Face of Nation : Animal rights activists have disrupted the world premiere of Ride Like a Girl in Melbourne. The film, which tells the story of jockey Michelle Payne – the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015 – premiered at South Yarra’s Jam Factory on Sunday.
A small group of protesters from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses stormed the cinema during the screening, holding signs and chanting “horse racing kills”. They were also stationed outside the shopping complex as Payne, her brother Stevie and director Rachel Griffiths walked the purple carpet.
“Ride Like A Girl glorifies an industry that is well known for pushing horses well beyond their limits, forcing them to suffer heart attacks and severe injuries that lead to the deaths of at least one horse every three days on Australian racetracks,” the group’s spokeswoman Kristin Leigh said in a statement.
