Latest news with #DesertChampionsWay:OutbackCamelTrail
The Advertiser
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Polished Copper wins the Cup, Thirsty the camel steals the show
Port Stephens cameleer Emily Parrott left the competition in a cloud of red dust when she won the Jundah Camel Races Cup. She was riding Polished Copper, a camel she owns and trains at Oakfield Ranch with her husband Luke. Stablemates Geoffrey and Foxy Lady were hot on Polished Copper's hooves, while Barry finished third. But it was the lovable Thirsty who won over the crowd last weekend. The Parrotts are following the inaugural Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail through Outback Australia, stopping off at four camel races along the way. It's a month-long celebration of camel racing, storytelling, music, desert flowers, markets and community designed to bring tourist dollars to tiny outback towns. The camel train is in Birdsville this week, then heads to the Bedourie Camel Races (July 12), the Boulia Camel Races (July 18 to 20), and the Winton Camel Races (July 26). Parrott also won the recent Marree Camel Cup on Polished Copper. "We're going all right," she said. "It's been nice to see the camels perform well, even though we weren't able to get them as fit as we'd like them to be as our paddocks were flooded. "At Marree we got first, second and third in the Cup, and first and second in the Plate, while at Jundah we got first, second, third and fourth in the Cup." And Thirsty? What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in personality. "He's been a little bit underwhelming on the track," Parrott said, laughing. "He's been stopping at the crowd for pats. He's there to get a photo with everyone and take them on rides." So popular is Thirsty that he was invited to Birdsville Hotel on Wednesday for a beer with the locals. Parrott is a second-generation cameleer who's been racing camels since she was 14, having grown up with them at Anna Bay with her father, Rod Sansom, a renowned animal trainer. "When I started riding there was only me and another lady, and we raced against all these other fellas. Now it's mostly female jockeys," she said. "The reception from the people has been outstanding, Jundah especially - the town just goes above and beyond to make you feel special, and we can't thank them enough. "We also won the dog race at Marree, my son Cooper came second in the high jump at Jundah, and we came third in the sheep mustering. "We've been all-rounders, and the team has been having a hoot competing in all sorts of different events." Port Stephens cameleer Emily Parrott left the competition in a cloud of red dust when she won the Jundah Camel Races Cup. She was riding Polished Copper, a camel she owns and trains at Oakfield Ranch with her husband Luke. Stablemates Geoffrey and Foxy Lady were hot on Polished Copper's hooves, while Barry finished third. But it was the lovable Thirsty who won over the crowd last weekend. The Parrotts are following the inaugural Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail through Outback Australia, stopping off at four camel races along the way. It's a month-long celebration of camel racing, storytelling, music, desert flowers, markets and community designed to bring tourist dollars to tiny outback towns. The camel train is in Birdsville this week, then heads to the Bedourie Camel Races (July 12), the Boulia Camel Races (July 18 to 20), and the Winton Camel Races (July 26). Parrott also won the recent Marree Camel Cup on Polished Copper. "We're going all right," she said. "It's been nice to see the camels perform well, even though we weren't able to get them as fit as we'd like them to be as our paddocks were flooded. "At Marree we got first, second and third in the Cup, and first and second in the Plate, while at Jundah we got first, second, third and fourth in the Cup." And Thirsty? What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in personality. "He's been a little bit underwhelming on the track," Parrott said, laughing. "He's been stopping at the crowd for pats. He's there to get a photo with everyone and take them on rides." So popular is Thirsty that he was invited to Birdsville Hotel on Wednesday for a beer with the locals. Parrott is a second-generation cameleer who's been racing camels since she was 14, having grown up with them at Anna Bay with her father, Rod Sansom, a renowned animal trainer. "When I started riding there was only me and another lady, and we raced against all these other fellas. Now it's mostly female jockeys," she said. "The reception from the people has been outstanding, Jundah especially - the town just goes above and beyond to make you feel special, and we can't thank them enough. "We also won the dog race at Marree, my son Cooper came second in the high jump at Jundah, and we came third in the sheep mustering. "We've been