Our views on the current landscape of Women’s Sport

5 January 2016

Changing the game – Five great achievements by female jockeys in 2015

 On Boxing Day 22 year old Lizzie Kelly, who lives near Marlborough, made history, becoming the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race over jumps in the UK.  Kelly was riding Tea For Two at Kempton Park Racecourse in the Kauto Star Novice Chase for trainer and her step father Nick Williams.  Tea for Two is owned by her mother Jane Williams.

Kelly has bought the curtain down on the year for female jockeys in a fitting fashion.  In 2015 we celebrated some major milestones of women’s achievements on the racecourse around the globe.   Here are some highlights;

 Silver Saddle for Sammy Jo

Apprentice Jockey Sammy Jo Bell was the heroine at this year’s Shergar Cup held at Ascot Racecourse in August.  Following a late call up for the ‘Girls’ team, Bell won two of the six races – in the process arguably outriding four times winner of the L’Arc De Triomphe Olivier Peslier as well as Damien Oliver; Melbourne Cup winning jockey.

Along with team mates Hayley Turner, the first female jockey to win a group 1 race outright in the UK and Canadian Emma Jayne-Wilson, the girls were crowned the Queens of the Shergar Cup beating Great Britain and Ireland; Europe and the Rest of the World consisting of leading male jockeys from around the globe. Bell was also awarded the coveted silver saddle trophy as the fixture’s top jockey.

In October, Sammy Jo’s contemporary and confessed role model Hayley Turner announced her retirement from race riding.  The 32 year old is Britain’s most successful female flat jockey.  She became the first women to ride 100 winners in a year and accumulated 750 wins during her career including two Group One race; the July Cup at Newmarket and York’s Nunthorpe stakes.  She also became joint champion apprentice jockey in 2005.

Michelle Payne says ‘get stuffed’

Michelle Payne became another history maker on the 3 November, when victorious in the race that stops a nation – the Melbourne Cup in Australia. Payne became the first woman to win the race in its 155 year history.

Riding Prince of Penzance, the pair were sent off as outsider with odds of 100/1, however following a strong move down the home straight they held off the fast-finishing Max Dynamite, ridden by Frankie Dettori, by three-quarters of a length to secure victory.

Moments after making history, Payne made some controversial remarks much quoted in the press, criticising that the racing world is chauvinistic. The Australian had a two-word response to the “chauvinists” who doubt the ability of women to compete alongside men – “Get stuffed.”

Doyle flies the flag state side

Brit Sophie Doyle has been making a name for herself riding in America over the past two years.  After becoming disillusioned due to lack of riding opportunities in the UK, Doyle made the decision to move to first California then Kentucky.  In her second year riding in the US she’s won over $1.6 million in prize money.

In 2015 she rode in 747 races and won 72, however Sophie’s highlight was making her Breeders’ Cup début in the $1m Filly and Mare Sprint, riding Fioretti the mare that brought her first graded stakes victory.

 Katie Walsh – Thunder and Roses at the Irish Grand National

Katie Walsh, arguably the most successful woman jump jockey in England and Ireland became the third female in history to claim the Irish Grand National in April as she guided Thunder And Roses to victory at Fairyhouse, Ireland.

It is 31 years since Ann Ferris struck gold aboard Bentom Boy, while Nina Carberry, also a highly respected Irish jump jockey, enjoyed National glory also aboard Organisedconfusion in 2011.

So what for 2016?

Walsh is the most the successful female jockey in the world’s most famous jump race the Grand National held at Aintree. In 2011 she finished in third place riding Sea Bass.  She is tipped to become the first woman to win the ultimate test of horse and jockey.

Women jockeys have proven in 2015 that when given the opportunity they can deliver on a world stage.  So come on trainers and owner’s keep up the support and let’s cheer home the first Grand National female ridden winner in 2016!

Move over darling – England’s roses are coming
The rise of England’s women’s team’s by Harriet Rochester, 6 October

On Saturday Dame Kelly Holmes @damekellyholmes tweeted “now give the women’s record’ following England’s gut wrenching defeat to Australia in the Rugby World Cup. Holmes was responding to BBC Five Live’s @5Livesport tweet who highlighted that England’s men’s Rugby, Football and Cricket teams have all been knocked out in the group stages of their respective last world cup tournament.

I am not going to harp on about England’s loss. Aside from it’s pretty depressing, but then that’s usually the downside of sport, what do I know about rugby ? I am sister to a ‘rugga-bugga’ and was childhood neighbours with Tom & Ben Youngs, England hooker and scrum half  respectively, who are wonderful salt of the earth farming boys from Norfolk. That’s about my rugby claim to fame. I do enjoy watching a good ding dong of a match though, yelling at random ‘PRESSURE’ in a knowing fashion at the TV. But I don’t feel I am in a position to pass judgement on the performance of Stuart Lancaster’s team who have received their fair share of damming since Saturday night. Australia were simply the better side. That’s all I have to say on England’s Rugby World Cup.

However, Dame Kelly’s tweet did make me wonder more so than normal about the men v women’s sport conundrum. The reality is that England’s women are kicking the men’s ass with their results.

In the words of that great philosopher Beyoncé, If I were a boy’, I’d watch out. The happy man bubble is about to go poof. As if by a miracle women have come along and they literally are #carryingithome

Cue a spot of gloating. Here’s England’s recent comparative women’s world cup record;
2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup – Bronze
2014 – Women’s Rugby World Cup Champions
2015 – Women Football World Cup – Bronze

For a final dollop of gloat, recall England women’s scintillating gold in the Euro Hockey in August when beating the Netherlands in a nail biting penalty shoot-out. And the jockey trio of Sammy-Jo Bell, Hayley Turner and Emma Jayne-Wilson who became the first girls’ team to lift the Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse this summer. These are some highlight’s of our English rose’s awesome performance’s this year. OK, the girls Shergar Cup team had an international flavour but they beat the boys fair and square on good old fashioned British turf – a very noteworthy female team effort.

