Dating back to her childhood, Emma-Jayne Wilson always wanted to go fast and be the best. This led her to a career as a jockey, where she has earned championship titles and broken records over her many years of riding in Canada. We sit down with the trailblazer to talk about the ups and downs of her career and the source of her success.
00:00A champion apprentice rider in both Canada and the United States, Emma-Jane Wilson won Canada's Queen's Plate in 2007 with Mike Fox.
00:09Fast forward 2024, another milestone. She surpassed Julie Crone as the all-time earning female rider in the world.
00:17Then, multiple injuries, followed by lengthy recovery. But now the tenacious rider is ready to mount her next big comeback.
00:25Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a jockey. For me, I love sport, I love competition, and my favourite animal was the horse.
00:35So combine those two things. I mean, every riding lesson I was ever in, I wanted to see how fast I could get the horse to go.
00:43My coach would always say no. So now I get paid to do what I love, compete on horses, and that is just, you know, surreal.
00:51Mike Fox's Queen's Plate win was perfect, in my mind. It was like a tunnel vision all the way down the lane of just keep riding, just keep giving, and everything you give him, he'll give back.
01:05And sure enough, he powered past Alejandro in the 70-yard pull, and we won the Queen's Plate.
01:11The milestone itself, I'm very, very proud of. What it really means is the equality in the sport.
01:25It is something that horse racing could be very, very proud of.
01:30The ability to be gender neutral, so to speak.
01:34Both men and women can compete at the highest level as jocks.
01:39In October of last year, 2024, I suffered probably the worst injury I've experienced, where I did some serious damage to my pelvis, as well as a fairly significant fracture to my neck.
01:54It was a long seven and a half, eight months.
01:59But the one thing that the doctor said to me post-surgery were two words that I held on to, and it was full recovery.
02:07When I returned to racing here at Woodbine, riding meant a lot.
02:12To get out there and ride some races was grand. It meant a lot.
02:16But full recovery was achieved when I hit the wire first the first time and went into the winner's circle again.
02:22Cozy Curling Kitten and Kitten's romance on the inside. The Kittens have it.
02:26Cozy Curling Kitten. Emma Jane is back with a win.
02:29Cozy Curling Kitten.
02:59100% Emma Jane Wilson ride that you count on.
03:04Fear for me is my superpower.
03:07It makes me ten times stronger.
03:09It makes me ten times faster.
03:12It makes my reaction proper.
03:15I assess the situation even better.
03:17So I embrace fear for what it's worth in terms of its benefit.
03:22You are your coach.
03:24You are responsible for building the repertoire, the skills, understanding your strengths, your weaknesses.
03:31No one else is going to hold you accountable to that.
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