Country racing photographer in focus for award honour

By Andrew Smith

Queensland racing fans would have seen her work, but not many have seen the face behind the camera that has captured some of country racing’s biggest moments for the best part of the last decade.

Roxy Weston is the race day photographer for the majority of clubs in the Central West, snapping images at tracks from Birdsville to Barcaldine, and everywhere in between.

Along with her camera work for RLR Photography, the 34-year-old mother of two also now plays a key role in the administration of the Barcaldine Race Club.

For her dedicated contribution to country racing, Roxy has been named the latest Racing Queensland Cheer A Volunteer winner.

Coming from a racing family, the keen snapper explained how an invitation from long-time administrator and broadcaster Rob Luck eight years ago led to her becoming a regular at country tracks.

“I've been in racing my whole life – my grandfather Clem Pollard was a trainer, my dad Brendan Richardson is a jockey turned trainer, and my sister Brooke was a jockey, so I didn't really get much choice,” Roxy said with a laugh.

“We lived in Windorah for a long time, and I got back into a bit of photography, and Rob Luck invited me to Longreach to take some photos there.

“And it kind of just grew from there - clubs were happy to have me and I was happy to go, and it got me out hanging out with my family and taking photos.

“It kind of grew from that, and then I got involved in Betoota Race Club, and then when we moved over this way to Alpha, I got on the Barcaldine Race Club committee as the secretary.”

Roxy estimates she covers around 50-60,000 kilometres in the car every year driving around the Queensland outback to capture races, crowds and the colour of dozens of meetings.

She will often carpool to race days with jockey Emma Bell who rides the racehorses that Roxy owns alongside husband Kelvin.

Her favourites to photograph over the years have included legendary bush galloper Fab’s Cowboy, the Rodney Little-trained Kakakenny, and former Alpha Cup winner Burden.

The family experienced the thrill of seeing Get What You Give (trained by father Brendan) go around in last year’s Battle of the Bush Final on Tatt’s Tiara Day at Eagle Farm.

But it is seeing country racing participants enjoying success and coming together as a community that provides Roxy with her biggest thrill.

“I just love the people and the stories - we're not winning Group races out here obviously, but seeing the horses and catching up with everyone on the weekend is the best part,” Roxy said.

“I love watching people's stories who have bought a $2,000 horse and winning Cups all year with it.

“I do love the once-a-year meetings too, those communities pour so much time and effort into putting together a race day.

“For a lot of those clubs, it takes all year to get their track ready for four hours of racing and then a big community event that brings everyone to town, and you can catch up with people you haven't seen for six months.”

Roxy also cites seeing apprentice jockeys come out west and scoring their first doubles or trebles in the saddle as another highlight of the gig.

As a regular attendee at country race clubs, she is well-placed to speak to the importance of volunteers in the community.

“All of those clubs, it would not be possible without volunteers,” Roxy said.

“A lot of the volunteers in these small communities are on every committee - they're not just on the race club, but they're on the footy club, the golf club and the P & C.

“It takes a lot of time and energy out of people's day-to-day lives that are already busy, and without volunteers, there would not be country racing.”

It was Luck and fellow race caller and Longreach Jockey Club President Andrew Watts who submitted the award nomination.

Luck said Roxy had set a new standard for capturing the action in the country racing scene.

“At a time when race day images were sadly lacking, Roxy stepped up to the mark to produce life-lasting images capturing the key moments on racecourses,” Luck said.

“Her professional development from these early days has culminated in her professional role at RLR Photography as a great example of how meeting a race day need became a career-defining moment.

“Roxy serves as an outstanding example of a young person in racing who has voluntarily provided an industry standard in an area of need whilst managing a family, a career and driving huge distances.

“Her dedication has been a great example to other photographers to see the value and importance of capturing images on race day, and in that way Roxy has set an industry standard in the Central West and been a pioneer for modern day photography.

“Roxy Weston is truly deserving of recognition as a volunteer in country racing in Queensland.”

Clubs are encouraged to nominate their valued volunteers for the award, which is sponsored by Neil Mansell Transport & Mittys.

State-wide, there are more than 8,300 volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the industry, providing their time and expertise to sustain Queensland’s three codes of racing.

Click here for more information on Cheer A Volunteer and to nominate.