- This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
A hardy nailer by all accounts and won the Irish National when Rachael Blackmore wasn’t even a twinkle in her daddy’s eye .
I was aware Ann Ferris had won the Irish National but, on reading about her further, this success was far from a flash in the pan. She was quite the trailblazer for women jockeys and also won the Ulster National in 1976 and the Irish Sweeps Hurdle in 1979. And she was hugely successful in the pointing arena too.
For some reason, she does not seem to be a particularly well-known figure within the history of the sport. Her achievements deserve to be celebrated widely. RIP Ann Ferris
“For some reason, she does not seem to be a particularly well-known figure within the history of the sport. Her achievements deserve to be celebrated widely. RIP Ann Ferris”
Easy. She did most (all?) of her race riding in Ireland, not England. As far as popular media was concerned- well she wouldn’t have been the 80s version of Ed Chamberlain’s or a tabloid editor’s dream. She never rode in the Grand National. She had a hard Northern Irish accent at a time when it was decidedly unfashionable due to current events. She wasn’t pretty, didn’t have a nice set of veneers to flash at the camera, and was a married woman in her 40s at the time of her biggest race win. So not suitable for “Plucky blonde jockette Ann tackles National fences- here’s a photo of her in her britches” stories.
She was a mother, so at that time wouldn’t have been particularly lauded by all for gallivanting off landing touches in the other valuable handicaps she won. She was a mother doing a dangerous sport- remember the opprobrium Alison Gargreaves received in the popular press for being “selfish” enough to tackle, and die on, K2 a decade later? (quite possibly to earn sponsorship money to escape an abusive relationship, as it turns out).
Her sister was also useful Rosemary Rooney and her father was a top ptp rider Willie Rooney who rode to an advanced age
Greenasgrass, thanks for the further background. I think that makes her achievements even more interesting and impressive.
While I take your point that these aspects led to her not being a particularly celebrated figure at the time, I’m still a bit surprised she is not considered more noteworthy given more revisionist modern sensibilities.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.