The Face Behind The Velvet Court

Can you believe that I’ve been blogging for a year now (the first anniversary is on the 15th June)! My blog has come a long way since the beginning, which is a topic for next week’s post, but I realised that a lot of people probably don’t know a lot about me personally, especially if they’ve only recently become a reader. Therefore, I decided that it’s probably time for a reintroduction post, so readers can get to know the face behind The Velvet Court!

Depending on which type of posts you read on here (horse racing, fashion, etc), your knowledge about me will be different. However, it’s pretty obvious that I have a disability. If you want to read my full disability story than head over to my “The Sexy Elephant Look” post. In summary, though, I have an extremely rare physical disability called Nemaline Rod Muscular Myopathy. It means my muscles are weaker than everyone else’s, which means I use a wheelchair and a VPAP. I was born with the condition so I’ve never known my life to be any different and while it has shaped me to be who I am today, if I was able-bodied for a day I would ride a horse, dance and just run.

However, while I have a disability it doesn’t stop me from living my life (aka I’m not your inspiration). If you hadn’t guessed already, my greatest passion in life is horse racing. My ownership journey began over 5 years ago and I can’t imagine my life without it now. If I could spend every Saturday at the track I would but unfortunately, other things get in the way, like university. I don’t have a favourite horse, as each one is special to me for a different reason. However, my most successful horse at the moment is The Velvet King (who’s actually racing on Saturday for my readers that like to follow him). He’s won over $700,000 in prize money and has given me some of my most cherished memories at the track, including winning a group 3 and then running in the group 1, Railway Stakes.

Not only do I love the horse part of horse racing, but I also love the fashion and dressing up part. In fact, these are probably the two things I missed the most being in isolation. If I was to describe my style, I would call it classic modern as I love classic styles with a modern twist. However, due to my disability and unusual body shape, my Mum makes quite a few of my race day dresses. It’s a detailed process which I went through in the “Made By Mum Fashion Label” post but we have a lot of fun along the way. Plus who doesn’t love custom made clothes!

My passion for racing was also lucky enough to collide with my dream of giving back to Make-A-Wish. I was a wish child in 2009 and became a volunteer in 2018, after talking about my experience at a recruitment drive. However, on my 18th Birthday I was gifted a 10% share in a racehorse after some owners had heard of my idea of raising money for charity. Her name was Ace’s Wish (a combination of my initials Amy Catherine Evans and because of Make-A-Wish). Since then we’ve raised over $10,000 which is enough to fund a whole wish for a child! I believe this idea is not only good for charities but also to present racing in a more positive light to the public and therefore, I’d love to see more owners get on board. With Make-A-Wish, I also recently became the co-fundraising coordinator for the Perth Branch so I’m excited to grow in that role and raise lots of money so other children can experience a magical wish like me!

Outside of horse racing and volunteering, I’m also studying a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing and advertising. I actually have a Certificate IV in Residential Building Drafting as I had originally planned on being an accessible house designer. However, I wanted to push myself more, hence why I’m now at university. I’m still tossing up whether to do honours next year, but if I do, my research topic will definitely be something horse racing related. After I graduate I hope to work in the horse racing industry, perhaps, in particular, focusing on marketing ownership to potential owners. They say that you’ll never work a day in your life doing what you love and that’s the type of life I’d like to have!

I thought we’d end this post on a fun quick-fire question round!

• Favourite season: spring
• Favourite colour: purple
• Favourite food: chocolate
• Favourite racehorse (besides my own): Rogan Josh
• Best racehorse I’ve seen in person: Winx
• Race I’d like to win the most: the Melbourne Cup
• My go to racing outfit: classic dress with a boater
• Favourite clothing brand: Review
• Favourite movie: Devil Wears Prada
• Favourite singers: Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes and Taylor Swift

So, I hope that this gives my new readers a bit more insight into me! It’s always nice when you can put a face to someone’s writing too. If you have any more questions, then feel free to get in contact!