In addition to the women’s game in football, rugby and cricket demonstrating fascinating tactical strength, our girls are delivering the right results and in some sports the right attitudes to the nation and to the younger generation.

The Lionesses in the women’s world football cup appetite to win was inspirational. Furthermore, the BBC’s coverage of the tournament clearly helped engage the nation with the women’s game. Steve Robertson, manager of Swindon Ladies Football Club, my local team, says he has seen a increase in women either wanting to play of watch football since the world cup.

The impact of good media coverage is obvious. Women’s sport needs the media but the media may need to embrace a more diverse sporting portfolio including more of England female teams, especially when a nation’s pride is at stake.

Women are also holding their own in the c-suites. There are more women than ever in senior roles and on boards in sporting organisations. There’s still room for improvement, but Liz Nichol – UK Sport, Sally Munday, England Hockey and Joanna Adams of England Netball are some of the female chief executives in sport who are leading and delivering on an Olympic and international level. They along with sportswomen are excellent role models to anyone considering a career in sport. And as change often happens from the top, women are now in a more challenging position to continue to address the gender balance, which in turn should have a positive knock on effect from the grass roots upwards in sport.

There’s also a ton of Women’s sport networks popping up. At the risk of sounding like an enactment from Monty Python’s Life of Brian Judean People’s Front verses the People’s Front of Judea, Women in Sport and the Women’s Sports Trust are doing a lot of good work to help increase participation and awareness of women’s sport. This Girl Can and the Mixed Zone are two effective initiatives from these respective organisations.  We (Rochester Women) are also focussed on promoting the success and awareness of female teams and sportswomen. The fixture at Carlisle Racecourse’s where all the races are ridden by lady jockeys and the GGrand Women’s Summit, a conference on gender balance in sport held at the Crabbie’s Grand National Festival are two areas of our work in this area.

So my advice to men is – England’s women are leading by example and look what they are achieving and how it’s helping to fly the British flag high.  We’re a nation of winners, despite the men’s records, hopefully they will improve next time.

 

How can we help ensure the rise of women’s sport is here to stay?

By Harriet Rochester, 7 September 2015

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, a feminist’s attempt to promote the cause of votes for women resulted in her tragic death in the Epsom Derby. The suffragette Emily Davison was fatally injured after throwing herself under the King’s horse Anmer. No single event in the years of campaigning drew as much attention or sympathy, and within ten years, women had the vote.

Sport was the stage for a women’s rights breakthrough, but generations later, has it provided women with a level playing field? Not yet, but women are making headway as athletes and in the c-suites.

This summer British women have made a big impact on the sports agenda, demonstrating their skill and hunger to win, resulting in higher profiles and if they weren’t already, confirming their status as excellent role models.  Think Maddie Hinch – enigmatic England Women’s Hockey goalie, Charlotte Edwards, a real leader in her captaining of England’s Women’s Cricket, Jockey Sammy Jo Bell – who was part of the winning girl’s team alongside Hayley Turner and American Emma Jane-Wilson in the Shergar Cup and becoming the first female jockey to lift the silver saddle trophy in the process.

Further recent highlights;

• England Women snatch gold in the EuroHockey in a nail biting penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands.
• Super-mum Jessica Ennis Hill added another gold medal to her haul in the heptathlon at the World Championship in Beijing less than a year after giving birth
• and The Lionesses capture the nation’s heart in the Women’s Football World Cup, but an agonising own goal in the semi’s means they had to settle for bronze.

In addition to talent and nurturing it from grass roots upwards, to help close the gender gap in sport at participation level we need to look at the make-up of sport at a corporate level and also address the balance in the c-suites.   Analyse the business side of British sport and steady progress is being made in this area, with more women emerging at senior and board level within governing bodies, central sport organisations and at club level.  But there is still more to be done.

I sit on the fence when it comes to quotas on boards. No woman wants be in a board room with an invisible quota sign pinned on her forehead. The business of sport will  thrive if the right people are secured to do the job.

But change often happens from the top and for the current momentum behind women’s sport to continue I believe decision makers, male and female, mind set’s need to be influenced if they don’t seriously consider the value of a balanced and diverse board and in their management teams as part of their business strategy.

So how can we influence the right people? A useful first step from experience is it’s important to include decision makers in gender focused and diversity conversations.   Inviting the CEO of a governing body as either a guest or as a speaker/panellist to event’s where gender balance is a topic is an effective way to engage and influence them.     I often find conversations at these events are positive and constructive and generally the guest/panellist walks away with not only a fresh perspective and ideas but the confidence that if they implement needed change it will be supported by a room full of people.

So when can we say our work is done?  When it’s not extraordinary news for sportswomen to be achieving and winning, especially in sports where historically the representation is skewed to men.  When the prize money gap for female sport is narrowed significantly,and when there’s at least 30% of the right women on sports boards and in senior roles.

Women’s sport is exciting, it is skilful and there is a fantastic opportunity to grow the momentum surrounding it. Female athletes need to gain the recognition they deserve, which in turn will help encourage fresh talent into all areas of sport, broadening its appeal and in turn driving the business of sport forward. Then no pun intended, ‘Everyone’s a winner’.