She is based at Glenrowan in north-east Victoria – 240km up the road from Melbourne – but apprentice Hannah Le Blanc is happy to travel for a ride.
In the past she’s travelled to Broken Hill, Adelaide, Warrnambool, Horsham, Mildura and various NSW venues, and she currently rides regularly in Tasmania.
Last August, the 28-year-old experienced the NT for the first time when she featured at Alice Springs and landed a winner.
She returned to the Red Centre last September without success before getting another victory in April.
Le Blanc made her fourth trip on August 25 and claimed a winning double – exactly a year after debuting at Pioneer Park.
Last Saturday, Le Blanc had six rides at her first Darwin meeting and saluted on the Chole Baxter-trained Siberian Larch.
A second, a third and three fourths capped off a big day at Fannie Bay.
“My manager Sam Murray asked me if I wanted to go across to the NT, they were short of riders,” Le Blanc said.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, the travel doesn’t bother me.
“I got lucky the first time when I went across and rode a winner at Alice Springs.”
Le Blanc heads back to Central Australia on Sunday – she has four rides on the five-event program.
She will again partner Will Savage’s Talent Quest and Lisa Whittle’s Another Val, who both saluted a fortnight ago – the former claiming the $40,000 Red Centre Winter Series Final (1200m).
“I do love going over there, it’s good to escape the cold weather and everyone is nice,” Le Blanc said.
“Darwin was interesting, everyone said it was different to Alice – they weren’t wrong.
“I probably prefer Alice – the track is flatter, the turns are a lot easier and the kick-back is a lot softer.
“With Darwin, you’ve got that downhill run, it’s a bit tighter, the kick-back comes back in chunks, and they go so much harder and faster.
“I had good support in Darwin, it probably also helps me in the Territory because I can still claim 3kg.”
Le Blanc, who is aligned with Benalla trainer Wayne Nichols, rode at Hobart the day after her Darwin sojourn.
“The driving is probably the worst part, not so much the plane trips,” she said.
“I’m lucky because I’m close to the Hume Highway – it’s only a couple of hours to Melbourne, so that’s not too bad.
“It’s so much easier going somewhere for a full book of rides than it is to drive four hours to Horsham, for example, for one or two rides.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for those trainers that put me on, but at times it’s taxing.
“I’m pretty settled in Glenrowan, I own a couple of acres here and I’ve got animals.”
Le Blanc doesn’t ride as often in NSW compared to when she started her apprenticeship, but would be happy to ride at Albury, Wodonga and Wagga Wagga on a regular basis.
“I’m in a central location, so I’m more than happy to go up as far as Canberra,” she said.
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