LADY JOCKEYS: A BRIEF HISTORY.

​Lady jockeys are in a good place at the moment, with the likes of Turner, Gordon, Currie, Richardson, Cox and others making ripples in the ocean swell that is the world of racing. And, of course, with Rachael Blackmore still leading the jump jockeys table in Ireland they are closer than ever to breaking through the glass ceiling that will be the final hurdle in acceptance of them being truly the equal of their male counterparts.
But when do you think this revolution began? It seems like only two yesterday’s ago that Alex Greaves was dead-heating in the Nunthorpe and Charlotte Brew was making waves of controversy by daring to ride in the Grand National. Well, you would be wrong to think the phenomena that is lady jockeys is some sort of overnight sensation.
The surprising fact is that Ladies Opens in point-to-points did not exist before 1965. Up to then females wanting to ride over fences were restricted to certain adjacent races, with even Members races banned to them by certain hunts. In 1974 more races were opened to women, though not maidens. Indeed, the lady riders of today can be thankful for the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975 for the slow deterioration of the male bastion that was race-riding.
Not that the Jockey Club welcomed the female jockey with open arms and bouquets of flowers. Not a bit of it. They were shamed into it; forced by the will of Parliament and even then they looked for a loophole that might allow the status quo to continue. They consulted the Equal Opportunities Commission, they considered in minute detail the implications of the Act, they sought further clarification. But their backs were against the wall and unless they complied with the legislation the first bullet would be fired. They capitulated. They had no choice, though they decided the Act also forbade races restricted on the flat to female riders.
The first female to be granted a permit to ride over jumps was Sue Horton, the five-times female champion point-to-point rider. Four of the six original applicants received their permits, with Muriel Naughton and Jane and Diana Thorne also successful. Marie Tinkler, a qualified vet, husband of Colin, mother of two jockeys, winner of lots of point-to-points, show jumping events and the Newmarket Town Plate, was denied a permit to ride. She was 51 and thought too much of a risk. The contrariety of the decision was brought to bare on the Jockey Club when Marie Tinkler went on to become a leading amateur on the flat and her husband’s chief work-rider.
The first female to ride under the rules of National Hunt was Muriel Naughton, riding her own horse Ballycasey at Ayr, three days after receiving her permit. She finished one from last. But the ice was broken and the racing’s waters would never freeze over again.
She rode Ballycasey next time in the Eider Chase, unseating at the 17th fence. Muriel Naughton was the first female to ride in a National Hunt race, the first to suffer a fall and the first to turn professional. There really should be a plaque somewhere to honour her achievements.
As there should for the mighty Thorne twins, daughters of the intrepid John Thorne, he of Spartan Missile fame. Diana Thorne holds the honour of being the first female to win a National Hunt race when beating her father in a photo-finish at Stratford on Ben Ruler. Two weeks later her twin sister Jane won a hunter chase at Warwick on Indian Diva. Later in her career Jane finished second in the Whitbread Gold Cup on Spartan Missile.
The girls riding today in National Hunt, the likes of Bryony Frost, Lizzie Kelly, Page Fuller and others, owe a debt to the likes of the aforementioned, as well as those females now almost forgotten: Gillian Fortescue-Thomas, Nicky Lay, Joan Barrow, Val Greaves (mother of Alex), Ann Harvey, Geraldine Rees, Barbara Oliver, Shelaigh French, Diana Grissell, Rosemary White, Vera Sharpe, and Jenny Stamp who was paralysed in a fall in a point-to-point. And a special mention should go to Anne Alcock, author of ‘They’re Off!’, the story of the first female jump jockeys. You may have to hunt a copy down but it is well worth the time and purchase.
We are entering a period of transition in race-riding. It is inevitable that a female jockey will win one of the prestige races, more likely the Grand National, King George or Cheltenham Gold Cup, rather than a classic race on the flat, and the still prevailing glass ceiling will be cracked if not actually broken. I hope to live to see the day. But the road to creating racing history began way back in 1965, gained speed in 1976 and today with Rachael Blackmore, Lizzie Kelly and Bryony Frost proving beyond a shadow of doubt that the female can be the equal of the male the ‘National Velvet’ moment may just be around the corner.