LAST weekend at Aintree was tough for Owen Paterson and his family. They, along with a worldwide audience of some 600 million people, bore witness to a unique piece of history. Rachael Blackmore became the first woman to win the most famous race in the world, the Randox Grand National.
Until her death in June 2020, Rose Paterson was for many a very recognisable face of Aintree and the Grand National. As chairman of the racecourse, she had invested heavily in the race, the course, the city of Liverpool and the whole of the surrounding area. She worked closely with the team at Aintree to keep the race and its heritage to the forefront.
Rose was also a force for change, whether it was in areas such as horse welfare, something of particular interest to a horsewoman with a great empathy for the equine, or in turning the attention of the wider media away from salacious headlines and disingenuous photographs of revellers, instead portraying the festival of racing more positively.
Cheerleader
How proud would she have been of Rachael’s achievement? Why wasn’t she there to be a cheerleader for this unforgettable moment? Why were her family feeling numb that their beloved Rose was not present to witness the realisation of so many of her dreams for Aintree and the Grand National?
Rose and Owen Paterson
“It was just absolutely tragic that Rose wasn’t there to see Rachael win,” Owen says. “She would have appreciated not just the win, but the manner of Rachael’s win. For us as a family it was terrible going back, especially with the memories we have. However, we were made so welcome and everyone was so wonderful.
“Peter FitzGerald in Randox was immensely generous about agreeing to have Rose’s name on the Foxhunters’. In fact it was a battle to get them to keep the Randox name on it. Then for the race to be won by Cousin Pascal, owned by Peter Clifton who lives in North Shropshire, was a result Rose would have loved.”
Foxhunters’ Chase
Rose was honoured with the famous Foxhunters’ Chase being named in her honour. She was inducted into Aintree’s Hall of Fame, becoming a Legend. In this she joined many distinguished men and women whose names are inextricably linked to the Grand National; the voice of racing, Sir Peter O’Sullevan; Red Rum’s trainer Ginger McCain, four times successful in the race; and the trailblazing Jenny Pitman, the first woman to saddle a winner of the Aintree centrepiece.
Rose and Owen Paterson
Her name will now be remembered annually when the Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award is presented. This accolade will be given by Aintree to recognise a girl or woman from Merseyside who makes a difference to grassroots community sport, either through taking part or by means of support.
This award, in many ways, goes to the heart of what Rose Paterson stood for, reflecting her hopes and aspirations. Rose was someone who fitted in wherever she went. Though she came from a privileged background and family, her sense of fairness and egality was obvious to those who knew her.
Addressing the sixth annual Aintree Grand Women’s Summit, held on the eve of this year’s Randox Grand National, Rose’s daughter Evie spoke with pride of her mother’s achievements, and went to the heart of what Aintree and the Grand National meant to people from Merseyside.
She said: “It shouldn’t be me here at all; it should be my mother. She always did the introductions to the Grand Women’s Summit so beautifully and so gracefully, and I cannot hope to fill her shoes.
Owen Paterson with his family, including children Evie, Ned and Felix, at Aintree
Rose’s legacy
“What I can do is say a few words about her legacy. It is easy to forget what a novel initiative the Grand Women’s Summit was when it was set up, and even now remains a fairly unique event in the racing calendar. As the first female chairman of a National Hunt racecourse, she herself understood what it was like to operate in a man’s world, and was passionate about helping women succeed in racing and sport more broadly.
“She understood that Aintree and the Grand National belonged to Liverpool, and did a huge amount to forge and strengthen the links between the racecourse and Merseyside.”
Explaining the rationale behind the new award, Evie added: “We want to reward girls and women, sportspeople or otherwise, who display the qualities that my mother possessed in abundance - perseverance, selflessness, devotion and inclusiveness.”
Given Rose’s love for beauty and nature, Owen is touched by another installation at Aintree that will honour his late wife. “The groundsmen at Aintree apparently insisted on making a garden for Rose. They are going to build a garden.”
An aristocrat with the common touch
THE Honourable Rose Emily Paterson was the daughter of the 4th Viscount Ridley, while her mother, Lady Anne Lumley, was the daughter of the 11th Earl of Scarbrough, a title created in 1690. Her family, on both sides, played significant roles in the political life of Britain, so it was perhaps meant to be that she would marry a politician.
Love of horses was in Rose’s blood – her cousin is another racecourse chairman, Lord Grimthorpe who holds that position at York. At school Rose even acted as bookmaker for her fellow students, an activity more associated with a boy’s school.
She read history at Cambridge, where her future husband was also, and Rose pursued her love of art by travelling to study art history in Venice. Her later career included time spent working for Sotheby’s.
