TALKING SHOP: GINA ANDREWS
With 580 wins across all codes – 471 between the flags – Gina Andrews is by far the leading British female jump jockey of all time, despite remaining amateur throughout her career.
As she seeks an unprecedented 13th female point-to-point rider championship, Jake Exelby paid her a visit on the eve of the season to find out what keeps her motivated, her unfulfilled career ambitions, and her hopes for 2026/2027 as trainer of between 25 and 30 pointers at the yard at Marton, near Rugby in Warwickshire that she shares with her husband Tom Ellis, who holds a professional licence. Ellis, of course, was a talented rider himself in his time and, prior to going under rules, was national champion point-to-point trainer five times, with a record total of 70 winners in the 2022/2023 season.
As I arrive at Heath Barn, Andrews is being legged up on her fifth mount of the day, an unraced and unnamed 3yo by Gary Du Chenet, as the string go twice up the hill gallop, which Andrews and Ellis installed in summer 2025.
With Andrews about to embark upon her 20th season in the saddle, my first question is how long she plans to continue riding. She admits to being unsure. “As long as I’m still enjoying it. I hadn’t ridden between Cartmel in June and Stratford in October – I don’t ride much on the flat as I find it harder to judge the pace as I’m not riding as regularly, the distances vary and I don’t know the horses – but I’ve since had a ride at Cheltenham and I’m still getting the buzz.”
She’s spent much of her summer showjumping, a sport in which Andrews competes at a high level, with a big win in a Derby-style class at Hickstead a highlight. “It’s really taken off over the last few years,” she beams. “I’ve got a couple of good horses now and competed at the Hickstead Derby meeting. But I’m not one of the top riders… just somewhere in the middle!”
Andrews currently sits 152 behind Will Biddick’s record tally of 623 point-to-point winners, but confirms, “I’m definitely not going to ride for the four more years I’d need to beat that, but there are no specific triggers that will make me retire – I won’t know until the time’s up. I’d still like to win the Cheltenham Foxhunters, but don’t think I’ve got a horse for that this year, and I’d ideally ride for a full season and finish – nobody will remember if I’ve ridden 510 winners or 525, just that I’ve got to 500!”
“I’ll probably continue to train pointers after I retire,” adds Andrews, “Although considerably fewer than I do at the moment. But I don’t think I’ll have many, if any, young horses. They’re so difficult to ride that I’m just not sure I’d trust anyone enough – other than myself and (younger brother) Jack – to ride them. They cost too much and take too much work to risk someone cocking it up on the one day you have to get it right!” I also want to continue showjumping, as I always want to be competitive. I can’t remember who once told me, ‘You’re only happy if you’re beating someone at something!’ Other than that, I’ll keep doing what I do now – get up at 5am, feed 90+ horses, ride work and school, and go racing, but in a different role.”
In her long career, Andrews does not hesitate when asked about both the best horse she’s ridden, and her favourite. “Bobby!” she tells me, referring to Latenightpass, owned and bred by her mother-in-law Pippa, who won the 2022 Aintree Foxhunters, and over the cross-country course at Cheltenham in the 2023/2024 season, when he also jumped the last in the lead in the Grand National. “It was his will to win,” she explains. “Jack always called him an overachiever, because we never imagined he’d be as good as he was. We thought that, if he could win a race, ‘Happy days!’. He ran a few times (five) before winning, then progressed relatively quickly, and kept getting better and winning bigger – he won the Cheltenham Intermediate Final dossing in front with his ears pricked!”
“Then came Covid,” continues Andrews. “We ran him in Hunter Chases as he couldn’t go anywhere else. He won at Warwick then was fourth in the Cheltenham Foxhunters (both times ridden by sister, professional jockey Bridget, when amateurs were not permitted to ride under rules), where he was running away down the hill but didn’t see out the trip). Then I was second on him at Aintree. Dan (leading professional trainer Skelton, and Bridget’s brother-in-law) told us that, if we missed Cheltenham the year after, we’d win at Aintree. And we did, which was special!”
“Bobby had achieved everything he could Hunter Chasing,” explains Andrews of the move to the professional sphere. “The Grand National itself was a fairytale,” Andrews recalls, “And it wouldn’t have been the same if he wasn’t a family horse – Tom had his licence by then, so could train him for Aintree. Being in the lead at the last was a dream – he took to the fences so well and never gave me a bad ride over them. We weren’t going lickety spit, so he travelled keenly and, while I knew we wouldn’t win coming to the last, as his petrol gauge was empty. I had the time of my life. It was surreal,” she adds. “I’d never experienced a build-up like it. We had to do a spreadsheet for our interview schedule and repeated the same things each time!”
