Ford and Van Dongen set to represent Tas at AFDC

24 March 2023 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
Logo

Tarn Ford and Hannah Van Dongen have both been selected to represent Tasmania at the upcoming Australian Female Drivers Championship at Brisbane’s Albion Park.

The six-race series will be held on 1 April.

It will be the first time Ford has represented the state. She has driven 23 winners in her career, with 10 of these coming this season, where she has a winning strike rate of 11% so far in 2023.

It will be the fourth time Van Dongen will represent the state. She is closing in on 100 career winners and finished fifth on last season’s leading female drivers’ premiership after winning the title in the 2019/20 and 2017/18 seasons.

Other drivers competing include:

  • Queensland: Narissa and Taleah McMullen
  • New South Wales: Amanda Turnbull and Jemma Coney
  • Western Australia: Emily Suvaljko and Demi Roberts
  • Victoria: Michelle Phillips and Ellen Tormey
  • South Australia: Samantha Pascoe and Dani Hill.

The series winner is determined by points accumulated over the six heats of the championship.

Ford and Van Dongen will warm up for the series with several drives on the eight-race Hobart card on Friday night, which commences at 17:24 and can be seen on TasracingTV and Sky Racing 2.

 

Related News

5 January 2026
Rarity Rock delivers Saturday night win for Ellery
Well-known and widely respected harness racing participant Phillip Ellery enjoyed a rewarding night at Cranbourne on Saturday, training a winner with seven-year-old trotter Rarity Rock. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT THETROTS.COM.AU
5 January 2026
Kingman ready to rock as Bendigo Cup beckons
New pacing sensation Kingman is primed to up the ante on his challenge to Leap To Fame as Australasia’s best pacer at Bendigo on Saturday night. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT THETROTS.COM.AU
5 January 2026
Dashman's harness examination - January 5
Catch up on the week's harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton. PREMIERSHIP WINNERS CROWNED The 2025 premiership champions were decided prior to the last meeting of the season on Wednesday at Redcliffe. There was a clear margin in each category. Grant Dixon won the state...
5 January 2026
Lincoln River is bred in the purple
Five-year-old Lincoln River is bred to be a good winner. He is by champion sire Bettors Delight, and his dam Ideal Belle won the group 1 New Zealand Oaks over 2600m at Addington in May 2014 before being retired with a record of seven wins, 13 placings and $204,316 in stakes from 34 starts. He gave a...
5 January 2026
Infinite Sign back in business
Giant WA-bred seven-year-old Infinite Sign manages to feed himself despite being without four teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom, the result of taking fright in a paddock as a youngster during a burst of lightning and crashing into a tree or a fence. And Madeliene Young made the most of the...
Click for more