Amateur jockey from North Yorkshire to represent GB in international FEGENTRI races
Alice Keighley, 27, is making the tight turnaround trip alone and will then head to Switzerland for the next round.
She only got her amateur licence in 2022 but impressed with her races and picked up enough wins along the way to be eligible for selection for the Longines FEGENTRI World Championship which sees the best amateur riders of each member country of FEGENTRI qualify to participate in the World Championships.
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Hide AdAll competitors have regular jobs and for Ms Keighley that is working for Thirsk based race-horse trainers, David and Nicola Barron – where it all started.
Ms Keighley said: “I did a charity race in October 2021 and after that my boss said ‘do you want to get your amatuer’. I had one about six years before but had one race and didn’t enjoy it. When I did the charity race I was a lot more experienced and enjoyed it a lot more so I said yes let’s go.
"I honestly did not think I would get this because I have been racing for a year so I was like ‘wow’.
FEGENTRI was founded in 1955 by a handful of enthusiastic amateur riders from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.