LEGENDARY harness racing driver and horse trainer Alice Laidlaw has been inducted into the Harness Racing Victoria's Hall of Fame.
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Born in 1894 in Deniliquin, New South Wales, Laidlaw became an Ararat local after moving to The Hill near Green Hill Lake with husband Adam Alexander in early adulthood, where she lived until her death in 1947.
She is one of seven and is the only woman to be inducted in 2019.
After she died, the Alice Laidlaw Memorial Trophy for lady riders over 18 at the Royal Melbourne Show was commenced in her honour, which is still featured today.
Granddaughter Jane Thomas was invited to accept the award on November 8.
Watch Jane Thomas accept the award:
"I feel extremely honoured that they have put her in there and that I was invited along to accept the award," she said.
"It was a special night."
Thomas still resides in Ararat and said although she never got to meet her grandmother, she grew up with stories of Laidlaw's trailblazing ways.
"She was just an amazing person," Thomas said.
"She was the first woman to ride astride in Ireland after the hounds - this is going back to the early 1900s when most women rode side saddle.
"She rode with King George.
"She trained, drove and rode her trotters against the men and won.
"She also trained gallopers. She loved her show horses and would go out and win champion hack with a horse and then turn around and win the high jump event with the same horse - she did everything and was extremely good at it. She was renowned.
"She rode in all the royal shows - Sydney, Melbourne - she judged everywhere as well.
"Her ability to judge a horse was such that she might see a horse in a paddock that you or I would say is just any old horse, but she would say 'he'll be good, make no mistake', and then she'll call him No Mistake."
Among harness horses that she owned, trained and rode or drove were Mountain Derby, Dane Grey, Wonga Grattan, Plain Grattan, Miss Keewong, and Wong Derby the dam of the Ararat and Mildura Cup winner and later sire, Efficiency.
"Her horses did everything," Thomas said.
The Hall of Fame was established in 2009 and a total of 90 members have been inducted, including horses.
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