ROSEMARY ROONEY, who died recently while on holiday in Australia after a long illness, was a pioneering figure in the saddle.

Daughter of the late Caroline and Willie Rooney and the youngest of five children, she achieved so much in racing, both as an amateur rider and as a trainer and was always willing to offer advice and encouragement to the next generation.

Just as in life, she had the last few months of her time mapped out and the funeral arrangements are in accordance with her last wishes. Rosemary had everything planned – she knew where she was going, didn’t want any fuss and, true to racing form, left instructions that she only wanted 48 hour ‘declarations’ for the service.

Consequently. a memorial service in celebration of her life will be held at St John The Baptist Church, Kilcash, Clonmel E91 A4E9 on Monday afternoon at 2pm. She has requested that no black be worn, bright colours only and no flowers. Donations, if desired, to be made to the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund.

Rosemary is probably best known for her association with Excursion but many other good horses came her way and Dawson Prince, the horse she famously finished third on behind her sister Ann Ferris, riding Bentom Boy in the 1984 Irish Grand National, was one of her favourites. Both horses were trained by their father Willie in Co. Antrim.

Rosemary started riding ponies at a very early age, joining the Killultagh Pony Club on its inauguration and she soon began hunting. She successfully competed at show jumping pony level until she was 16 and represented Ireland in the 1967 junior European show jumping championships in Italy at the age of 17, travelling out there on her own.

In 1965 she came home to work for her late father, who was training on the family farm in Ballyclare and stayed there until 1973 but it was as a rider that she really made the headlines during that period, winning the international ladies’ race at Leopardstown in 1973 and 1974 and riding the winners of ladies’ races at Phoenix Park, Naas, Navan, Kempton and Nottingham.

Rosemary also rode bumper winners at Leopardstown, Naas, Fairyhouse, Down Royal and Sligo amongst others, as well as hurdle winners at Leopardstown and Down Royal, but it was over fences that she really excelled with chase and hunter chase successes at the likes of Punchestown, Navan, Downpatrick, Cheltenham, Gowran Park and Fairyhouse.

She also regarded herself as privileged to have ridden winners on the flat for such distinguished owners as Mrs Parker Poe, Mr J. Kashiyama and Jim Mullion. However, it was as a point-to-point rider that Rosemary made her mark and she first rode between the flags in 1965, getting off the mark the following year.

She notched up 101 wins in point-to-points altogether and was joint champion with Nicky Dee in 1977, the duo having clocked up 17 winners apiece. She rode more winners over fences against professionals than any other female jockey.

Rosemary was also assistant trainer to the late Darkie Prendergast at Rossmore Lodge on the Curragh from 1973 to 1976, representing him in the Derby at Epsom when he ran Mistigri for owner Lady Elizabeth More O’Ferrall.

She married George Stewart the following year and continued to assist him as Mrs Rosemary Stewart until 1991, during which which time they trained Excursion to win the 1984 Findus Chase and the Durkan Chase at Punchestown.

Trainers’ licence

In 1991, Rosemary successfully applied for a full trainer’s licence as Mrs Rosemary Rooney and sent out 14 racecourse winners from her Clonacody base near Fethard, including a cross-country race at Punchestown and the Ulster Grand National in Downpatrick.

She also trained more than 50 point-to-point winners during that time, including a four-year-old winner in the colours of Mrs John Magnier and went close with two flat horses Carraig Star, who failed by a short-head in the hands of Tony McCoy in a five-furlong maiden at Mallow and Persian Gem who was placed in a seven furlong maiden at Fairyhouse.

Rosemary subsequently relocated to Ballypatrick with a full licence and married the late Brian Hutchinson in 2000. During that time she continued training point-to-pointers, as well as riding out for Mouse Morris and Joe Crowley.

The last good horse she had was Claude And Goldie who looked an exciting prospect after winning a couple of big chases in Scotland last year.

As one of her good friends said: “She was always there for her horses and their best interests. She gave them all the time they needed and just knew her horses. She rode out here on the day she left for Australia and again in Malaysia and was a familiar figure in the locality. Horses knitted her life together and all the locals will miss not seeing her riding out.”

C.B. and S.M.