One such hero is the "Galloping Granny" Rosemary Henderson.
Rosemary took part in the 1994 Grand National on board her own horse, 100-1 chance Fiddlers Pike, a former
pointer. Rosemary also trained the horse and in 1994, when aged 51, and a grandmother – took her chance over
the most demanding fences in National Hunt racing.
Rosemary Henderson only even began riding when most jockeys are thinking about hanging up their silks. But
her husband, a vet, was called out so frequently to attend the gelding Fiddlers Pike's bad back at a local
livery yard he was eventually given the horse, and Rosemary picked up the reins!
At Okehampton, on the edge of Dartmoor where Rosemary was living, Fiddlers Pike recovered so well that he
won the Warwick National and Chepstow's Grand National Trial.
The following year, Rosemary entered him in the National, with the horse then aged 13. But she had to apply
to the Jockey Club for dispensation to compete in the race as she had not ridden 15 winners under Rules.
However, if anyone thought Grand National
horse racing was beyond her, they were wrong.
On the horse she nicknamed "Magnus" after the crazy scientist of 1970s television, Rosemary was sent off a
100-1 shot.
Staying out of trouble for the first circuit, Rosemary and "Magnus" went past the stand in 11th. Then
incredibly at the 20th fence, she defiantly joined the lead before making a mistake at the one before
Becher's. To be fair, no one would have backed the horse in the
inplay
betting, but it was still an awesome effort.
In the end, the expertly-guided horse did Rosemary proud. In a race in which just six horses finished,
Fiddlers Pike completed the course in fifth place, 55 lengths behind winner Freddie Starr-owned Miinnehoma.
A remarkable, if unsung, achievement..
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