Aboard Prince of Penzance, trained in Ballarat by Darren Weir, Ms Payne won the 2015 cup, a culmination of years of work and fighting to be taken seriously in the male-dominated industry.

A scion of a horseracing dynasty, she is still riding competitively, but also enjoying the new challenge of training horses with her own team in Ballarat as a dual-licence trainer and jockey - an industry change she was a key advocate for.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Michelle Payne becomes the first woman jockey to win the Cup

She said she was "humbled" by the OAM recognition, for services to the horseracing industry, adding to a long list of achievements and honours, including the Australian Sport Hall of Fame's 'The Don' Award for most inspirational Australian athlete in 2016.

"It's obviously very special, I'm happy to be recognised in my industry, I've been passionate about it for so many years," she said.

"I felt really surprised, as you can imagine.

"It's really nice to be recognised for that, and it feels really special."

Five years on from her historic Melbourne Cup win, female jockeys are becoming a more common sight at meets across Australia, and Ms Payne said many of them are "dominating".

"I'm really excited to see the new generation of girls coming through, and how well they're doing all around Australia - it's an exciting new era to be living in," she said.

"We've fought hard, we've worked really hard - there were other female jockeys before me, but it's amazing to see it's just normal now.

"There's Danielle Scott in Victoria and Rachel King in NSW, and so many other riders, it's just great to see."

MJ Payne Racing, based at the Ballarat Turf Club, is also going from strength to strength, with nine winners in 2020 and big ambitions for the year ahead.

"I still live in Ballarat out on the farm, I love being back home where I grew up," Ms Payne said.

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"I'm really focused on doing the best I can with my team - we've got some really nice horses in the stable at the moment.

"Anyone who's a sportsperson wants to achieve at the highest level they can, so my ambition is to get the best out of the horses, grow the quality of the stable, and just do the best we can.

"If you try really hard, and give 100 per cent, you never know what's possible."

Anyone can nominate any Australian for an award in the Order of Australia. If you know someone worthy, nominate them now at www.gg.gov.au.

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