“You don’t have to be strong to win races, you just have to be a bloody good rider”.
In an age where the gender divide in professional sport is so great, there is only one sport where women and men are treated equally and compete for the same prizes. That sport is horse racing.
Touchline Media, the creators of the 2012 IFTA-nominated sports documentary, ‘Jump Boys’, have teamed up with TG4 to bring you ‘Jump Girls’ a factual, two-part documentary on the pivotal role women play in horse racing today and what life is like for these females at the top of National Hunt racing.
They are also the same producers that brought us the award-winning 2015 documentary, ‘Arkle – The Legend Lives On’, proving that this is a feature not to be missed.
World-renowned trainer Jessica Harrington, who has over 50 National Hunt wins under her belt, features on the broadcast along with her daughters Kate and Emma. Well-known jockeys Katie Walsh, Rachael Blackmore, Lisa O’Neill and Katie O’Farrell are also under the spotlight in this innovative documentary, giving key access to the highs and lows of what life is like for a female jockey.
Speaking on how the documentary came about, director Luke McManus said:
“Jump Girls started its life as a film about horse racing, but it soon became something else – a film about women in sport. From Katie Taylor and Kellie Harrington, to Annalise Murphy and the stars of Gaelic games, hockey and rugby, the past few years have seen women finally take their rightful place at the heart of the sporting imagination. But the fact remains: racing is the only major sport in Ireland where women directly take on the men – and often beat them.”
After dropping his original idea for a film, McManus realised the significant role females played in the world of horse racing.
“We went out to capture the physically remorseless, mentally exhausting reality of jump racing and the brave dedicated women who’ve made it to the top. Our admiration for our subjects is greater now than ever before.”
The first episode of ‘Jump Girls’ will be broadcast on TG4 on Thursday, 21st February at 9.30pm with the second episode scheduled for the same airtime the following week on Thursday, 28th February. So,needless to say, don’t make any plans for the next few Thursdays.
Not convinced? Watch the trailer.
