Venetia Williams (born 10 May 1960) is an English

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer specialising in

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racing. She is based at stables at Aramstone in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England. Williams was born at

Scorrier House Scorrier House, located near the village of Scorrier, Cornwall, England, UK, is a country house and the seat of the Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose, Williams family. Scorrier House is also home to an important Cornish garden, Scorrier Ho ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and began as a racehorse trainer at Ty-Pengam. She was an amateur National Hunt jockey until forced to retire after suffering a broken neck in 1988. She worked for racehorse trainers

Martin Pipe Martin Charles Pipe (born 29 May 1945), is an English former racehorse trainer credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry, and as of 2021 the most successful trainer in British jump racing. The son of a West-Count ...

and John Edwards before taking up a licence to train herself in 1995. Her most successful horse to date has been

Mon Mome Mon Mome is an AQPS racehorse, which won the 2009 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree Racecourse, run on April 4, 2009. It was ridden by Liam Treadwell and trained by Venetia Williams. He won by 12-lengths at odds of 100–1, making Mon Mom ...

, winner of the 2009

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

. This victory made her only the second female trainer to win the race, after

Jenny Pitman Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

. After the race, even Williams was shocked by the outcome, stating ''"How can you ever expect that? It's unbelievable."''Grand day for bookies as dark horse Mon Mome wins National at Aintree
www.guardian.co.uk, 4 April 2009, accessed 12 April 2009. She also trained

Teeton Mill Teeton Mill (19 May 1989 – November 2014) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. He originally competed in hunter chases, which are confined to horses who have taken part in fox hunting, and won five ...

, winner of the

Hennessy Gold Cup /Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run ...

and

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

in 1998. She trained Something Wells to a win in the Freddie Williams Festival Plate at the 2009

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

, saddling the first two home, less than two hours after winning with Kayf Aramis in the

Pertemps Final The Pertemps Final is a Grade Three National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 ...

at the same meeting.

References

External links

BBC website profile
1960 births Living people British racehorse trainers People from Herefordshire {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub

See also

References

External links