all-rounders, and the team has been having a hoot competing in all sorts of different events." Port Stephens cameleer Emily Parrott left the competition in a cloud of red dust when she won the Jundah Camel Races Cup. She was riding Polished Copper, a camel she owns and trains at Oakfield Ranch with her husband Luke. Stablemates Geoffrey and Foxy Lady were hot on Polished Copper's hooves, while Barry finished third. But it was the lovable Thirsty who won over the crowd last weekend. The Parrotts are following the inaugural Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail through Outback Australia, stopping off at four camel races along the way. It's a month-long celebration of camel racing, storytelling, music, desert flowers, markets and community designed to bring tourist dollars to tiny outback towns. The camel train is in Birdsville this week, then heads to the Bedourie Camel Races (July 12), the Boulia Camel Races (July 18 to 20), and the Winton Camel Races (July 26). Parrott also won the recent Marree Camel Cup on Polished Copper. "We're going all right," she said. "It's been nice to see the camels perform well, even though we weren't able to get them as fit as we'd like them to be as our paddocks were flooded. "At Marree we got first, second and third in the Cup, and first and second in the Plate, while at Jundah we got first, second, third and fourth in the Cup." And Thirsty? What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in personality. "He's been a little bit underwhelming on the track," Parrott said, laughing. "He's been stopping at the crowd for pats. He's there to get a photo with everyone and take them on rides." So popular is Thirsty that he was invited to Birdsville Hotel on Wednesday for a beer with the locals. Parrott is a second-generation cameleer who's been racing camels since she was 14, having grown up with them at Anna Bay with her father, Rod Sansom, a renowned animal trainer. "When I started riding there was only me and another lady, and we raced against all these other fellas. Now it's mostly female jockeys," she said. "The reception from the people has been outstanding, Jundah especially - the town just goes above and beyond to make you feel special, and we can't thank them enough. "We also won the dog race at Marree, my son Cooper came second in the high jump at Jundah, and we came third in the sheep mustering. "We've been all-rounders, and the team has been having a hoot competing in all sorts of different events." Port Stephens cameleer Emily Parrott left the competition in a cloud of red dust when she won the Jundah Camel Races Cup. She was riding Polished Copper, a camel she owns and trains at Oakfield Ranch with her husband Luke. Stablemates Geoffrey and Foxy Lady were hot on Polished Copper's hooves, while Barry finished third. But it was the lovable Thirsty who won over the crowd last weekend. The Parrotts are following the inaugural Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail through Outback Australia, stopping off at four camel races along the way. It's a month-long celebration of camel racing, storytelling, music, desert flowers, markets and community designed to bring tourist dollars to tiny outback towns. The camel train is in Birdsville this week, then heads to the Bedourie Camel Races (July 12), the Boulia Camel Races (July 18 to 20), and the Winton Camel Races (July 26). Parrott also won the recent Marree Camel Cup on Polished Copper. "We're going all right," she said. "It's been nice to see the camels perform well, even though we weren't able to get them as fit as we'd like them to be as our paddocks were flooded. "At Marree we got first, second and third in the Cup, and first and second in the Plate, while at Jundah we got first, second, third and fourth in the Cup." And Thirsty? What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in personality. "He's been a little bit underwhelming on the track," Parrott said, laughing. "He's been stopping at the crowd for pats. He's there to get a photo with everyone and take them on rides." So popular is Thirsty that he was invited to Birdsville Hotel on Wednesday for a beer with the locals. Parrott is a second-generation cameleer who's been racing camels since she was 14, having grown up with them at Anna Bay with her father, Rod Sansom, a renowned animal trainer. "When I started riding there was only me and another lady, and we raced against all these other fellas. Now it's mostly female jockeys," she said. "The reception from the people has been outstanding, Jundah especially - the town just goes above and beyond to make you feel special, and we can't thank them enough. "We also won the dog race at Marree, my son Cooper came second in the high jump at Jundah, and we came third in the sheep mustering. "We've been all-rounders, and the team has been having a hoot competing in all sorts of different events."
Perth Now
21-06-2025
- Perth Now
Forget the diamonds, camels are a girl's best friend
Instead of a dozen red roses, a bottle of bubbly or romantic poetry, Emily Parrott gave her hubby a camel for their first Valentine's Day. "When he met me, that's when he met camels," she tells AAP of husband Luke. "He found his first two loves. "As long as I don't ask which one comes first then we don't have a problem." Nearly 15 years after that fateful February, camels remain the centre of the Parrott family's world. The couple runs the Oakfield Ranch with Ms Parrott's father at Anna Bay in the NSW Hunter Valley, hosting camel rides along the picturesque beaches of Port Stephens. They're gearing up to take 10 camels, including Foxy Lady, Polished Copper, Bronte, Barry and Jeffrey on a nearly 6000km round-trip via South Australia to Queensland for the Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail. Winding through the red dust to the Queensland outposts of Jundah, Birdsville, Bedourie, Boulia and Winton in July, the trail features camel races and rides, live music and markets at every stop. Ms Parrott, who has been around camels since she was a baby and began racing at 14, can get the animals running up to 45km/h. It's a bumpy - or humpy - ride around the dirt track as jockeys skilfully hover above the saddles. "They're not very nice to sit on at speed," she says. "They're quite bouncy, so the less your bottom is in the saddle is probably more comfortable." Apart from the rollicking races, the trail is a celebration of the outback spirit and pays tribute to the storied history of cameleers in colonial times. Camels were brought to Australia from Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent during the gold rushes, when they were used to transport goods across the arid inland. Cameleers established their own transport and import businesses until cars were introduced in the 1920s. Many of the animals were then released into the wild. An eccentric "globetrotter" named HD Constantinou spent nine years walking with camels and a cameleer from Sydney to Perth in the 1930s, wearing through 50 pairs of boots. "He stated he had walked every inch of the way across from Sydney, the camels ... carrying his baggage," Brisbane's Telegraph newspaper reported in 1939. Ms Parrott feels an affinity with the ancient creatures, a passion passed down by her father who bought 20 camels to establish his business. "Animals don't get enough recognition for the amount of effort they've put in for humanity," she says. "Donkeys and camels are a huge part of Australia's history. "They were brought over here to build Australia up." Her 10-year-old daughter Abby, who will accompany her parents on the outback trail with her six-year-old brother Cooper, has observed the deep connection between her mum and the herd. "About six months ago she said, 'mum, when do I get my special power?' "I said, 'what do you mean?' and she said, 'your special power, how you know what animals are thinking'." The Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail kicks off with the Jundah camel races on July 5 and ends in Winton on July 26.
West Australian
21-06-2025
- West Australian
Forget the diamonds, camels are a girl's best friend
Instead of a dozen red roses, a bottle of bubbly or romantic poetry, Emily Parrott gave her hubby a camel for their first Valentine's Day. "When he met me, that's when he met camels," she tells AAP of husband Luke. "He found his first two loves. "As long as I don't ask which one comes first then we don't have a problem." Nearly 15 years after that fateful February, camels remain the centre of the Parrott family's world. The couple runs the Oakfield Ranch with Ms Parrott's father at Anna Bay in the NSW Hunter Valley, hosting camel rides along the picturesque beaches of Port Stephens. They're gearing up to take 10 camels, including Foxy Lady, Polished Copper, Bronte, Barry and Jeffrey on a nearly 6000km round-trip via South Australia to Queensland for the Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail. Winding through the red dust to the Queensland outposts of Jundah, Birdsville, Bedourie, Boulia and Winton in July, the trail features camel races and rides, live music and markets at every stop. Ms Parrott, who has been around camels since she was a baby and began racing at 14, can get the animals running up to 45km/h. It's a bumpy - or humpy - ride around the dirt track as jockeys skilfully hover above the saddles. "They're not very nice to sit on at speed," she says. "They're quite bouncy, so the less your bottom is in the saddle is probably more comfortable." Apart from the rollicking races, the trail is a celebration of the outback spirit and pays tribute to the storied history of cameleers in colonial times. Camels were brought to Australia from Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent during the gold rushes, when they were used to transport goods across the arid inland. Cameleers established their own transport and import businesses until cars were introduced in the 1920s. Many of the animals were then released into the wild. An eccentric "globetrotter" named HD Constantinou spent nine years walking with camels and a cameleer from Sydney to Perth in the 1930s, wearing through 50 pairs of boots. "He stated he had walked every inch of the way across from Sydney, the camels ... carrying his baggage," Brisbane's Telegraph newspaper reported in 1939. Ms Parrott feels an affinity with the ancient creatures, a passion passed down by her father who bought 20 camels to establish his business. "Animals don't get enough recognition for the amount of effort they've put in for humanity," she says. "Donkeys and camels are a huge part of Australia's history. "They were brought over here to build Australia up." Her 10-year-old daughter Abby, who will accompany her parents on the outback trail with her six-year-old brother Cooper, has observed the deep connection between her mum and the herd. "About six months ago she said, 'mum, when do I get my special power?' "I said, 'what do you mean?' and she said, 'your special power, how you know what animals are thinking'." The Desert Champions Way: Outback Camel Trail kicks off with the Jundah camel races on July 5 and ends in Winton on July 26.
