Ride Like a Girl

Ride Like a Girl tells the story of Michelle Payne, who grew up dreaming of winning the Melbourne Cup, Australia's most prestigious horse race. Raised by her single father among ten siblings, she leaves school at fifteen to pursue riding full time. She is dismissed as an outsider in a sport dominated by men, and her ambition survives both a family tragedy and a serious fall from a horse that nearly kills her. With encouragement from her father and her brother Stevie, she sets out to compete at the highest level despite the doubts of those around her.

The film is directed by Rachel Griffiths, making her feature directing debut after a long acting career, from a screenplay by Elise McCredie and Andrew Knight. Teresa Palmer plays Michelle Payne, with Sam Neill as her father Paddy, Sullivan Stapleton as trainer Darren Weir, and Stevie Payne appearing as himself. Released in 2019, it runs 98 minutes.

Made with support from Australian and international production companies, the film took about 10 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a drama of this scale. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from roughly 5,200 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 out of 10 from far fewer voters. A critics' rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 34 reviews places it broadly in line with those audience scores.