Five Minutes With... The Equine Tooth Fairy - Bobbie Murphy

Bobbie Murphy aka The Equine Tooth Fairy is not your usual horse dentist - most professionals in this field would not be eligible to enter a beauty pageant - but that's exactly what Bobbie is doing!

Dedicated and hard working, Bobbie has been a practicing equine dentist for nearly 10 years and has spent the past five of those years, working and building a business in far north Queensland and the Northern Territory, where she loves every minute of it.

On the beauty pageant front, Bobbie has been announced as a finalist in the Mrs Australia competition. This is not something she would usually do, nor something you would associate with an equine dentist, however, fundraising for worthy causes is something that really interests Bobbie and the competition requires that contestants to do a lot of this, so she thought, why not?

Jo Johnson caught up with Bobbie to find out more about life as a top end equine dentist and the Mrs Australia Quest...

 

How did you first become involved with horses and what sports were you mainly involved in?

I can thank my wonderful mother for getting me involved with horses, I never had to ask for a pony, they were always provided! Mum rode competitively and owned saddlery stores so she was my main influence. I was lucky enough to have a very supportive mum that bought me an array of ponies and horses over the years and travelled far and wide across the country taking me to events. I attended pony club as a child, then I discovered eventing and polocrosse, all of which I loved.

 

After attending the University of Sydney and studying a Bachelor of Equine Business Management I went to America to attend the Academy of Equine Dentistry for my first equine dentistry school. In between working on horses and working at other jobs in my first years of business, I read dentistry texts and trained in Veterinary Nursing. I have recently returned from my third dentistry class in America and continue to learn everyday.

 

I am focusing on supporting two charities, Project Dovetail and W.I.N. Australia.  I hope to see my fundraising work benefit women and children, and help them to live the life that they deserve, one without abuse and hardship.

If people are interested in donating to these two wonderful causes, they can contact me equinetoothfairy@bigpond.com or go directly to the websites www.winaustralia.org.au or www.projectdovetail.org  where they donate through the secure site.

As much as I love my job, I'm actually looking forward to washing off all the horse saliva! Next step will be to get a spray tan, don some swimwear and an evening gown and strut my stuff down a catwalk at the Crown Casino Melbourne. I am used to the comfort of my boots, jeans and work shirt, so I must admit, I am mildly nervous about the finals night. The Mrs Australia title is awarded to the woman that throughout her journey as a finalist, holds herself with poise and grace, does the best to her ability to raise awareness for not for profit causes, embraces her culture and nationality, is confident, compassionate and treats everyone with respect.

If I win the Mrs Australia Globe 2011, I will not only get a giant, sparkling tiara, but I will be competing in the World finals. The winner will also become the spokesperson for the Women In Need Foundation of Australia and will host a Kids Day Out for disadvantaged kids in their local area. Winning this pageant would give me the foundation to go on to help other charities or even create my own. It would be an amazing experience to be crowned the Mrs Australia winner, but I know that I have raised money that helps disadvantaged women and children and I already feel like a winner because of that.

That's a good question... I am sure it would be something to do with horses, although I did want to be an airline hostess when I was younger, so maybe I would of ended up on a plane serving bags or peanuts?

I really enjoy photography and I have a great environment in which to take pictures. I also love playing with our two Staffies, Raz and Durda and of course, spending some time catching up with my husband. Family is also very important to me, so I am often on the phone to them or planning trips to see them 1000's of kilometres away!

 

Thank you  for your time, Bobbie - we wish you all the best with your fundraising efforts and at the Mrs Australia Quest Finals in Melbourne!