Owen relates: “We met in Cambridge and had a lot of friends together; so we’d known each other for 45 years. In her gap year she worked in Newmarket at Gavin Pritchard-Gordon’s, and I used to go and ride out for Tom Jones. We had a lot of things that crisscrossed in our lives. The Foxhunters’, which was named after Rose last week, was even won by my grandfather in 1925!”
Rose and Owen Paterson married when they were both just 23 years of age, and early last year they celebrated 40 years of marriage. Having worked in his family business, Owen was first elected as a Member of Parliament for North Shropshire, where he was born and lives, in 1997, and Rose ran the office in his constituency. This was a role she enjoyed for some 18 years.
Popularity
Owen Paterson’s popularity with voters in North Shropshire is best gauged by the fact that he garnered 63% of the votes in the 2019 general election, and he finished with 22,949 more votes than his nearest challenger. In contrast, he was elected in 1997 with a majority of 2,195. Paterson is best known in Ireland as a former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, a role he held for more than two years , having been Shadow for three.
Having served as a racecourse director at Aintree since 2005, Rose was rewarded for her dedication, contribution and love for the racecourse when, in 2014, she succeeded her friend Peter Greenall, the Lord Daresbury, as chairman. She became the first female in such a role at a Jockey Club Racecourse. It seemed that she had the perfect life.
Out of the blue, with no warning of any kind, Rose went to a woods near her home, and there she died by suicide. The ramifications of her action are impossible to imagine for most of us, thankfully, but Owen and his children are adamant that they want to save others from the pain that such an action leaves behind.
The pain is even more acute when you consider that Rose had such an eye for beauty. Owen explains: “She had a very good eye for pictures, she was incredibly well read. She was a very good gardener and we spent the last five years replanting a part of the wood nearest the house here. Again, it is another thing that is completely incomprehensible as I watch so many flowers and plants now coming to life with spring.”
In hindsight, the family has learned that Rose accessed websites that encourage people to take their lives, and Owen is keen to use his position as an MP to do more to bring the debate about issues around suicide, and programmes raising awareness of this problem, to the fore. It is an unpalatable reality that, in Britain, every four minutes someone attempts suicide, and every 90 minutes someone dies by suicide.
In 2019, again in Britain where Owen lives and works, almost 5,700 – enough people to fill 15 jumbo jets – took their own lives.
This is the stark reality.
Cousin Pascal and James King (right) on their way to winning the Rose Paterson Randox Fohunters' Chase for trainer Joe O’Shea \ Healy Racing
Suicide is simply never the answer
SUICIDE is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. It is a finite action, one that the person involved may believe will solve a problem.
However, as far too many people know well, it leaves a trail of destruction that is unimaginable.
There is still a huge stigma around suicide, with most people unwilling or unable to talk about the subject. For this reason, there is still much research needed into the reasons why someone transitions from thinking about the subject to attempting, or regrettably, carrying out the act.
Many people believe that they would know if someone close to them was contemplating suicide. This may be true in some circumstances. However, it is also common to find that family and friends are shocked when someone they felt they know well has taken their own life.
When you consider that it is estimated some 135 are impacted by each and every suicide, it may seem incredible that no one saw signs of danger.
This can, and most often does, lead to deep feelings of guilt, shame, isolation and anger in those left behind. Such feelings then perpetuate the stigma that so often attaches to suicide.
An effort to raise awareness of the seriousness of the problem, allied to an intense feeling of loss and bewilderment about why it should have happened to them, is the catalyst for the launch last week of a new charity, The Rose Paterson Trust. The drive is being led by her husband Owen and the couple’s children Felix, Ned and Evie.
In the 10 months since Rose died so tragically, and unnecessarily, her family have found the strength to turn this horrible occurrence into an effort to get people talking, with a clear message that suicide is preventable. Indeed, the Trust can point to the results of studies which show that nine out of 10 people who attempt suicide and survive will not die by suicide in the future.
The majority of people in this group are, afterwards, grateful to have survived, and regret their original decision. Within that is the clear message that there is no problem that cannot be solved, and the solution most certainly is not found by taking one’s life.
For the Paterson family there is no opportunity to turn back the clock, to ask Rose why she made the fatal decision she did, and they will forever be left with the pain that comes from constant questioning. Why did she not share her worries? How could they not have noticed any signs? What could they have done differently?
The hardest part of all of this is the fact that they will never have answers.
All was far from well
WHILE there is much on these pages to show what a successful, beautiful, considerate, kind person Rose was, leading to a belief that she had all she could want for a happy life, behind that veil everything was far from well.
No community is devoid of feelings of sadness, depression or, at worst, suicidal ideation. Sometimes the signs are obvious, and help is available. In some cases, there appear to be no signs. Owen Paterson pleads with people.
