WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 27
bebetterwitha femalejockey.Asthe corny
sayinggoes– ‘horsesforcourses’.”
History-making jump jockey Bryony
Frost,whowontheRyanairChaseonboard
Frodon at the Cheltenham Festival earlier
intheyear,seesherpointofview.Writing
forherBBCSportcolumn,shesays:“Horses
arealldifferentandhavetheirlikesanddis-
likes.Somejockeysgetonbetterwithsome
horses.FrodonandI havebeenpartnered
witheachotherfortwoseasonsandhave
gottoknoweachotherreallywell.”
As Frost knows,few male professional
jockeyshavetheluxuryofforminga part-
nership with their mount. Usually being
legged-upintheparaderingandcantering
a fewhundredmetresdowntothestartis
theironlyintroductiontotheidiosyncratic
half-tonofmuscleand15ozofbrain that will
be racing away beneath them.
CHALLENGINGTIMES
Ifyou’vebeeninvolvedinracingformany
years,it’shardnottobedisappointedthat
eachnewexcitingfemalejockeytohitthe
headlineshasn’tresultedina criticalmass.
In 1972, riding on the flat, Meriel Tufnell
becamethefirstwomantowina raceunder
Rules.Nearlyhalfa centurylater,Josephine
Gordon,championflatapprenticein2016,is
findingit hardtopickupfanciedrides,with
herearningsdowntojusta 10thofwhatthey
wereinherfirstseasonasa seniorjockey.
HerexperienceisborneoutbyofficialBrit-
ish Horseracing Authority (BHA) statistics,
whichshowthatwomenaccountfor12%of
alllicensedjockeysbutjust6%ofallrides
andonly1%ofridesinthetopraces.Frus-
tratingly, research carried out by Vanessa
CashmoreatLiverpoolUniversityprovesthat
whentheydogeta ride,thewomendojustas
wellasthemen.Cashmoreexplains:“Analys-
inga 14-yearperiodandtakingintoaccount
therelativequalityofthehorsesbeingridden,
theperformanceoffemalejockeysis essen-
tiallyno betterorworsethan men, andit
stronglyindicatesthattheyareevery bit as
goodastheirmalecounterparts.”
Cashmore’s study received funding
fromWomeninRacing,thechairofwhich,
TallulahLewis, feelsoptimisticthatwomen
arebreakingthroughasearnersintheindus-
try.Shesays:“Thisyearis our10thanniversary
andwehavecomea longwayinwhatweare
tryingtoachieve.Ouraimis tosupport,pro-
moteanddevelopwomenin theindustryfrom
grassrootsall thewaythroughtoexecutive
level,togiveallwomenacrosstheindustrythe
opportunityto develop.” It’s noticeablethat
Lewisrefersto racingas anindustryrather
thana sport.Sheandhercolleaguesarebusi-
nesswomenwholookatracingas a career
path as much as anything else – and they are
1711 QueenAnnestartsAscotraces,
declaringEastCoteheatha goodplace
for“horsestogallopatfullstretch”.
1845 QueenVictoriaintroducesAscot’s
RoyalEnclosureasanareaforPrince
AlberttominglewithRoyalguests,
includingNicholasI ofRussia.
1920 HelenVernetis thefirst
womantopassthe‘fitandproper’
charactertestrequiredto obtain a
bookmaker’slicence.
1932 DorothyPaget’sGoldenMillerwins
thefirstoffiveCheltenhamGoldCups.
In 1943 herhorse,StraightDeal,winsthe
Derby.Pagetis leadingowner on both
theflatandNationalHunt.
1937 LataBrandisováonNormawinsthe
CzechGrandPardubicesteeplechase.
1949 HMTheQueenMotherbecomes
a racehorseowneraftera dinnerwith
thesteeplechase jockey Lord Mildmay
ofFlete.
1954 and 1957 HMTheQueen named
flatracingchampionowner.
1972 MerielTufnellonScorchedEarth,
intheGoyaStakesatKempton,is the
firstwomantowinunderRules.
1977 CharlotteBrewcompetesinthe
Grand National on Barony Fort. By 1982Three centuries of ladiesinracingsucceeding. Most British racecourses have
atleastonewomanina seniorpostorinthe
boardroom.Inbroadcastingit is femalevoices
thatdelivertheimportantinformation,from
AlexHammondatSkySportsRacingtoFranc-
escaCumaniatITVRacingandDeniseLarge,
thefirstfemaleproducer to oversee televising
the Grand National.BEHINDTHESCENES
Lewis, herself programme manager at
Alizeti –TogetherfortheTote, pointsout:
“TheBritishHorseracingAuthorityhasjust
announced Annamarie Phelps as its new
chair. Thebalanceisswingingforwomen
to hold positions now. Juliet Slot is the
chief commercialdirectorforAscotRace-
course.”Lewiscouldaddanotherdozenor
sonamesofpowerhousewomencurrently
forgingcareersbehindthescenesinracing,
includingHarrietRochester,CareyBuckler,
StephKirkleyandAmyStarkey.Butit’sstill
notenoughforWomeninRacing,asLewis
sumsup:“Overthedecadesincewestarted,
it is greatthatwomenarenowholdingthese
positions,butthereisstilla lottobedone.
We have sponsored research at Oxford
BrookesUniversitythathasledtotheBHA
setting up its diversity steering group. Andwe have a bursary fund anda mentoring
programme to helpwomen develop their
careersinracing.”
Thisismuchneededattheentrylevelof
a racing career. The OxfordBrookes study
foundthatmorewomenareenteringracing
fromcollegecourses,outnumberingmenby
a ratioofnearly70:30,butthatisn’tbeing
converted into a genuine careerpath,and
thereportidentified“careerstagnation”once
womentrytomakeprogress.SusannahGill,
director of communications and corporate
affairsatTogetherfortheTote,andformerly
external affairs director at Arena Racing
Company, comments:“Thereport showed
whatyouwouldhearanecdotallyfrompeo-
pleinracing.I thinksometimesracingis seen
as a conservativesportand peoplehaven’t
openly shared their views. It’s something
we certainly recognise in otherindustries
aswell,andI thinkwe’veprobablyknown
aboutit inhorseracing.Butthisreportis the
firsttimewe’veseenit andtalkedaboutit.”
Winning women jockeys hitting the
headlines today are exciting, buttheyare
justthetipofa coolicebergoffemaleswho
have infiltrated racing via the boardroom
andwillcertainlybethe dominant players in
the sport’s future.GeraldineReesis thefirsttocomplete,
ridingCheersintoeighthplace.In2012,
KatieWalshis thefirst to place, finishing
thirdonSeabass.
1983 JennyPitmantrainsGrand
NationalwinnerCorbiere,andin
1995 winsagainwithRoyalAthlete.
In1984,BurroughHillLadwinsthe
CheltenhamGoldCup,followed in
1991 byGarrisonSavannah.
2011 HayleyTurner(below)is thefirst
femaletoridea GroupOnewinneron
Dream Ahead in the July Cup at Newmarket.2015 ShergarCup,Ascot,is won by an
all-femalejockeyteam.
2019 BryonyFrostwinstheRyanair
ChaseattheCheltenham Festival on
board Frodon.Racing