SOUTH WALES & MONMOUTHSHIRE AREA
NEWS
LINDA SHEEDY
Former Welsh amateur rider Linda Sheedy of Abergavenny has sadly died at the
age of fifty-seven.
Linda was the first member of her sex to ride in the Aintree,Welsh and Scottish
Grand Nationals and in the 1981 Aintree 'National', she got as far as the 19th fence coming to grief when a loose horse interferred with her mount Deiopea.
She had began her race riding career in point-to-points during the 1970s and rode her first winner under rules at Worcester for her father-in-law Mr Roy Sheedy on Miss Retinue.
That success was an important one for it meant that she was the first Welsh woman to score under National Hunt rules since they had been changed to allow women to compete against men.
She rode against the likes of champion riders Peter Scudamore and John Francome at race meetings up and down the country from Ayr in Scotland to Newton Abbot in Devon.
She also made Cheltenham Gold Cup history in 1984 by becoming the first jockette to ride in the race albeit on the 500-1 rank outsider Foxbury. Linda was also one of the first females to win at Cheltenham and this was on a horse called Royal Gaye.
Despite all the broken bones she endured- she broke her neck at the Talybont Hunt races on one occasion- Linda, a mother of twin boys, was as tough as old boots and never lost her enthusiasm for the sport.
When Neale Doughty won the 1984 Grand National on Hallo Dandy, Linda was straight on the phone to remind me that Neale was a Welshman and to make sure
that I gave him a good write-up.
Former amateur rider Joe Price said: " At one time Linda was a neighbour of mine and a good one at that.'' He added:" She was a brave rider and a real character.''
Linda will be mostly remembered for paving the way for other female riders to take on the men and deserves her place in the story of British horse racing.
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