Emma-Jayne Wilson (born September 1, 1981) is a

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

and

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

-winning

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing 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 p ...

. She began taking riding lessons at age nine, and after finishing high school in Brampton, she studied

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. MacFa ...

management at Kemptville College, part of the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

. In 2007 aboard Mike Fox, Wilson became the first woman to win North America's oldest and Canada's most important race, the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

. On September 16, 2012, Wilson joined jockey

Francine Villeneuve Francine Alicia Villeneuve (born July 22, 1964) is a Canadian retired thoroughbred jockey and racing pioneer. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "The Queen of Fort Erie" because of a long affiliation with the border oval. With 1,001 v ...

to become only the second Canadian woman to achieve the 1,000 career victories plateau, as she rode "D'wildcat Gold" to victory in the first race at Woodbine. Three days later by taking the fifth and sixth races at Woodbine, Emma-Jayne moved ahead of Villeneuve as Canada's all-time winningest female jockey, a distinction that Villeneuve had held for over 10 years. Wilson ranks first in career earnings among Canadian women, as she has earned well over $83,000,000 in purses for her mounts. In 2015, Wilson won the

Shergar Cup The Shergar Cup is an annual horse racing event held at Ascot Racecourse, usually during early August. The race is named in honour of Shergar, the horse that won the 1981 Derby and was killed in an IRA kidnap, and was originally sponsored by Sher ...

alongside teammates Sammy Jo Bell and

Hayley Turner Hayley Turner (born 3 January 1983) is an English jockey who competes in flat racing. Originally from Nottingham, she is based in Newmarket. In 2008 Turner became the first woman to ride 100 UK flat race winners during a calendar year. She ...

, marking the first victory for an all-female side in this event. In 2018, she became just the second woman to win the

Avelino Gomez Memorial Award The Avelino Gomez Memorial Award is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the spo ...

, given annually to jockeys who have made significant contributions to Canadian thoroughbred horse racing.

Year-end charts

References

CBS Sportsline

35th Annual Eclipse Awards official website

External links

Official website

A fan first: Emma-Jayne Wilson Q&A
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Emma-Jayne 1981 births Living people Avelino Gomez Memorial Award winners Eclipse Award winners Sportspeople from Ontario People from Brampton Sovereign Award winners University of Guelph alumni Canadian female jockeys