Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Man’s body is recovered after ‘jet ski accident’
Georgie hopes jockey Tabitha can become 1st female winner
THE PSNI has said a man’s body was recovered after what is believed to have been a jet ski accident.
The ambulance service received an emergency call at 3.40pm on Saturday.
A person had reportedly entered the River Erne, at Cloonatrig Road, Bellanaleck, Co Fermanagh.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “A postmortem examination will take place in due course.
“Police are not treating the death as suspicious at this time.”
An NIAS spokesperson added: “We dispatched two emergency crews and an ambulance officer to the incident.
“The Charity Air Ambulance with Helicopter Emergency Medical Service crew on board was also tasked to the incident. No one was taken from the scene.”
SDLP councillor Adam Gannon said: “Terribly sad to hear this news today, thoughts are with the family at this time.
“If you’re thinking of going out on the water always take the necessary safety precautions as accidents can happen as tragically occurred yesterday.”
JOCKEY Tabitha Worsley is aiming to make Grand National history this weekend on a horse owned and trained by her mum Georgie Howell.
And while Georgie will be a nervous wreck during the race, she has every confidence her daughter could finish in the top 10, or even win – despite being a 100-1 outsider.
Tabitha, 26, will tackle Aintree’s huge fences on Sub Lieutenant.
She will be one of three women riders hoping to become the first female to win the National, alongside Rachael Blackmore and Bryony Frost.
Mum-of-two Georgie, 55, said: “It seems beyond my wildest dreams that this might happen. It is unbelievable. We might be 100-1 but the horse has got every chance if you look at the form book. There is no reason why he shouldn’t get a top 10 finish. It is dreamland to think he might win but it isn’t impossible. You can dream about something and it can come true.
“I will be ashen white and terrified.
“I will sit there with my head in my hands. I probably won’t watch too much of it.” Tabitha added: “She is going to be a quivering wreck. I think she has been like that since I started racing.” She has ridden
Sub Lieutenant twice at Ascot, finishing fourth both times. Tabitha said: “He has already given us two really fun days out and if we can keep him sound and well he should give us the biggest day of both mine and my mum’s careers and lives.
“It could be the one chance we ever get to run something in the National.” In 2017 Tabitha broke her back in a fall during a race.
But just 17 months later she tasted success in Liverpool, winning the Foxhunters’ Chase over the National fences. And despite her injuries, she insisted she holds no fear. Tabitha added: “I always say the second I go out there and feel nervous will be the day I give up. If you go out there feeling nervous you are more likely to get hurt.”
Georgie, who schools six other horses at her farm near Tenbury Wells, Worcester, describes herself as an “amateur” who has “cheap and ordinary” animals and has never had a winner.
But she paid £50,000 for 12-year-old Sub Lieutenant last September.
Georgie, a permit trainer who can only train her own animals, said: “We all work incredibly hard and felt we deserved a nicer horse to go running in better races.”
Tabitha has being riding since she was a toddler. Georgie added: “She has been passionate about horses and ponies. She was breaking ponies in when she was five, she just loves it.”