Chris Symons didn't get much sleep last night, but that's the norm. Then there is the constant nagging pain and recurring headaches.
He likens it to being bashed with a cricket bat, now he is finding that he is grinding his teeth to adjust to that pain.
It wasn't because of the recollections of his recent visit to war-torn Ukraine with close mate and jockey Craig Williams, or the endless pursuit for a better racing industry from where he now sits on the periphery.
It's because of the long terms ramifications of a Bendigo race fall dating back to 2015 that left him with fractures in the T6 and T7 vertebrae and other associated ailments. It would seem a miracle that he returned to the saddle until finally it all became too much at the end of Christmas 2020.
This is not a ‘where are they now' story, a talk with Chris Symons goes fast and long, with all the passion and drive of 1222 career winners with always an eye on the presentation of racing to a broader audience and his passion for animals that is now his day-to-day life.
"I still haven't got a real job," Symons said after yet another monthly visit to Racing Victoria's Chief Medical Officer Gary Zimmerman to manage the pain and ongoing issues as his Work Cover is about to run out and his wife Sam keeps him busy as she is about to open a complimentary wildlife centre alongside their Funky Farm in Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula.
So, a chat with Symons can quickly tangent many ways, from the new Mornington Peninsula Wildlife Project, which will target assisting special needs adults, to the similarity in challenges facing sanctuaries and zoos as the horse racing industry and the myriad of "outside the square" ideas he still has to promote it.
Or the inspiration he has taken from a teenager, blind since birth, explaining what she saw in touching Crikey the home-bred crocodile, or his desire to learn more each day which is why he is doing work experience at Jirrahlinga Wildlife reserve in Barwon Heads as it moves its base and extensive rescued and rehabilitation animals to Chewton near Castlemaine.
He's also busily running the specifically designed hands on tours at the Funky Farm.
In the spring there will be some typically Symons behind the scenes styled stories for Channel 7's carnival coverage, but alas no more "Kevin From 7" pony action, Kevin now gifted to former jockey Brenton Primmer who has him aimed toward a Paralympian adventure.
And remember it was Symons who developed what is now de rigueur in racing coverage, the helmet cam as it evolved from a rather rudimentary shutter to the high-definition real time insight it is today. And it was Symons that managed the horses and the race scenes required for the Michelle Payne movie Ride Like A Girl.
Chris Symons (left) with Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan.
Which is to say Symons is as busy as ever but working through the pain that comes and goes.
"I had an operation to basically burn or fuse the nerve endings on one side of my neck and there were complications which made it worse," Symons said.
"It is just a case now of managing it and life as well as can be, I work closely with my insurer (Gallagher Bassett) for the best possible outcome for the family, so I better find a job."
Symons is being facetiously cheeky, but commercially real. If you start with not enough hours in the day, then add in that those complications making a well-deserved rest a problem, you learn a little of the Symons life today.
Which means the Funky Farm is open Wednesday to Sunday, the animals need rest and get Monday and Tuesday away from the hands-on approach that Chris, Sam and daughter Ziva have strived to make their sanctuary different.
"We are always booked out at least three weeks in advance. Just last weekend, we had six tours a day with 18 in a group with a staggered start from 9.30am where they progress around each station from the kangaroos to the emus and wombats with team leaders giving them a very interactive experience."
"But animal welfare comes first, it's why we shut down and give them a break Monday and Tuesday. We don't make the animals do anything they don't want to do, if the Roos want to come up and be hand fed, they will, and normally they do but we have a great record of engagement with the animals, it is why we have such fantastic five-star reviews on Tripadvisor," Symons said.
And it is here where Symons drifts into his marketing, and dare I say common sense role, comparing the farm and mission goals to racing.
"We needed to evolve, we had challenges in establishing the Funky Farm around animal welfare, just as racing does. Sadly, I think racing has a use by date, everything does, just like the Colosseum did, it might not be in our lifetime but just as one day people going to a zoo to see an animal in a cage will be frowned on, so will going to the races."
"We set out to make our experience completely different and personal, what is racing doing differently? Zoos are being run virtually the same way as they were 100 years ago and so is racing, it needs to evolve and innovate."
Symons indeed tried a few innovations – not just the camera – and remains frustrated that officialdom would see ways to say no rather than work with him and create.
Like ‘Ride Guide' a short ill-fated venture with Ladbrokes as a backer for jockeys to share their pre and post-race thoughts re mounts, just as any many do today in radio or TV interviews, but these attached to the official form guide and for remuneration for those involved and information for those betting and funding the sport.
"I brought a lot of ideas to the table, I know not all of them were going to work but at times I felt crushed by certain individuals and I'm talking at the top, like there was a toxicity, unless it was their idea it couldn't work, well they didn't have any ideas in the first place."
"One thing I will say about Peter V'landys is he has been prepared to think outside the square and target a younger audience." Symons said.
One of his tossed aside ideas was – let's call it "2-Up" racing. Instead of long boring days with 35-40 minutes gaps with minimal entertainment or racing, the Symons idea was simply 2 horses, red and black, picnic horses sourced for a variety of race distance, four races a day, no form, you just like back the red or the black as if you agree at the casino and the winning horses transition into a final, or you can tinker with that as much as you like, that's the Symons template and it's not trademarked.
"One thing I will say is that people who can work with horses, especially thoroughbred horses can work with any animal," Symons said. "They are by nature ballsy shall I say, either on their backs or on the ground, from picking up shit to start in this game, to being among big animals and possibly always in harms way."
So, it is part of the movement from the Funky Farm ‘open to all' to wife Sam's new Mornington Peninsula project, aimed directly at special needs adults and getting them into the workforce via working with animals, boosting their education and self-esteem and opportunities.
Chris Symons and his family run the Funky Farm. Picture: Jason Edwards
"It will mirror the Funky Farm but will run specific 12-week programs for those aged between 16 and 25. They will come in on projects and learn skills from construction to animal husbandry," he said.
"They come to us having filled out a questionnaire so we know as to what they want to achieve out of the course and hopefully lead them into a job at the end of it, so Monday they could be building a veggie patch, Tuesday, building a blue tongue lizard enclosure, Wednesday a reptile island, Thursday a bridge to that island, like the Funky Farm it is very inclusive. They will do some public speaking and a couple from each group will come across to the Funky Farm and assist the team leaders there."
While Symons defers to Sam's drive for the New MPWP, he admits to getting "my two cents worth in". And he surrounds himself still with mentors like Jurrahlinga's Tehree Gordon OAM (she has forgotten more than I would ever know and is a real inspiration), and long-time friend Jockey's Association boss Des O'Keeffe ("a wonderful human being"), but still has some advice for other riders.
"I'm never one to whinge, I try and focus on the positive, I'm blessed with Sam that I have something to fallback on here and that's what I'd say to any jockey, you need something else in your life."
So, if you can keep up with Chris Symons, that would be plenty and more than enough. And look out for his behind the scenes Symons camera and production work soon on his recent trip to Ukraine with the Williams family.
"It was like something I could never have imagined," was all he could say.
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