Female Jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival

Rachael Blackmore has changed the landscape for female riders at the Cheltenham Festival in recent times and helped to reimagine the boundaries of possibility.

Rachael Blackmore

Name:	Rachael Blackmore
Age:	35
Trainer:	Henry de Bromhead
Cheltenham Festival wins:	18

Rachael Blackmore Cheltenham Highlights

Rachael Blackmore is the most successful female jockey ever to grace the Cheltenham Festival stage, with a stunning 18 wins on her CV including the Gold Cup, two Champion Hurdles, a Stayers' Hurdle and a Queen Mother Champion Chase.

In 2021, Blackmore partnered six winners across the four days, enough to see history made as she was crowned leading rider at the meeting.

Blackmore, who also won the Grand National in that spring of 2021, remains at the top of her game in her role as leading rider for Henry de Bromhead's stable and she's the undisputed Queen of the Cotswolds.

Jody Townend

Name:	Jody Townend
Age:	26
Trainer:	Willie Mullins
Cheltenham Festival wins:	1

Jody Townend Cheltenham Highlights

Jodie Townend is the younger sister of four-time Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning rider Paul and like her brother she works at Willie Mullins' yard in Co Carlow.

She has been champion amateur rider four times in Ireland and has ridden graded winners for the Mullins team in bumpers at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

She is viewed as a key part of the Closutton team and she won at the Cheltenham Festival for the first time in 2025.

Bryony Frost

Name:	Bryony Frost
Age:	29
Trainer:	Paul Nicholls
Cheltenham Festival wins:	2

Bryony Frost Cheltenham Highlights

During her association with Paul Nicholls at his Ditcheat base, Bryony Frost emerged as Britain's pre-eminent female jumps pilot, before relocating to France in 2024.

She partnered Pacha Du Polder to win the St James's Place Hunters Chase in 2017 when still riding as an amateur, but her biggest days would come in a long association with Frodon.

'The Dude' was given a wonderful front-running ride to fend off all challengers in the Ryanair Chase in 2019.

Olive Nicholls

Name:	Olive Nicholls
Age:	19
Trainer:	Paul Nicholls
Cheltenham Festival wins:	0

Olive Nicholls Cheltenham Highlights

One Nicholls we can expect to see this week is Olive, daughter of 14-time champion trainer Paul.

She is the second-youngest daughter of the Ditcheat supremo and has studied a BTEC Business course while fostering her love of racing, though she has yet to ride a Cheltenham Festival winner.

Her older, half-sister Megan enjoyed success as a jockey with over 100 winners to her name before giving up her reins to present on ITV racing.

Past Female Jockeys at Cheltenham

For many years jumps racing was a man's world, but barriers have come down in the modern era and that includes the rise of female jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival.

There have now been 16 winning lady riders at the Cheltenham Festival since Caroline Beasley in the 1983 Foxhunters Chase on board Eliogarty and the talent pool of riders is growing all the time.

The likes of Nina Carberry and Lizzie Kelly have starred in the Cotswolds down through the years, while Blackmore has raised the bar to new levels.

Below is a list of the winning female riders to date.

Name	Festival wins
Rachael Blackmore	18
Nina Carberry	7
Katie Walsh	3
Lizzie Kelly	2
Gee Armytage	2
Bryony Frost	2
Bridget Andrews	1
Gina Andrews	1
Caroline Beasley	1
Polly Curling	1
Rilly Goschen	1
Fiona Needham	1
Jody Townend	1
Lisa O'Neill	1
Maxine O'Sullivan	1
Katie Rimell	1
Lucy Turner	1

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