Michelle Payne took the Melbourne Cup on tour. This is what it meant to the people of Ballarat

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Racing icon Michelle Payne took the Melbourne Cup and her history-making horse Prince Of Penzance on a whirlwind tour of her home town on Thursday as the countdown to the 10th anniversary of her famous victory ticked lower.

It was a decade ago on that first Tuesday in November that Payne smashed the glass ceiling for women in sport by becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, a feat that still resonates around the country.

Michelle Payne with the Melbourne Cup trophy and Prince Of Penzance, who she rode to victory in the 2015 race.

She became a national icon and her heroics inspired the movie Ride Like A Girl.

But Payne has not forgotten her humble beginnings, the youngest of 10 raised by a single dad.

A young Michelle Payne at Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School as a youngster.

On Thursday, she mixed with patients at Ballarat Base Hospital, inspired 150 year nine students at her old high school, Loreto College, and answered questions at Miners Rest Primary School and Ballarat College’s Mount Rowan Campus.

She was taking part in the Victoria Racing Club’s annual Melbourne Cup tour, which has been on the road since June as it snakes its way back to Flemington for the race that stops a nation.

This masthead trailed Payne on her Ballarat tour and spoke to the people that she continues to inspire.

She spoke about Prince of Penzance, now 16, and how he was exceptional from the very first.

“I was just absolutely blown away from the very first moment I rode him ... I tried to follow Prince Of Penzance all around the state. I rode him in every sort of workout he had, every trial, every race,” she said,

“He himself had a lot of injuries. He had to overcome four different surgeries. He had surgery on his joints just with racing and the pressure of keeping fit. Before he won the Melbourne Cup he nearly died of colic. He was on the operating table with his whole intestines out on the table, trying to find a blockage. So he really was amazing to come back from one, let alone four surgeries.

Payne with students from Miners Rest Primary School on the Melbourne Cup tour on Thursday.

“On the day, the stars aligned. He was absolutely flying going into the race. And everything unfolded for us as the race unfolded. It was one of the most magical days that you can imagine.”

Payne made quite the impression on schoolkids on Thursday.

Bonnie from Miners Rest Primary School was excited to meet someone famous. “I have heard that she [Michelle] rides past my house,” Bonnie said. “I know Stevie [Payne], he rides his quad bike down there. I’ve seen him ride the quad bike with a horse tied on it.”

Former Loreto student Payne and current student Helena Ollerenshaw.

Payne is a former student at Loreto College, a school Helena Ollerenshaw attends.

“She was really nice, very friendly,” Ollerenshaw said. “I actually watched the movie, like most people, and I didn’t realise that she was in hospital and things like that. So it came as a bit of a surprise. I don’t really know too much about racing, but I find it interesting watching. I generally watch the Melbourne Cup.”

Poppy Le Grand, also a Loreto student, rides herself and looked to Payne for advice and inspiration after taking a fall.

“I look up to her, especially after my fall. I had so many questions to ask her, and, yeah, it was just so amazing to see her. I was out on cross-country, just training on one of my horses, and he spooked, and I fell off and landed on one leg. So, yeah, broke my femur seven months ago, but we’re on the up now,” Le Grand said.

Poppy Le Grand (far left), Ellie Fraser, Penny Halsall, Payne, Audrey Lewis, Emmie McMahon and Ollerenshaw admire the Cup.

“I asked her if she struggles with confidence and how she overcomes it. She said, ‘yeah’, for a bit she did after one of her falls. She really struggled with confidence after that, so she recommended seeing a sports psychologist, and they gave her lots of tips, including having a ‘word’ to say to herself, which I think’s a really good idea. I’m definitely going to be trying that. I’ve never seen the physical running of the Cup, but I’ve watched the race every single year. My grandfather is quite involved with racing, so it’s amazing.”

Payne also made a stop at Ballarat Base Hospital, where 22-year-old Gabrielle Holcombe is a patient.

“I was telling her, in 2015 we had a Melbourne Cup party, and our parents would let the kids bet on a horse, and I bet on her, and I won $150. And everyone was like, ‘Don’t bet on that one, it’s not gonna win’. I was like, ‘Yes, it is’. And it did.”

Imogen and Gabrielle Holcombe with Payne and the Cup.

Gabrielle’s twin sister Imogen, who is also a patient, said: “She’s just so inspiring, and I have always looked up to her. It was really special to meet her. I didn’t back her. I think I bet on a horse called Jellybean or something.”

Gary Walters, also a patient at Ballarat Base Hospital, lives just down the road from the Payne family. “It was very nice [to meet her]. She’s a lovely person. I have followed the Payne family and racing.”

Payne visits Gary Walters, a patient at Ballarat Base Hospital.

Rosie Currie brought her three-year-old daughter Claire in to meet Michelle and hold the Cup.

“I’m originally from Birchip, so I’ve been here in Ballarat since 2012 and it’s pretty special,” Currie said. “It’s amazing that a local girl, and the odds that the horse started, that they were able to come through and win. It’s a pretty special local connection.”

Michelle Payne with Claire, 3, who came to Ballarat Base Hospital to see the Cup.

Payne’s visit made the day of Joanne Rudland, another hospital patient at Ballarat Base Hospital.

“It was awesome. I really like her. She’s a really nice person. I held the Melbourne Cup. It did make my day.”

Payne with Joanne Rudland (centre) and her carer Keisha Waller.

Rudland’s carer, Keisha Waller, said: “It has been a bit of a rough time [for Joanne], so this was fantastic.”

Michelle Payne with Ballarat Base Hospital patient Cathy Moore.

Cathy Moore, a patient at Ballarat, is a big fan.

“It was unbelievable [to hold the Cup]. I have watched the Cup for years, gone in all those sweepstakes and that for years. Michelle is beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. I have seen the movie, of course I have. It is a sad, beautiful movie. I’m a great fan.”

Michelle Payne rode into our national consciousness 10 years ago. Since then, her life has been filled with agony and heartbreak, but she keeps getting back on the horse. Read our feature in this week’s edition of Good Weekend.