I’m in the union
GOOD SPORT: Melbourne wharfie and one time seafarer Karen Kendall is one of Australia's top horse trainers.
"It's my passion; I've been training horses since I was 12 years old. We've had a fair bit of success. I've got my Dad here and my husband working with me. It's a good team effort."
The Patrick East Swanson Dock clerk trains harness horses for Group 1 competition at the family stable in Anakie near Geelong. Her stallion Warp Drive won seven of 14 races last season and took third place at Harold Park, Sydney in the Group I Chariots of Fire 2160m in January. Karen and a couple of family friends bought the horse after deciding to 'take a punt' at the Australian Pacing Gold Yearling Sale in Melbourne. He's paid for himself several times over since.
Karen is a fifth generation horse trainer and a third generation wharfie. Her grandfather worked the Devonport wharves back in the twenties and her Uncle Freddy Imlach retired from the Sydney wharves in 1985.
"My grandfather was an old time wharfie, a good Catholic with eight kids to feed. He did it pretty tough. I started at sea on the Able Tasman and the Spirit of Tasmania as the purser and crewing officer in the eighties. When I wasn't serving passengers I was looking after the crew."
But in those days parental leave was not in the picture. So in 1995 after 10 years a seafarer, Karen came ashore to have children, Bonnie, 8, and Sarah, 6 and concentrate on horse training. In 1999 she got a casual job at Patrick. Karen is now a permanent part time clerk after suffering a back injury. But irregular rosters are hard on a mother of two -- something that's all about to change under the current enterprise agreement negotiations.
"With two small kids it's tough. You get your work orders the night before. It's not long to organise childcare. I often have to drag the kids out of bed before 5am. It's very difficult not knowing what you're doing. A creche at work would help. We've got lot's of young mums with kids on the wharves. When I started there were only four of us. There's a hell of a lot more women now. It's good to see. You can't put the kids on the back burner - they're important as well. That's why we're all working. It's great the union is doing something for women. It makes me want to get more involved."
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