I was whipped during race – pioneering female jockey

"I felt stinging pain, it was a hard whack."

Karen Wiltshire had conscionable been deed connected the bottommost with a whip by a rival jockey during a race.

After she dismounted from her horse, a trainer noticed a divided successful her riding breeches and observed: "They weren't made for women's backsides."

This was the 1970s and Wiltshire was trying to interruption caller crushed arsenic a pistillate successful what was past the male-dominated satellite of equine racing. Her ordeal was not over.

When she returned to the changing country astatine Warwick, different antheral riding successful the aforesaid contention jumped implicit a partition to sexually battle her.

"He's groping and trying to buss me. Luckily, I'd done judo astatine an all-girls' convent schoolhouse and fought him off," recalls Wiltshire.

Why did she transportation on, and not complain?

"Times person wholly changed since the 1970s, erstwhile you wouldn't beryllium capable to bash overmuch astir it," she said.

"You didn't privation to gully attraction due to the fact that it could impact your career. All I wanted to bash was contention truthful I conscionable had to artifact that out."

She was overlooked for rides, verbally abused and ridiculed by different unit astatine her stables, but inactive went connected to go the archetypal nonrecreational jockey to thrust a victor successful British Flat racing when, aged 22, she guided The Goldstone to triumph astatine Salisbury successful 1978.

Her struggles against misogyny, prejudice and bullying are elaborate successful a caller biography called 'No Place For a Girl'.

Much advancement has been made successful caller years - Hollie Doyle is among the starring Flat jockeys successful Britain and Irish rider Rachael Blackmore became the archetypal pistillate rider to triumph leap racing's Grand National.

While Wiltshire believes much should beryllium done to guarantee women are amended represented successful immoderate of the apical contests, racing remains 1 of the fewer sports successful which they regularly vie connected level presumption against men.

When trainer Bill Wightman gave her a accidental successful the 1970s, helium wanted to guarantee she did not basal retired from her competitors. Owners mightiness initially frown connected a pistillate being a jockey.

"He told maine to chopped my hairsbreadth similar a boy, nary make-up. I was truthful bladed that my physique didn't look immoderate different," she said.

Jockeys were listed by initials - L Piggott, for illustration - and racegoers and chap riders mightiness not beryllium alert a pistillate was riding until she really turned up. Many changing rooms then, dissimilar Warwick, had nary abstracted country for women.

"The boys didn't cognize until I stripped disconnected to bra and pants. Everybody looked shocked astatine me," she said.

"I didn't kick due to the fact that I conscionable wanted to thrust horses."

Wiltshire's landmark infinitesimal came connected 14 September 1978 - a two-and-a-half magnitude triumph connected 9-1 changeable The Goldstone.

Unlike Blackmore's Aintree triumph, which generated headlines astir the world, determination was small fanfare astatine the time.

The lone sum she recalls is six sentences successful the Sporting Life paper and that simply referred to her maiden victory, alternatively than the archetypal by a pistillate professional.

"It was buried away. I don't deliberation they wanted to beforehand women successful sport, dissimilar today," she said.

Despite the victory, chances of gaining different remained limited.

The pursuing twelvemonth she ended her vocation aft 18 rides, which included 1 runner-up spot astatine Epsom and 3 third-placed finishes.

While opportunities person improved, Wiltshire said she was not amazed determination had been a caller high-profile lawsuit of sexism successful British racing, with Robbie Dunne completing a 10-month prohibition 2 years agone for bullying chap jockey Bryony Frost, who present rides successful France.

"She was precise brave successful taking it further. I conscionable anticipation it has not hindered her opportunities with trainers implicit here," she said.

Last twelvemonth the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) unveiled a strategy to amended information and wellbeing aft revealing it had investigated much than 350 safeguarding and quality payment concerns wrong the athletics since 2018. It did not accidental however galore cases had been proven, but astir fractional the reports were acrophobic with either intersexual misconduct oregon bullying.

The BHA has besides launched initiatives to promote women to enactment successful the athletics aft statistic showed that three-quarters of graduates from the 2 main racing schools were female, but lone 15% of nonrecreational jockeys were women.

"I thought by present 30% of nonrecreational jockeys would beryllium women, and you don't spot galore women having large races successful the Classics similar the Derby," said Wiltshire.

"I'd similar to spot 5 to 10% other prize wealth for trainers who usage pistillate jockeys successful the Classics."

Wiltshire is present a fittingness teacher astatine her ain gym successful Hampshire and says her grown-up girl Lara is amazed and arrogant of her communicative - a vocation which saw her thrust against large jockeys similar Lester Piggott, Willie Carson, Pat Eddery and Walter Swinburn.

"That archetypal triumph proved it could beryllium done. A batch of radical privation to spell to spot women racing present and radical realise they person akin abilities," she said.