Red Ridge Presents
MISS PETTY: THE BUSH SALUTE
AN OUTBACK LEGEND
Horses have been a part of our Outback lifestyles for decades—whether mustering livestock, transporting goods or racing down the track, equines have marched alongside us in creating the region we know and love today. They’ve worked with us, traveled with us, and have provided some of the most unbelievable moments in sporting history.
One such horse that has marked our region on the map is Miss Petty, the Outback racehorse who’d earned herself the title ‘Queen of the Track’ with 22 long years of holding the Australasian record for most consecutive wins straight. While not on the track winning trophies, Miss Petty was in the paddocks and the open land, mustering like she’d been born to cut cattle or carrying kids on gentle trail rides like a seasoned school horse. It’s safe to say, Miss petty was a jack-of-all-trades and certainly a horse we’ll never forget!
THE MARE THAT PUT QUEENSLAND RACING ON THE MAP
RACING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
In August of 2019, Miss Petty and her career with Charlie Prow of Blackall Racing stables have been immortalized forever in Red Ridge’s project. Miss Petty: The Bush Salute.
Foaled in 1981, ‘Miss Petty’ was born in the paddocks of Central Queensland. Gentle, quiet, and kind to a fault, Miss Petty was the chestnut thoroughbred you could depend on—whether mustering cattle, trailing through bushland, or helping young riders find their confidence, Miss Petty was the living definition of a loved Outback horse.
So, can you imagine the surprise when Miss Petty later thundered down the race track, earning herself 22 consecutive wins all across our region?!
Entrusted into Charlie Prow’s Blackall Racing Stables, Miss Petty’s incredible racing career wrote her into Outback legend forever, capturing our hearts as well as our mysticism ever since. From winning trophies to breaking track records, it was her gentle nature and sensibility in the musters and peaceful trail rides that many who knew her hold dear today.
Horse racing has been a part of the Outback for decades, and Miss Petty was the bush horse who helped put it on the map. To celebrate not only Miss Petty’s career but the culture of Outback racing, Red Ridge has partnered with the Barcoo Amateur Race Club to immortalise Miss Petty in a public gidgee statue sculptured by none other than local artist Pip Fearon!
PIP FEARON
‘Most of the horses I sculpt have a wagon rim base, and I bend the steel rods into whatever position I want the horse to be in,’ explained Pip. ‘It’s a lot of drilling and tying the wood on, but I’ve found the whole process to be really therapeutic. I didn’t think I was an arty person, but now it has a really special place with me—it brings people together, helps celebrate people’s lives, and there’s a lot more to it than just being a ‘feel good’ activity.’
STANDING PROUD WITH BARCOO AMATEUR RACE CLUB
IMMORTALISED IN GIDGEE
Now standing proud outside the Barcoo Amateur Race Club in Blackall, Queensland, Miss Petty has achieved true immortality with her incredible racing career. A bush horse in blood and spirit, Red Ridge hopes to keep the memory of Miss Petty alive in the very essence of the bush - the gidgee tree.
Unveiled at the Better in Blackall Festival, Miss Petty and Charlie Prow received standing ovations over twenty years after their last ride, at the very same race course that they once wowed disbelieving audiences.
