You were born into a life where people placed limits on what your future might look like, yet you’ve gone on to become a mother of four and build a life filled with family, advocacy and ambition. How has living with cystic fibrosis shaped the way you approach motherhood, and the kind of life you want your children to see you living?
Motherhood was something I was once made to believe might never be part of my story. Growing up with cystic fibrosis, there were so many conversations about what I might not get to do, how long I might live, and what my future might look like.
So to now look around and hear four children calling me Mum is something I will never take for granted.
CF has absolutely shaped the mother I am. It has made me very aware of time. Sometimes that can be confronting, but it has also been an incredible gift because it reminds me to be present. I want my children to remember that I showed up. I want them to remember the adventures, the ridiculous moments, the affection, the traditions, the times we said yes when it would have been easier to say no.
But I also want them to see the harder parts, with boundaries of course. I don’t want them growing up believing that strength means life never knocks you down. They’ve seen Mum go into hospital. They’ve seen treatments and medications and days when I’m exhausted, they have also seen my heartbreak through loss and then they’ve seen me get back up and keep going. This does not come without guilt though, I worry of how this may impact them too, so it can be scary and the guilt is heartbreaking.
More than anything, I want my kids to grow up believing in themselves and that despite what may be impossible, anything is possible.
I also hope they follow their dreams, to never take no for an answer and that we have to grow through what we go through. Easy said than to parent that’s for sure!
I hope when they think of me, they see someone who was given plenty of reasons to be afraid of life and to fail but chose to beexcited by it instead and forever find a way to make the impossible, possible!
You and your husband Travis now share the wonderfully unpredictable world of thoroughbred racing, and you’re also a director and co-owner of Travis Doudle Racing. What has that
world brought into your life and what do you love most about building something together as a family?
I don’t come from horses, so this has been a completely new world
of learning for me and I absolutely love it!
I started a new medication in 2023, the same year I fell pregnant
with my third child, and I genuinely feel like that was the year I was given a second chance at life. The life I’m living now is one I never imagined I would get to live, and racing has become this completely unexpected and exciting part of it.
It has also brought a whole new kind of chaos into my life and
considering we have four children, that’s saying something!
What I love about racing is that there is always something happening. There are incredible highs and heartbreaking lows, and absolutely nothing is guaranteed. It teaches you very quickly to celebrate the wins, learn from the losses and keep showing up.
Last year, we bought our dream property at Nangkita and we’re now building it from the ground up. The days are long, there is always something that needs doing, and sometimes I look around and wonder what on earth we’ve gotten ourselves into! But then I stand back and look at what we’re creating, and it’s pretty incredible.
The part I love most, though, is that Travis and I are building it
together. Travis has an incredible passion for horses and training, while I bring a completely different skill set to the business. I love the people side our owners, events, operations, marketing, creating opportunities and constantly looking at how we can grow what we’re doing.
Nangkita Lodge has made that dream feel even bigger. We’re not
simply building a racing stable; we’re creating a life around it. Our children are growing up amongst the horses, watching Mum and Dad work together and seeing firsthand just how much hard work goes into building something from the ground up.
There are definitely days when being husband and wife, parents and business partners all at once is… interesting! But there’s something incredibly rewarding about being able to stand back together and say, “We built this.”
Being able to bring my CF advocacy into the racing community has
made it even more meaningful for me. I never imagined these two completely different worlds of mine would come together, but through our fundraising and the incredible support we’ve received from the racing community, they have.
For someone who never came from horses, somehow this world has become a huge part of our family’s story, and I’m really excited to see where we take it next.
