Alicia Thornton

Alicia Thornton, also recorded as Alicia Meynel, was a British horsewoman whose dates the article gives only as the 1780s to the 1800s, and she has been called the first female jockey. In 1804 she challenged her sister's partner and neighbour Captain Flint to a four mile match race at what is now York Racecourse on Knavesmire. She was said to be married to Colonel Thomas Thornton, who offered her his horse and placed a bet on her winning, and the stake was reported as 500 guineas. She rode side saddle, had ridden with the hounds when they were hunting and was known to her friends as a skilled horsewoman. Captain Flint won the race, but she held the lead for most of the way and won the crowd's backing with her spirited performance, her leopard coloured body with blue sleeves and her demeanour. Her father may have made watches in Norwich or owned land in Essex, and nothing is known of her mother.