Jayla Walsh – a Year 8 student at St Augustine’s College in Kyabram – is chasing dreams in the sport of coursing.
Jayla, who only turned 14 on January 7, was a joint recipient of the ‘Junior Encouragement’ gong at the recent National Coursing Association of Victoria annual awards night at Sandown Park.
“It was a really big surprise … I just love helping out with the dogs,” Jayla said.
And she’s an inspiring teenager ahead of her time.
“Coursing is a fun thing to do,” she said.
“Eventually, I wouldn’t mind having around six greyhounds and one brood matron and a job for financial security.”
Jayla has aspirations to go into nursing, and her parents, Calven Russell and Shelly Warde, can’t speak highly enough of their daughter, who obtained her catcher’s licence a week after her 14th birthday.
“We’re extremely proud of her and we’d be lost without her,” Calven said.
“We have 16 race dogs and 25 in the yards … Jayla cleans the kennels, does the feeding and assists with whelpings. There’s not much she can’t do.
“She loves the pups and she’s fully hands-on. And the dogs love her.”
“I’m good in connecting with them. They love me more than Calven,” Jayla said in reply.
Jayla also has a strong passion for coursing, saying “it’s probably better than ‘circle’ racing”.
“It’s good to go out for the day and have fun and hang out with the greyhounds, which I’m allowed to handle and catch,” he said.
“Coursing is a more relaxed atmosphere, and the people seem to be more chilled. And everyone’s happy to help you if need.”
In her presentation speech, NCAV joint secretary Melanie Lithgow said: “The future of our industry is essential … We are very lucky in coursing to have so many bright and enthusiastic young participants. This year, we had two nominations and winners that the NCAV executive could not split.”
And Melanie was glowing of Jayla, saying “she comes from good coursing stock and is from the ‘stable’ of Calven Russell and Shelly Warde”.
“She really is enthusiastic and not only handled and caught her own family’s dogs but stepped up this year and was taking dogs to the slips for older participants who struggled with the long walk to the start,” Melanie said.
“She recently got her catcher’s licence for the circle as well and gives ‘troublemakers’ like my husband (Sean) as good as she gets, which is fantastic to see.”