No Place for a Girl

Karen Wiltshire reveals what it was like to be the first female jockey at a time when horse racing was very much a male-only environment

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There was a time when women jockeys were not welcome in the world of professional race-riding. But then one dauntless rider confronted prejudice and bullying, and refused to accept she had no place in what was once deemed a male-only environment. She would become the first British female professional jockey, taking on such illustrious names as Pat Eddery, Steve Cauthen and Walter Swinburn, and the first to win a race against men. Her ambition and courage led the way for others to follow - including the likes of Hayley Turner, the first woman to ride 100 Flat winners in a season, and Bryony Frost, the first female jump jockey to ride a Grade 1 winner at Cheltenham. No Place for a Girl chronicles four tumultuous years in the life of a woman who rode roughshod over prevailing attitudes and became the first woman to reach a significant staging post in the quest for equality. Her name is Karen Wiltshire, and this is her story.