Leah Gavranich is a remarkable young lady. She is a highly respected and valued member of our team. She is regarded as the queen of multi-tasking, as her role involves everything from track work riding to float driving. The special thing about Leah is, she does it all with a smile and in style.

Leah was born in the town of Derby in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Located on King Sound, Derby is best known for having the highest tides in Australia. It is also a very important base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Leah spent her secondary school years at boarding school in Perth before working on a cattle station for a year. She then worked for Shane Edward's...  

Racing has become a seven day a week operation and “down time” for participants is becoming scarcer by the day. Spending time with family members, particularly children, is naturally the number one priority for most when time allows.

However, the second most popular leisure activity amongst racing industry folk is heading for the nearest golf course and belting a small white ball around eighteen holes.

It doesn’t matter if it is Scone or Sandown, Matamata or Moree, they story is still the same. You will always find a foursome mixture of owners, trainers, jockeys or stable hands somewhere on a course across Australia and New Zealand

The competition is generally...  

When 19 year old James Fitt arrived at the Arrowfield Training Centre several months ago, he bought two friends along with him for company. Thankfully he has kept them in a box for the remaining period as snakes are not the normal guests that are welcomed in a racing stable.

James has been a keen 'snake man' for years and is qualified in handling these rather unusual pets. Naturally he doesn't get too many unwelcome visitors at his unit and girlfriends need to be approved by the reptile duo before they are allowed to get too cosy on the lounge.

James, and the snakes, made the move to Scone from the north-western New South Wales cotton farming town of Narrabri. Both his...  

Confucius once said 'If you find a job you love you will never have to work another day in your life'.

It has to be said that most people involved in the horse racing industry do love their work. It is the only plausible explanation why so many stay attached to it for so long.

The days are long, the rewards don't always equate to effort, frustration and disappointment are common, yet the expectations and dreams remain huge.

In every racing stable around Australia, staff personalities are diverse, assorted and wide-ranging. The Paul Messara team is no different The Messara employees are speckled with many highly intelligent individuals from all corners of the planet.

While...