Emma-Jayne Wilson

Horseracing personalities infobox


name = Emma-Jayne Wilson
|caption =
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Brampton, Ontario, Canada
birth date = September 1, 1981
death date =
career wins = ongoing
race = Canadian Stakes (2005)
Maple Leaf Stakes (2007)
Victoria Stakes (2007)
Victoria Park Stakes (2008)

Canadian Classic Race wins:
Queen's Plate (2007)
awards = United States Champion Apprentice Jockey (2005)
Canadian Champion Apprentice Jockey (2005, 2006)
honours =
horses = Classic Stamp, Arravale, Mike Fox
updated = June 24, 2007

Emma-Jayne Wilson (born September 1, 1981 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada) is a Sovereign and Eclipse Award-winning jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. The daughter of a computer programmer and a corporate marketing executive, she began taking riding lessons as a girl of nine. After finishing high school in Brampton, she studied equine management at Kemptville College, part of the University of Guelph.

Rookie racing season

After graduating university, Wilson began her pursuit of a career in racing with a job on a horse breeding farm. She then spent two years as an exercise rider at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto before before beginning her riding apprenticeship. Her first ride as a jockey came in August 27 of 2004 and her first win the next day, August 28 at the Fort Erie Racetrack. She went on to a spectacular 2005 racing season that included 180 wins for purses totaling $6.3 million, leading all other North American Apprentice Jockeys in both categories. She became the first female jockey in the 50-year history of racing at Woodbine Racetrack to win the riding title.

Racing honors

In Canada, Emma-Jayne Wilson won the 2005 Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey then became only the second female jockey to ever be voted the United States Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. She made the 2005 list of the "Most Influential Canadian Women in Sport and Physical Activity" as compiled by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women.

Wilson spent the 2005-06 winter working as an exercise rider for Sam-Son Farm at the Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach, Florida. Returning to race at Woodbine for the 2006 season, she is again the leading jockey. In August, she joined England's leading apprentice jockey Hayley Turner to become the first female jockeys to ever ride in the Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse. On December 15, Wilson won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey for a second time.

On June 24, 2007 Wilson became the first woman jockey to win the prestigous Queen's Plate, riding Mike Fox to victory in the Grade I event at Woodbine Racetrack. She was invited by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to participate in the Cathey Pacific International Jockey Championship in December same year, being the first female jockey participants, and finished 6th in overall.

In January 2008, Emma-Jayne Wilson became the first North American female jockey to be granted a license to compete in Hong Kong. [http://www.racingnewswire.net/2008/01/27/emma-jayne-wilson-granted-hk-licence/]

External links

* [http://www.ejwilson.com Emma-Jayne Wilson's Personal Website]

References

* [http://horseracing.sportsline.com/cbs/headlines/ShowArticle.aspx?articleId=5313 CBS Sportsline]
* [http://www.caaws.ca/influentialwomen/e/index.htm Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity]
* [http://www.drf.com/eclipse/2005/ 35th Annual Eclipse Awards official website]

Persondata
NAME = Wilson, Emma-Jayne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = jockey
DATE OF BIRTH = September 1, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH = Brampton, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =