Page 22 - August/September 2008 The Game
P. 22

22 The Game, August/September 2008 Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper Outside the Jocks’ Room...with Melanie Giddings. By Michelle Rainford
Summer is quickly marching on and I can’t say I’m disappointed. For the  rst time in my life I am wishing the days away so I can be closer to next year and getting ready to ride again. That being said, I realize another month has passed and I need to  nd another jockey to interview. Luckily, pressure is one thing I handle well. In fact I’m not sure that with- out a deadline I would ever get this interview done. It was the same in school, many nights working furiously to  nish an eight page essay with only hours left before I had to hand it in to my professor. It must be where I am most comfortable, feeling the squeeze. But I’m not here to talk about me, I’m here to tell you about a jockey and this month Melanie Giddings was nice enough to volunteer.
dif cult to focus on the task at hand, that, and the fact that Melanie and I got off topic many times. For anyone that hasn’t met her, Melanie
has the kind of personality everyone
likes, positive, happy, and she has
a laugh that immediately makes
you want to laugh too. Needless to
say we laughed lots over the next
couple of hours and I found out
several things I hadn’t known about
her before.
pony. I want a pony. I want a pony.’”
She sheepishly told me “I used to pretend I was a horse. My friend and I used
I met Melanie at her apartment where she had
a surprise for me, a tiny eight week old puppy. A mixture of Boston Terrier and Miniature Schnau- zer and just about the cutest puppy I have ever seen (except my own, of course). Let me tell you, interviewing someone when there is a puppy taking away your concentration makes it very
Melanie was born on December 2, 1983 in Coburg, just east of Oshawa. The young- est of four children, I asked her to describe her family for me.
later than her siblings, “and I wasn’t really close with my family until more recently.”
Turns out Melanie had nothing to be embarrassed about. When I was a kid my sisters and I always took turn pretending to be a horse and also set up jumping courses. Melanie eventually did get her own horse and competed in eventing and showjumping. When she was seventeen she got a hotwalking job at the racetrack to help pay for her horse. The weekend job turned into full-
“I was the oddball of the
family. My sister and brothers were
all really good at school and always
tried to be proper, but not me. I
think I was sort of the ‘accident,’” she says with a laugh, referring to the fact that she was born so much
time as an exercise rider when she  nished high school and she has been at the track ever since.
Melanie at home overlooking the Humber River with her new puppy
to set up jumps and everything. But at least I know why I have such sore knees now. My parents never let me live it down.”
Melanie seems to be a very carefree person, but she is not without aspirations.
~ CTHS Select Sale ~
Hip 11 - Eurosilver - Miss Prado - F Hip 45 - Alke - Queenship - F
# 46 - Storm Boot - Raphael Rose - C
# 81-FiveStarDay-SkipLightly-C
#113 - Burning Roma - Wild Bubbles - F
#138 - Eurosilver - Basta Barbara - F
#168 - Kafwain - Design Queen - C
#210 - Victory Gallop - Imaginary Monarch - C #218 - Pollard’s Vision - Jovite - F
~ Keeneland September Sale ~
Lion Heart - Patience Please - F Strong Hope - Alycheer - C
Book 4
Consolidator - Hold The Spirit - C Dixie Union - Sago - C
Forest Danger - Social Woman - F Limehouse - Miami Dreams - C Medaglia D’Oro - Jo Zak - F Touch Gold - All That’s True - F
Book 3
Book 3 Book 3 Book 4 Book 4 Book 4 Book 4
For Additional Information
or to View Yearlings Contact:
Arika Everatt-Meeuse
Tel: 519.631.9346 Cell: 519.871.9347
....a great place to grow up
Melanie told me how her family didn’t have much money, “but my parents did everything so that I could have the things I wanted.”
“I really want to do well as a jockey. But mostly
I want to be comfortable in life. I don’t want to struggle like my parents did. I want to be able to live the life I want to live.” Would she change anything about herself, I asked.
I could hear the appreciation in her voice as she described some of the things her parents did for her. When I asked her what had brought her closer to her parents she told me her dad got really sick a few years ago.
“My height would be one thing. It’s really hard being so tall and keeping your weight down. If I was short, I could eat whatever,” she said.
“Turns out he had pneumonia and was rushed to the hospital. He died three times and was brought back before we were allowed to see him. It was eleven months before he was better. My dad told me he saw his mom (who has passed away). I really believe in that stuff, ghosts and paranormal things,” she said.
I disagree with her on that one a little, being quite short myself. But I’ll let her keep that fantasy. To wrap up our interview I wanted to know if there was anything she wanted people to know about her-
We talked about Melanie’s involvement in horses from a young age.
self. Melanie was very uncomfortable for a bit and answered awkwardly “my whole life I’ve been told I’m beautiful. Even when I was a kid I was called ‘the pretty one’ by my grandmother. But I’m not that person. If I wasn’t pretty my life would be no different. I work as hard as anyone else does and it has nothing to do with my looks. And I’m de nitely
“I was so obsessed with horses, every Christmas when I was a kid it was ‘I want a
not a girly-girl.” Indeed as
Melanie’s friend,
I have person-
ally seen how hard she works and how tough she is mentally. At this point we  nished the interview and
I shut off the tape recorder, but I stayed for a while longer, playing with the puppy and chatting
about all kinds of things and I real- ized what a great person Melanie is. I wish her luck not only as a jockey, but in whatever she chooses to do.
~ WALLACE THOROUGHBREDS ~
Offers the following Outstanding 2008 Yearlings
W Hip 284 - Tejano Run - Reputed Style by Silver Deputy - Filly Dam of 2 foals to race, both winners -
Reputed Deeds, 12 wins, 4 to 7, 2008, (Total: $172,780)
Northern Whiskey - MSW winner in his 1st start at 3, 2005, (Total: $33,175)
WERK NICK RATING B+ (+109%)
(based on the CARO - DEPUTY MINISTER cross) 5-Generation Inbreeding: RAISE A NATIVE - 5m x 5m
W Hip 311 - Mr. Jester - Stradocaster by Brave Shot - Colt Dam of 4 winners including -
Wolverine, 3 wins, 2 to 5, $180,660, 3rd Blazing Sevens Stake Flashy n’ Bold, winner at 3 and 4, $59,124
WERK NICK RATING A (+417%)
(based on the SILVER DEPUTY - BOLD BIDDER cross) 5 - Generation Inbreeding: MR. PROSPECTOR - 4f, 4m x
NASRULLAH - x 5m, 5m
W Hip 269 - Peaks And Valleys - Prudent by Kiridashi - Colt (unraced 1/2 sister to Reputed Deeds, 12 wins).
This is her 3rd foal, her second foal; Louie The Liar is a 3-year-old in 2008.
~ A breeder providing quality individuals for the Canadian Yearling Sales ~ 905-723-5179
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