Jordan Childs had been apprentice to former outstanding jockey and now horse trainer, Patrick Payne.
Jordan admits that Payne was tough but fair, a great teacher but demands you ride the naughty ones as well as the nice ones.
However, the news of Tayla becoming an apprentice jockey like her twin brother didn’t go over that well with her father.
“On a couple of occasions I heard Dad whisper to Paddy, ‘Can you try and persuade her from becoming a jockey? Can you try your hardest to say go back and be a teacher?’
“Paddy told Dad it’s no good, all she wants to do is become a jockey and I think she’ll make a good one,” Tayla said.
Tayla is incredibly proud of her brother, and the feeling is mutual when Jordan assesses his sister’s career.
“She started later than me and she is still going through the ranks in the country but we are very close and regularly talk. I’m sometimes fearful for her because I know the pitfalls that she can run into during a race but she’s been well trained and has learned the art very quickly.
“When I ride against her, I’m looking out for her. You become very protective but I’ve just noticed in the last year, everything’s falling into place and that’s so important,” he said.
Tayla is now based at Warrnambool where after a stint in Western Australia, which she described as okay. “Wherever you go is a learning experience.”
The move paid off immediately, with Tayla taking home a win at the famous Warrnambool Carnival in May on Lucas the Younger, trained by Noel Kelson. Describing it as a ‘career highlight’, Tayla told Racing.com, “To have a winner on the day was huge, a huge achievement and to ride a winner for Noel Kelson, who is a small, local Warrnambool trainer and to get the win for him, that's what racing is all about.”