Riding like a Kiwi girl
Female jockeys are part of the fabric of NZ racing, writes Mary Burgess.
Jockeys and gender equality are not words you would expect in the same sentence. But in New Zealand, women jockeys are not only an integral part of the galloping landscape, they are paid exactly the same as their male counterparts. That has been the case since day one.
Nearly 42 years on from Joanne Hale’s groundbreaking ride in a hurdles race at Waimate on July 15, 1978, when just four girls took rides, females now make up 43 per cent of New Zealand riding ranks.
New Zealand may not have been the first to licence women jockeys, but has been lengths ahead of other racing jurisdictions when it comes to acceptance. The women riding in races now, and the young girls taking up apprenticeships, have never known a time when a career as a jockey was not an option because of their gender.
It is thanks to the incredible tenacity of trailblazing Cambridge rider Linda Jones, whose case was promoted in the media by late racing scribe John Costello, that they now have that opportunity. Of course, the timely appearance of the 1977 Human Rights Act and a suggestion from Jones’ MP, Marilyn Waring, that the entity then known as the New Zealand Racing Conference might want to be on the right side of history, also helped.
It is to the credit of Kiwi trainers at the time that their attitude towards the women riders was markedly different to other nations. The trainers gave the girls a go and found that most had ability and were natural lightweights. That ability has morphed into very real talent over the years.
Three of the past four New Zealand jockeys’ premierships have been won by female jockeys, and in the year when Canterbury-based Chris Johnson took the premiership, the runner-up and third-placed jockeys were both female.
Last year’s premiership win was a special one for Whanganui-based Lisa Allpress. Not only was it her third, but it also came after a gutsy return from a shoulder injury that threatened to end her career. The previous season’s win was also special for Sam Collett, as she was repeating the