When she was 13 years old, Kayla Nisbet started getting serious about becoming a jockey. Her dad, John Nisbet is a former jockey, now trainer. She grew up in a household with five sisters and racehorses right on the back doorstep in the nation’s capital. In this episode, you’ll hear from the Canberra-based jockey who’s ridden more than 400 winners in her 10-year career in the saddle. What you’ll learn from Kayla’s story is nothing worth achieving is ever easy — a message she received loud and clear from her parents, who gave her realistic expectations of the “tough” industry she was getting herself into. For Kayla, the gruelling, all-consuming career choice involves the difficulties of ‘wasting’, the early starts, long days at the track, the travel … but it’s the thrill of racing that keeps bringing her back — the lack of sugar-coating in her dad’s feedback has helped her grow into being a sought-after professional jockey, who’s learnt how to roll with the punches in her chosen sport.