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Emirates Stakes Day. Fashions on the Field. An unwilling participant. Picture : Ian Currie
DAIRY farmers from northern Victoria have been deemed the best dressed family at the races.
Taking out Fashions on the Field for Stakes Day on Saturday, the Palmer family managed to sway judges with their co-ordinated navy blue and pink ensembles.
3-year-old Caris does a twirl on the catwalk. Picture: Ian CurrieSource:News Corp Australia
Mum Cecelia and kids Annie, 15, Lucy, 13, Jude, 11 and Gus, 8, travelled 274km from their northern Victorian dairy farm in Cohuna to try their hand at the competition, and are now leaving with a $20,000 prize pool that includes flights to Dubai, one month international accommodation and a TV.
The Palmer family from Cohuna pose on Emirates Stakes Day at Flemington Racecourse.Source:Getty Images
The only one absent was Cecelia’s husband and the kid’s father who couldn’t leave the farm on Saturday.
“He’ll probably be on the tractor,†wife Cecelia said, oblivious to the family’s success.
A stay at home mum, Cecelia made it her prerogative to search far and wide for her family’s outfits.
Brothers Tommy 6yrs and William 8yrs looking very stylish at the Fashions on the Field event. Picture: Ian CurrieSource:News Corp Australia
Buying her own pale pink suit online, she found her boys’ shoes in Cohuna’s small shopping strip.
The outfits were amazingly well co-ordinated, but didn’t look staged. “I just stuck with a colour theme rather than specific fabrics,†she said.
Theatrics at the Fashions on the Field event. Picture: Ian CurrieSource:News Corp Australia
The inspiration came when Cecelia found Annie’s long navy blue dress. “I saw this piece and I thought it was quite age appropriate,†she said. “So I just ran with that and then I just teamed the soft pinks.†With the unexpected win, Annie is contemplating coming back to try her hand at the coveted women’s category for Fashions on the Field when she graduates High School.
No shrinking violets here. Picture: Ian CurrieSource:News Corp Australia
For the short term, mum Cecelia is now tasked with organising the family for their first international trip. Most of the kids don’t even have passports, she admitted.
The Emirates Fashions on the Field competition on Saturday also includes heats for junior and senior boys and girls.