving she could ride as well as her male counterparts.

Pam knew she could mix it with the best and came out of the gates with a bang, winning three races in her debut with the males. She backed up her form the following week with another three winners, well and truly cementing the path for female jockeys.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Angela Jones grew up on a property between Charters Towers and Clermont and now rides winners on the biggest race tracks in Australia.

Winner of the 2022/2023 Metropolitan Apprentice Jockey Premiership, Angela out rode her claim on the last day of the season. Stepping up to being a senior jockey, Angela has new goals and a lot of things to tick off her bucket list.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Tyler Leslight won the 2022/2023 Country Apprentice Jockey Premiership.

With the new season underway, Tyler has new goals. Two months in, he is already on the way to achieving them.

There are a lot of things jockeys need to think about during a very short period of time to get a race win. Tyler shares what happens in that minute or so on track, how he finesses his skills and the hoops he had to jump through to get his licence. 

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Four friends who love fashion, coming together to celebrate country racing and fashions on the field. Sounds like a hoot!

Central West and Western Queenslanders Jacquettaa Arnold, Georgina Fernie, Courtney Bylett and Sarah Taylor enjoy participating in fashions on the field so much, they created Red Dirt in Heels to share their love with the rest of us.

Jacquettaa and Sarah tell us how the four met, why they started their instagram page and how country racing is more important than just racing and fashions.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Toby Fitchett is the self proclaimed Duke of the Downs, and we love him for it.

Toby grew up in a racing family, with days out at the races just part of life for him from a very young age.

Fashions on the Field (FOTF) took Toby's eye in his teenage years, and he has competed here and there ever since. Toby always makes an effort to look good at the races, and has even turned his hand to judging FOTF competitions.

Toby also holds his strappers licence, so he's either strutting his stuff on the catwalk, admiring others strutting their stuff on the catwalk, or "waddling" (his word) around the mounting yard.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Back in 2011 when social media wasn't the norm, and Fashions on the Field (FOTF) wasn't as prominent as it is now, Emma Scodellaro started It's All About the Sash.

Emma saw a gap in the FOTF circle, wanting a one stop place to promote upcoming FOTF events, admire competitors outfits, educate participants on FOTF etiquette, and inspire more people to take part in the concept.

It's All About the Sash has become a social media phenomenon, creating and sharing hundreds of posts weekly across both Instagram and Facebook. Emma also shares her FOTF wisdom on itsallabouthesash.com

In that 12 year period, FOTF event numbers have ballooned, competitor numbers have strengthened and small country race meet fashions are now on par with their city counterparts, as is the prize money.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Tash Ferrif moved from Sydney to North West Queensland to chase cows. She's living the dream.

Tash enjoys the North's social scene and attends local race meets across the district, where she noticed Fashions on the Field (FOTF).

A bit of a fashion lover, Tash decided to give FOTF a go. Despite the nerves, Tash enjoys jumping on the catwalk and has taken home a few wins. She might have even caught the fashions' bug.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

A country race meet wouldn't be complete without a bustling bookie's ring. 

You'll find bookmaker Denis Comerford at every race meet in North West Queensland. No matter the crowd size or the weather, Mr Comerford rarely misses a meet.

Mr Comerford has seen huge changes in his time on course, from full manual recording and teams of five or more per bookmaker, to being at the forefront of introducing technology to the betting ring. 

The stories Mr Comerford recalls will give you a good chuckle.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Ray Smith is known widely across the racing industry in North West Queensland. 

Despite being a steward, in charge of race meetings every weekend and ensuring everyone sticks to the rules, Mr Smith has created friendships in every town he has officiated in.

In the police force for 40 years, it made sense that Mr Smith would become a steward upon retirement from from the Force.

Very recently retired from his role as a race day steward,  Mr Smith recalls many stories from his 20 plus years in the racing industry.

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

The initials K.B. are synonymous with country racing in Queensland.

Keith Ballard has been riding for 55(ish) years, celebrating his 70th birthday on race day at Corfield.

He's had over 9,300 race day rides and has well over 1,700 wins. 

Keith Ballard is one of the most geniuine blokes you'll ever met, and North West Queensland is privileged to have had him as a leading rider for decades.  

After years of snippets of conversations with Keith on race day, it was great to be able to sit down and chat at length about his career as a jockey. 

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Sedan Dip celebrated 75 years in 2023, and it was another brilliant weekend.

Formed in 1948, Sedan Dip Sports and Recreation Club began a race meet. Campdrafting and rodeo was added in later years.

Racing has taken various forms over the years, with the excitement of sprint racing drawing a crowd these days. This year's Sedan Dip Cup was hotly contested.

Events like Sedan Dip don't just happen, it takes hours of hard work from the committee and a lot of forethought by previous committees to ensure continous improvement. 

Today we hear from Committee Member Luke Spreadborough and President Jake Webster.

You'll also hear from Tenneil Cody, whose family have strong country racing and Sedan Dip ties, and Shauna Royes, who was one of the first female jockeys and whose grandfather was a founding member of the concept.