He said: “This idea of the ‘stiff upper lip’ is so wrong. I would ask anyone who feels anxious or unhappy, please don’t bottle it up. Talk to someone – a friend, a colleague, a professional or a helpline. People are prepared to listen and to help.
“I would equally say to others, that you have to keep an eye out for someone who may be unhappy at work, in a social setting, anywhere. Don’t ignore them if you notice that something may be wrong. Talk to them. You have to be open and frank, and not be scared to talk about these issues.
“The last things I would want for anyone is to endure the pain we are suffering, and will suffer.”
In the preface to the Trust’s website, the Paterson family sums up beautifully, and with great feeling, the fallout from Rose’s death. They say: “Her death has made the world an infinitely worse place but, perhaps through our work, her story can be a source of inspiration and hope one day.
“Rose was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and sister, amongst many other things. She was kind and gentle. Animals were instinctively drawn to her. She was charming and beautiful. She was amazingly well-read. She was loved.
“Her outward achievements are too many to list in full, but to celebrate just a few: she was chairman of Aintree, a trustee of many charities, a school governor, and an art connoisseur. She and Owen raced 1,000 kilometres across Mongolia in the Mongol Derby, eating only coffee granules and sugar..
“Despite all of this, we now know that Rose was deeply troubled, to a degree that we could never have imagined. Behind the scenes of what was on many levels a happy, fulfilling life, she was struggling to cope and desperately needed help. Tragically, she felt she couldn’t ask for that help, and no-one even knew she needed it.
“The Rose Paterson Trust aims to support those in need through fundraising and policy change. It has been born out of the immense pride Rose’s family have in her, and the depth of their despair at facing life without her.”
Family’s great love for Ireland
THERE is a strong, and deep, attachment to and affection for Ireland in the Paterson family. Very public is the fact that Owen served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, but the connections go further.
“First of all, my eldest son was at Trinity for four years, so that was a great excuse to go over. I was also previously the Shadow Secretary of State for three years, so for about five years I went to Northern Ireland or the Republic pretty much every week.
“We went over for Christmas and went racing at Leopardstown, and we also went to the Irish Derby at the Curragh. I remember meeting the Taoiseach at the Curragh.
“My daughter Evie won the British Junior Eventing Championships and was on the British team three times.
“She competed at Tattersalls, though that was memorable for the wrong reasons. She went ‘splat’ at a troublesome water jump, I remember. There was something about the water at Tatts that year.
“I was very involved in the Queen’s visit to Ireland, and afterwards we did a sort of thank you tour. We went to Coolmore and other places, and that was just before we did the Mongol Derby. The people we visited in the racing world were wonderfully generous.
“I recall having lunch with John Magnier at Coolmore where he sat next to Rose. He got up at one point and I heard him say ‘you are mad, you are completely mad’. I wondered what Rose could have said to upset him, but he came back with a very generous cheque to sponsor us. We entertained people from the racing and hunting worlds and they were always wonderful.”
Tributes to Rose Paterson
“I would have loved to have won the Rose Paterson Foxhunters’ yesterday, because she was a real lady and I would like to mention her now” – Patrick Mullins in the immediate aftermath of winning the Topham Trophy
“Inducting Rose to Aintree’s Hall of Fame on Saturday morning was such an emotive moment, and my heart went out to her brave family. The pain they must be feeling is unimaginable. We all missed her so much this weekend. I kept looking round for that reassuring nod or word she used to give me. Rose was so special. Much admired. Now much missed” –
Ed Chamberlin, Sporting Life
“Rose Paterson was such a lovely person and it is hard to believe she is no longer part of Aintree in today’s world. She will always be a part of Aintree as far as I am concerned, and many other people will feel the same. She was so nice, so level-headed, and never missed anybody out, whether they be old or young, rich or poor. She was a super lady and one we will miss very much” – Three-time Grand National winning owner Trevor Hemmings
“Rose’s role was amazing and all-encompassing. I think it was remarkable for those that could see it, but many could not see the totality of it. She was excellent with the staff, whether they be full-time, part-time, or just there on the big day. She was also excellent with the owners, trainers and stable staff. She had a wonderful manner and was loved by everybody” – Aintree chairman Nicholas Wrigley
“She was an extraordinary person who always believed in doing good and always wanted to help people. Her love of horses was very much a factor in Aintree’s safety and welfare philosophy, which is superb. Rose was dedicated to Aintree and to the people of Liverpool” – Dr Peter FitzGerald, founder and managing director of Randox
“Rose was a wonderful person and involved in so many aspects of our sport. We appreciated her contribution very much and my fellow stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing. She is missed greatly for the person she was” – Sandy Dudgeon, The Jockey Club’s senior steward