A LIFE IN HORSES

Di was brought up with horses on a farm in Cambridgeshire where hunting and racing took priority. As a child she took part in Pony Club activities including eventing, and later, during school and college holidays, she enjoyed a two-year spell riding work for former champion trainer Henry Cecil.

Di then spent a year as secretary to Arthur Budgett, the Derby winning trainer of Blakeney and Morston before joining the astute and colourful trainer Sir Mark Prescott in Newmarket. She recalls this as an exceptional experience, riding out in the mornings before dealing with the administration.

Di Married Gardie Grissell in 1976 when he started training under Rules, assisting him during some great years at Brightling when he trained the likes of Iden Green, Royal Stag and Yellow Spring. In 1990 she started training a few pointers for friends and has since trained over 150 winners.

Highlights of her training career in point-to-points have been training the second in the Cheltenham Foxhunters with Real Value, another second in the Irish Champion Hunter Chase at Punchestown with Satchmo and training four winners at the Parham meeting in March 1996.

An accomplished lady jockey, Di rode in point-to-points and under Rules. She was one of the first ladies to ride over jumps under Rules against professionals, finishing her riding career with a total of 38 winners. Di was Champion Lady Rider in the 1978-79 season.

"Whilst I had no particularly big wins, one claim to fame was riding in all six races on the card at Plumpton, completing the course on all and winning the last," she says. Di also had the thrill of finished 6th in Coral Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on Genovese.