McDonnell will ride Battle Guardian for Taree trainer Mark Stewart in the 2000 metre, $100,000 race.

"I have a good record on him (Battle Guardian) - I've had three wins and two or three seconds on him and I know he'll get the distance,'' McDonnell explains.

She's been with Taree trainer Glen Milligan for the past three months and is enjoying a golden run of form.

"I've ridden 18 winners this season,'' she said.

"I went on a really good run when I had four doubles in two weeks.''

This included the Krambach Cup on Mister Smartee for Port mentor Tas Morton.

"That's been my biggest win so far,'' she smiled.

McDonnell didn't know what the Taree Cup field will be like although she expects it will be 'tough'.

"I'd love another win. I just love winning country cups,'' she said.

McDonnell puts her golden run of form down to 'good horses and good luck'.

"Jockeys go through little stints like that...they ride a whole heap of winners and then drop off a bit. So I'm enjoying this while it lasts.''

She had a relatively late start to the racing game, although she's been around horses for much of her life. She moved to Australia from England when she was five and from the Central Coast to Krambach when her mum bought a property there.

"I always rode horses, but I did more hacking and showing when I was young,'' she explained.

By chance she was driving past the Tuncurry stables of trainer Terry Evans soon after moving to the area.

"I've always worked with horses, and I wondered if they needed a stable hand, so I went and asked if there was a job for me'' McDonnell recalled.

"But Terry (Evans) said 'you're little enough to be a jockey, so why not give it a go'. So I did.''

That was four years ago. However, it's been a journey since, with McDonnell moving from Evans to Wauchope's Colt Prosser and then Allan Kehoe at Port Macquarie.

McDonnell then had brief stays with Clint Lundholm at Dubbo and then Trevor Sutherland.

"Then I went to Albury for a week and back to Port and Allan (Kehoe). He moved to Wyong so I moved to Glen (Milligan),'' McDonnell said.

She nominates James McDonald and Hugh Bowman as her favourite jockeys. While she's ridden at tracks all around the State, McDonnell has no ambition to move to the city.

"I don't think so, there's just so much pressure in town,'' McDonnell said.

And there an incentive to keep riding in the country.

"Country cups. I love winning country cups, I love counting them,'' she laughed.

She already has the Kempsey and Bellingen Cups to her credit this year along with the Lightning Sprint at Bowraville.

It's been a busy week. McDonnell rode at Wyong on Tuesday and will be at Grafton today then Bowraville tomorrow before heading back for the Taree Cup meeting on Sunday.

Travel, she adds philosophically, is part of a hoop's life.

"I worked out that in a busy week I've done 35 hours of driving,'' she said.

"Sometimes I go on my own or I jump in with the other jocks. Mum comes with me at times and sometimes I have a driver.''

Injuries are also part of the game, although McDonnell said so far she's been relatively unscathed.

"I've shattered my knuckle, broken some ribs and had stiches under my chin. That's pretty lucky for a jockey,'' she said.

"It's just one of those jobs, injuries happen,'' she added.

McDonnell said her move to the Milligan stable has been a positive for her career.

"Glen's been so good to me,'' McDonnell emphasised.

"It's good to have a master who actually puts you on. I've been at some places where your boss will always choose someone else to ride.''

There'll be some rivalry on Sunday as Milligan's Charmmebaby, to be ridden by Grant Buckley, is considered one of the leading contenders for the cup that is due to start at 5.14.