Paddy Payne, the patriarch of a racing family, died at home on Tuesday at the age of 90. Michelle Payne, one of his 10 children, recalled a story from her first day of secondary school in 1998 where she was initially unenrolled due to her father's forgetfulness. This moment, which could have been distressing for a 13-year-old Michelle, turned out to be a minor hiccup as the school staff quickly rectified the issue and found her a classroom. Eight of Paddy Payne's children went on to become jockeys, with several others following in his footsteps as trainers or involved in racing.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Of all the stories told about racing patriarch Paddy Payne, few better encapsulated the loving, chaotic nature of his life than the day he dropped off youngest daughter Michelle for her first day of secondary school.
asserted
he → tell → school
It was one of his forgetful moments – a memory lapse that could be brought on by running farms, training horses and raising 10 rowdy kids.
uncertain
that → bring → kids
A moment that would happen almost 30 years before his peaceful death at home on Tuesday at the age of 90.
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that → happen → 90
The year was 1998, and Michelle, not long turned 13, was following in her sisters’ footsteps.
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Michelle → turn → footsteps
They, too, had gone to Ballarat’s Loreto College.
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They → go → College
But soon after her father drove in from Miners Rest and dropped her at the school gates, Michelle was hit by a confronting reality: no one could find her name on the classroom lists.
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one → drive → lists
Confused, she went to the front office with a friend.
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she → go → friend
There she was told she hadn’t been enrolled.
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she → tell → ?
“I started to get a bit sad and was nearly crying, and they’re like, ‘don’t cry, it’s okay.
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it → start → ?
We’ll call your dad’,” Michelle told The Age last year.
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Michelle → call → Age
“And they ring dad, who is home by this stage after dropping us off, and they said, ‘Oh, we’re just here with your daughter, Mr Payne, we just have a problem: You haven’t enrolled her’.
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You → ring → her
“And he was like, ‘Ah, haven’t I?’ Because I could hear him.
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I → have → him
He’s always louder over the phone speaker.
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He → ’ → speaker
And he goes, ‘Oh, sorry about that’.
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he → go → that
“They’re like, ‘Oh, that’s alright.
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that → ’re → ?
We’ll try and find her a spot’.
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We → try → spot
So they found me a classroom.
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they → find → classroom
Thank God they understood, you know, because he was doing his best – a single parent raising 10 kids.”
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he → thank → kids
Born in Hawera in South Taranaki, New Zealand, Payne’s best turned out to be pretty good.
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Payne → bear → Taranaki
His life was upended in 1986 when his wife, Mary, was killed in a car accident near Ballarat.
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wife → upend → Ballarat
But the patriarch wanted to keep the family together and decided to raise the children on his own.
“My dad always talked about her to me, always told me what a beautiful lady she was,” Michelle recalled in an interview when she was 24.
“It was probably hard for the older kids who remembered her to talk about her.
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who → want → her
They had their memories they kept to themselves.
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they → have → themselves
Dad used to tell me every day how lucky he was.
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he → use → me
I think it was good for him to get it out, but it was good for me too.”
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it → think → me
Under Payne’s guidance, the family would go on to leave an indelible mark on the sport of racing.
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family → go → racing
Eight of the 10 kids would become jockeys – Brigid, Bernadette, Therese, Patrick, Andrew, Maree, Cathy and Michelle.
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kids → become → ?
Only Margaret and Stevie would not ride in a race.
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Margaret → ride → race
Patrick, Andrew and Michelle would later become trainers like their father.
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Patrick → become → father
“He passed away peacefully in his sleep, early this morning at home, he got to have his dying wish,” daughter Therese said in a family statement on Thursday.
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Therese → pass → Thursday
“We feel he had a great life, and we were happy he was comfortable.
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he → feel → life
We hope he’s joined our mum and brother and sisters.”
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he → hope → mum
The Paynes lost son Michael in 1985, three days after he was born.
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he → lose → 1985
Eldest sister Brigid died in 2007 from a heart attack, six months after a bad track work fall, while the family lost second-eldest daughter Bernadette in March last year.
Mercifully, there were high points in between.
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family → die → between
Patrick Jr won the 2002 Cox Plate on Northerly and Michelle would create history by becoming the first woman to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2015.
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Michelle → win → 2015
Michelle’s trailblazing exploits would be captured in the film Ride Like a Girl.
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exploits → capture → Girl
Her father was portrayed by the late, great Kiwi actor Sam Neill, while his youngest son Stevie would play himself, the strapper of Prince Of Penzance.
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son → portray → Penzance
Michelle rode her first winner as a 15-year-old on her father’s horse Reigning in front of her cheering schoolmates at Ballarat.
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Michelle → ride → Ballarat
Soon after the victory, her father suggested she chuck it in and go back to school.
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she → suggest → school
“For the first six months, Dad was saying, ‘You just don’t seem to have it.
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You → say → it
All the other kids showed a little bit of potential...’,” Michelle said.
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Michelle → show → potential
…and 24 more, not listed.
