Georgie Coram is the 2023 Pearl Kelly Award winner.
Coram was presented with the state's most prestigious honour for female participants during Saturday night's Victorian Harness Racing Awards function at Melton Entertainment Park.
The award recognises the outstanding contribution to, or achievement within, the sport by a woman.
It was struck in acknowledgement of Kelly, who was Australia’s first licensed reinswoman in 1916 and once finished third on the Melbourne drivers’ premiership.
“I'm speechless,” Coram said. “That's all I can say: thankyou.
“I love harness racing. It's part of my life and I breathe it and I live it.”
John Dunne has penned this reflection on Coram’s amazing career in the sport she loves…
Georgie Coram became involved in harness racing from a young age as a junior stablehand for her grandfather Ben, who won the 1937 Inter Dominion with Dan’s Son.
An ardent devotee of the sport, Coram has been a fine contributor to Cranbourne over the years, organising that club’s trials and fulfilling roles from driving the mobile to acting as club steward.
Coram was recognised for her efforts to the club with life membership and was elected onto the Cranbourne committee in 2017.
Coram has been a passionate owner and breeder for more than 30 years and has enjoyed success with around 100 winners, including two of those as a trainer.
Among her successes have been metropolitan-winning pacers Schuss and Schary. And in recent years, Coram has enjoyed her share of glory with Ess Kay Hollywood, who was placed in the Breeders Crown (2YO Trotting Colts & Geldings) Final, Naked Ambition, who took out the Breeders Crown Graduate Trot, and Lunchwitharthur, who scored back-to-back wins at Melton last year.
Coram was instrumental in creating the all-female Cranbourne Allstars syndication that raced Little Bit Sassy, who won five races. She has since bred a filly out of Little Bit Sassy, who she has syndicated to another all-female group.
Coram is a past committee member of Harness Breeders Victoria and is a current committee member of the Victorian Harness Racing Club.