Tributes to rider Lorna Brooke have flooded in following her death at the weekend.
Brooke, 37, who lived at her family home in Powys, suffered a severe neck injury when falling in a handicap chase at Taunton on April 8, although she later spoke to friends by phone from a bed in Southmeads Hospital, Bristol. She subsequently underwent an operation last week to stabilise the injury, but was later placed in an induced coma and did not recover.
Her mount, ten-year-old Orchestrated, who was owned and trained by her mother, Lady Susan Brooke, had run in 22 races and never fallen.
Tabitha Worsley, who rode in the Grand National two days after Brooke’s fall, said: “I spoke to Lorna [by phone] the day after Aintree and it was as good as riding in the Grand National. She was one in a million, and a proper horseman. What set her apart was her ability to keep older horses on the go.”
Brooke’s (pictured above in orange colours riding at Brampton Bryan in 2014) final winner came in a mixed open race on Garde Ville at Sandon in Staffordshire, five days before the Taunton fall. Trish Rigby, who trains Garde Ville, said: “After Steve Davies retired Lorna rode Hawkestone Spirit for us in a handful of races, but she missed out on riding Garde Ville last year due to Covid. I was just so glad she got the chance to ride him at Sandon, and she had the biggest smile when she came back [to the winners’ enclosure]. She would always give a horse a ride, she was very gutsy and she knew what she was doing.
“Garde Ville runs at Ludlow [today] and I’ve booked Immy Robinson to ride him. When I called her she said, ‘We’ll do it for Lorna’.”
Brooke won seven races on The General Lee, who carried the colours of Judith Healey and Jim Squires. Healey said: “I have a collage of pictures of The General Lee, and Lorna’s smile is the first thing I see when I come into the room. She was a very kind and generous person, and when we decided to help Jane Williams try and win the national women’s title, I asked Lorna if she would mind us giving Jane a ride on The General Lee. Lorna immediately said ‘Yes, go for it’.”
When Welsh champion point-to-point rider Isabel Tompsett suffered a life-changing fall at Fakenham in 2011, Brooke and Williams teamed up to raise money for their stricken colleague by cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End. Of the 920-mile journey that lay ahead, Brooke, who had not ridden a bike since she was a child, said: “We wanted to do something drastic to raise money to support Isabel and her family.” Costs incurred on the way were absorbed by the two cyclists, and they raised £25,000.
Lorna Brooke (left) with Jane Williams during their marathon cycle ride for Isabel Tompsett
Williams said of her ally: “Lorna was a bubbly person and always fun to be around. I have some wonderful memories of nights out when we were both at Cirencester Agricultural College – although we weren’t there much because we were always off riding out or racing – and of laughs in the changing room. It was a pleasure to have ridden with her over the years. I’m very proud of the money we both raised for the IJF by doing the cycle ride from John O’Groats to Lands end.
“It’s just so sad, she was so young and full of life. She will be sadly missed by so many and my thoughts are with her family and friends.”
Getting support during their ride from former champion jockey Bob Davies, a director of the Amateur Jockeys' Association
Writing on the Amateur Jockeys’ Association website, chief executive Sarah Oliver wrote: “Lorna was the perfect diplomat for racing and could always be relied upon, with her sunny nature and modest disposition. She represented GB in Arabian racing, riding both in Bahrain and Poland in 2015 as part of the HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Series and enjoyed its finale in Abu Dhabi. She also represented GB alongside Jodie Hughes riding in Mauritius in 2018 and again in 2019 when riding on two separate occasions as part of a team of GB lady riders on the Flat in Germany. Her unfailing smile allowed Lorna to make friends wherever she went.
“Lorna’s thirst for racing was unquenchable; she embodied everything there is to love about jump racing. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and her very many friends. One thing is for certain that Lorna will never be forgotten.”
Brooke rode in her first point-to-point on February 26, 2000, finishing unplaced on her mother’s Highway Five at the North Herefordshire’s Whitwick Manor course. She missed out when foot and mouth curtailed the following season, but in 2002 rode her first winner when partnering Hag’s Way in a novice riders’ race at the Point-to-Point Owners’ & Riders’ Club meeting at Barbury Racecourse. Sam Waley-Cohen, riding Down, finished runner-up.
Brooke rode four winners that season, a total she matched twice more (2005 and 2010/11), eventually compiling a total of 36 point-to-point winners to go with 17 under Rules. A highlight was landing the first running of a ladies’ chase at Fairyhouse in 2015 against some of Ireland’s top women riders. Trainer Paul Stafford was so impressed he booked Brooke for the horse’s next run in a handicap hurdle at Musselburgh, and they won that, too.