With the accolades Rachael Blackmore is receiving for her milestone Gold Cup and Grand National victories, and Gina Andrews breaking all known pointing records, it is easy to forget a time when high-profile female jockeys were the exception rather than the norm. One of the pioneer lady jockeys in the 1970s was 1978 champion Rosemary White (left, on Horoscope at Nedge) and Jake Exelby – one of whose first memories of racing was watching Rosemary on King Kong II lead John Thorne on Spartan Missile in the 1979 Aintree Foxhunters – talked to her about her time in the saddle and the changes she has seen in nearly half a century between the flags.
How did you get into point-to-pointing in the first place?
My father farmed and I started riding and going to pony club as a child. When I left school, John Daniell had a mare out of Pure Chance, who’d won for him, that he didn’t want, so I broke her in for him – that was Horoscope. She was tiny – just 15.1 hands – and your ears were beside hers – and she was very naughty. She bucked a lot and you had to be careful. Her first race – and my first ride – was when she was nine, in a Ladies Open at Nedge in 1974. There were a lot of runners and I didn’t think we’d survive, but John told me how to ride her – jump off, tuck in and stride for home after the second last. We had to run in Ladies Opens as she was too small to carry higher weights. I also won four Hunter Chases on her and was beaten by a short distance several times – mares didn’t get an allowance in those days.
How did your career take off from there?
I won another Ladies on Horoscope in my first season and started to get more rides thanks to her. Bright Chance (who won six points in Rosemary’s championship season) was a half-sister to Horoscope and was an extraordinary horse. He was lovely looking and we hunted him hard – my husband John was master at the time – but he was slow as a hearse in the hunting field and could hardly keep up. However, he had electric speed on the track and won his last eight point-to-points. He beat Spartan Missile once at Stratford but wasn’t a good enough jumper for Hunter Chases (he fell six times in this sphere). I remember him falling when coming to challenge Spartan Missile in the Cheltenham Foxhunters in 1979 with a double handful.
There was no secret to being champion jockey – I had good horses to ride and nothing succeeds like success. Tennessee, owned by Adrian Watkins, was another I won a lot of races on. I ended up stopping in 1982 after a bad fall.
Rosemary (no. 14) on Bright Chance at Larkhill
As well as those mentioned above, who was your favourite horse?
King Kong II, who was owned by Peter Hudson, master of the VWH, was wonderful. He was a big strong horse, best suited by two and a half miles, and I couldn’t hold one side of him! He beat Spartan Missile at Sandown, won two Hunter Chases at Newbury and at the Cheltenham evening meeting, and was a brilliant hunter who’d jump anything. Sadly, he broke down at Aintree in 1980 when disputing the lead.
Rosemary on King Kong II
Who's inspired you most in the world of pointing?
Lord (John) Oaksey. I used to hunt with the VWH at the time his wife Tory was master and he gave me a lot of help.
Lord Oaksey - inspiration
Which jockeys did you most admire? Why?
Sue Horton (nee Aston) was finishing her career as mine was getting going – she was the first female to really challenge the men. Then the Thorne sisters – Diana and Jane – and Rose Vickery, although we rode in different areas.
Sue Horton - challenged the men
Rosemary (right) with fellow jockeys (L-R) Di Grissell and Jane Sloan (nee Thorne)
What issues did you face as a female rider in the 1970s?
I don’t think I experienced any. I wasn’t daunted, I took on any of the men I could and didn’t fear any of them. What was different to now is that the ladies had to change in a shed out the back, so we couldn’t hear them swearing! But that didn’t worry me – all’s fair in love and war.
Which were your favourite courses? Why?
Under rules, Cheltenham and Chepstow. Pointing, Didmarton, because you could see what everyone else was doing (!) and Nedge, where I rode well and was very lucky.
What was the highlight of your time as a jockey?
More than being champion, it was winning the BMW Ladies Final at Chepstow on Horoscope in 1977. She was a mudlark, and the ground had turned firm by then, but she was very brave and determined and always gave 100%.
Rosemary (left) on Horoscope winning the BMW Ladies Final at Chepstow
What was your personal funniest moment in the sport?
It was the first time Horoscope ran in a Hunter Chase, at Wolverhampton, As we walked the course, John and I were joking about the fact the rails separating the course from the main road were just four feet high. She was brought down at the open ditch, jumped over the rail onto the dual carriageway and galloped over a roundabout. John was following in a police car and she ended up in someone’s garden. She had a haematoma but won at Didmarton just three weeks later. (Doesn’t sound funny to me, Rosemary, more like scary!)
How have you kept in touch with the sport since retiring?
We kept the Horoscope line going – her best descendent was Westward Point, trained by Warren Greatrex, who won a good novice chase at Wetherby. She had four foals herself, but we should probably have put her to better stallions.
Our son Doug rides in points. He’s a farmer now, but was in the Army and rode his schoolmaster – Bringbackthebiff – in the Grand Military Gold Cup a few years ago. He had his first winner last season in the VWH Members on Fil D’Ariane, a good horse who we got from Tom Symonds.
Fil D'Ariane winning at Siddington
What changes have you seen during your time? For better, for worse?
When I raced, so many friends and neighbours bred and owned horses and there were many farmers in the Beaufort country – the likes of the Akermans, Bushes and Smiths. There was a real community spirit and we used to have double figure fields in the Beaufort Members race, but this has dwindled now (Note: there were ten runners in the race again in 2022, the biggest field in a race of this nature for many years as far as the writer is aware).
For the better, the general standard is higher, particularly the standard of riding and the courses.
With horse numbers at their lowest ever level, what are your concerns about the future?
We seem to be following the Irish model and becoming more commercial, but it’s important that pointing stays connected to the hunts – after all, it’s hunt volunteers who put the meetings on. Doug is on the Didmarton committee, I help out and there are at least 20 other people involved.
I think we should open up the sport to professional trainers and let their horses of lower ability run in points. It would also help if there could be more flexibility in the number of fences per race, as some tracks struggle with the cost of maintaining the fences – we’re lucky at Didmarton, run by John Tuck, which is one of few courses with permanent fences. My husband John is Clerk of the Course at Barbury, where it’s very sad there will be no racing next year, and it will be expensive to renew the infrastructure there.
Racing at Didmarton
What reasons do we have to be optimistic?
There seemed to be a lot of enthusiasm this season. While runners were down, this was due to the ground and the fixture list, but the crowds were back. Go-ahead meetings with forward-thinking committees have been putting on other events, but we need to look at race conditions to attract more horses – there’s a limited pool, so we need to diversify.
What are your plans for next season?
We’re hoping that Doug will go for the Grand Military again with Fil D’Ariane, who we put away after he won at Siddington. They’ll start in points and maybe take in a Hunter Chase.
What are your non-horsey hobbies?
I enjoy gardening, and watching historical documentaries.
What do you think you’d have been doing if you hadn’t been involved in racing?
I was supposed to be going to Bristol University after school but took a year out, got a job and hunted rather a lot. I then met John and got married instead, which was a good decision!
Husband John - good decision!