Emmy Gallagher tells us what it's like to be a bush sprint jokey, and trainer Troy Gallagher relives winning three consecutive Sedan Dip Cups. 

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back next Saturday.

 MORE THAN MAIL IS BACK!

It's been a while between episodes, but the wait is over. 

Have a listen to catch all the details. 

More Than Mail is proudly brought to you by Brodie Agencies, McKinlay.

Contact Jim Brodie on 0427468713 or Lachy Smith on 0401168915. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

It's a big task to bring a State Conference of any description as remote as Julia Creek. But hard work and determination saw the convening comittee get the 2023 ICPA QLD State Conference conference over the line. 

Today we hear from those who put in the work to bring it all together, some of the guest speakers who travelled far to deliver their message, local ICPA members who tell us what ICPA gives to them, and Julia Creek's newest Life Member. 

We also hear from those ICPA is all about - the kids. 

Find out more about the ICPA.

Find out more about Julia Creek ICPA.

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Julia Creek played host the 2023 QLD ICPA State Conference. And after talking all things education advocacy in Ep. 20 | Advocating for education with Kimberley Wilson, I went along to see what it was all about.

In More Than Mail's first two part podcast, I speak to the organisers of the Conference, local ICPA members - current and past, and hear from State Concillors, as well as some special guests.

I knew very little about ICPA and so we go back to basics, and hear from a lot of passionate people. 

Isolated Children's education is in good hands.

Find out more about the ICPA.

Find out more about Julia Creek ICPA.

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Thursday.

Educating kids in regional and rural Australia requires policy makers to understand the different and specific needs of the children learning.

From maintaining teacher accommodation to internet accessibility, education can look very different in the country. And that's where the Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) comes in. 

Kimberley Wilson from Rutchillo Station is the current Julia Creek ICPA President, and a passionate advocate for education across the board.

When I caught up with Kimberley she was busy working on the upcoming ICPA State Conference, to be hosted in Julia Creek. 

We talked about education, wet season shenanigans, heading to boarding school in year one, volunteering, the importance of art and craft and living with loss.

Find out more about the ICPA.

Find out more about Julia Creek ICPA.

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

Carol Real and husband Don took up Carodon in 1968, drawing it in a ballot.

Originally part of Eulolo, Carodon had very little infrastructure when the Reals moved there, and so they literally had to start from scratch.

After 51 years, the Reals sold Carodon in 2019 and moved to Mt Isa.

The postcode changed three times while the Reals were at Carodon, receiving their mail orginally from the Gilliat post office (postcode 4830), then from McKinlay post office (postcode 4816) and finally Julia Creek post office (postcode 4823).

Carol tells me Carodon was hard work, but a lot of fun at the same time. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Thursday.

Emigrating to Australia as Ten Pound Poms, Sheila Edwards and her husband Ken uprooted their lives to start the first of their big adventures. With their two year old daughter in tow.

Sheila tells us about how she went from Devon, England, to Postmistress in McKinlay, Qld during the 1980s. Population 50.

And I could never have guessed that Queen Elizabeth II would play a role in a story on More Than Mail, but today we hear how The Queen interupts true love.

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Thursday.

Shannon Rae is not currently on the mail run. But her epsiode more than belongs on a Thursday as she's been on the mail run on three seperate occasions, at three different properties.

Shannon has also been on three of the seven mail runs that leave from Julia Creek. We should probably investigate to see if anyone can beat her! 

Plus, she's still a part of our mail run book club.

Shannon has been flooded in at her home at Claraville, Croydon, for months in 2023 but did give me some of her time when she finally escaped by chopper.

We talked about mail a lot - which I loved! And how Shannon came to visit for one week, drank the water, and is still here 20 years later. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Monday.

The McKinlay Shire is big. 10,000 square kilometres or so. And the mail run covers the southern part of the Shire. 

Today I chat with Luke Spreadborough, from Spoonbill. Spoonbill is the northern end of the McKinlay Shire, over 300kms away from some of the properties I carry mail for.

I and Luke talk about our loose connection - Sedan Dip, him being president of Julia Creek Campdraft, kids, campdrafting for fun and water skiing. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Thursday.

Gaining experience across a really wide cross section of the agricultural industry, Lachy Smith has spent time working with sheep, cattle, cropping and in an agricultural analytics team.

Now at Redland Park, Lachy tells me about growing up with extended family in mixed farming, working for a foreign investment company, and making the move from NSW to Queensland.

Lachy once got two pairs of the same shoe, in different sizes, brought out on the mail. He tried on both pairs right there and then, and returned the shoe that didn't fit via the mail. This is an absolute highlight of the mail run! Not many people can get mailbox shoe service. 

You can follow More Than Mail adventures on Instagram, on Facebook, or at morethanmail.com.au 

Or, you can send me an email hello@morethanmail.com.au

More Than Mail will be back on Monday.