Unlike her younger sister and brother, Andrews never seriously considered turning professional. “It was an option around about 2010,” she admits, “But there weren’t many female professional jump jockeys, I wasn’t attached to a yard other than Pam Sly, and I wasn’t sure I’d be good enough. So, I had a chat with Dad (former top amateur Simon), and we decided I was better off staying amateur. I’ve had such a good time pointing – my highlight being a five-timer at Mollington in 2017 – and have also ridden a lot under rules.”
Asked about successors as leading female rider between the flags, with main rival Izzie Hill currently sidelined, she replies, “Good question. I’ve always been fond of Ellie Callwood (who used to work at the yard and was runner-up to Andrews in 2025/2026). She’s naturally talented and learnt to ride properly before she was a jockey, which makes a big difference. And I hope Molly (Legg) has a chance of winning the novice title, as she’s starting to get outside rides, but it depends if anyone else appears on the scene.”
With nearly half of all point-to-point jockeys being female but under-represented in terms of rides and winners against males, Andrews shrugs when I ask how that feels. “I don’t know the answer. It’s always been the case. It’s a male-dominated sport with the odd exception – my aim is to beat the boys, because there isn’t the same level of competition with the girls. You have to make a difference, and – a lot of the time – the girls don’t.”
The same is true of female riders’ struggles to make a mark over jumps – with the notable exception of Rachael Blackmore – compared to on the flat, where the likes of Saffie Osborne are doing so well. Andrews’ husband Tom has a view on the subject. “It’s a fickle sport. There was a time when Bryony Frost was in fashion, but it’s all about the men now. Plus, women are lighter, and not as physically strong. Flat racing isn’t as demanding, and there’s a lower injury rate.”
“Our first runner will probably be Rich Mans World, a Crystal Ocean 4yo, in the Young Horse Maiden at Lower Machen. As well as him, I have about eight 4yos ready to go before Christmas, along with All Is True – who missed last year – and Horseheath winner Always Groovin,” said Andrews, as talk turns to training. While she’s been knocking on the door of champion trainer, finishing second to Josh Newman in 2024/2025 and a close third last season, Andrews is honest when it comes to her chances this year. “I don’t think we’ve got enough horses. Probably at least ten of ours will be young maidens who’ll only run once or twice, so I think that ship’s sailed.”
With nearly 100 horses at Heath Barn, Andrews admits that she and her husband wouldn’t be able to manage as they do without a great team. We’re joined on the gallops by Steph Waite, who has been looking after social media for the yard since May, and Andrews is also keen to name check several others, starting with Charity Shaw. “We’ve been friends for ever, and she’s been here four years, though it feels like ten! She’s in the office and I’m in the yard, so we hardly see each other, and she gets all the sh*t jobs! She’s got to keep on top of all the horses, do the vaccinations, HR, recruitment, billing… Then Jess Digweed is our travelling head girl. She’s brilliant, loyal and looks after the horses so well. And Zac Baker’s been with us for five years now. He’ll ride ours when I’m not available.”
“God, this is going to be opinionated!” laughs Andrews as I ask for her views on the current state of the point-to-pointing, before turning serious. “My love for the sport has changed over the few years. There were several incidents one season where I was increasingly targeted and felt I was being victimised and bullied. I wrote a letter airing my concerns and let’s just say the response I got wasn’t what I was hoping for. Because of that, I’ve distanced myself from having opinions about pointing over the last couple of years. If the powers that be don’t listen to something serious then why should I bother because it’s not going to make any difference. and I can’t help but be quite sour towards it now. I felt what happened to me was pretty serious, yet was offered absolutely zero help or support, and effectively told to shut up because nothing was going to be done. I don’t think I’ve been approached since then and asked for my opinions on the way the sport’s going or should be going, and don’t understand why not.”
As for the high profile “blue mic” interviews, “I really don’t know how they’re promoting the sport in any way. It’s unnecessary expense in my opinion and they should make more effort to upload declarations, results and videos. Just copy what the Irish do – it’s not difficult!”
When it comes to race framing, however, Andrews is generally positive, though with some caveats. “I feel that some of the trainers’ opinions on the Young Horse Maidens have been listened to, although not all of them - I’m not sure you should be eligible for the bonus if you’ve already run in Irish points. Besides, I don’t know if the bonus makes a difference – we don’t target a race because of the bonus, but for the course and the ground, and I’m not sure how much it matters to the buyer.”
“I also like the 0-110 Rated Series,” she adds, “Although I don’t think I’m Spellbound (who won such a race for Andrews last season) should have been allowed to run in them! But I don’t like bumpers. I feel that a lot of the riders aren’t up to it – they’re very different to jump races – and many of the horses are underprepared, too small, or can’t jump. I also think,” she concludes, “That the race structure is too complicated. Take the Irish model – they have races for 4yo, 5yo, 6yo+, mares… it’s simple.”
It seems appropriate to finish by asking Andrews about her legacy as the GoaT among British female jump jockeys, although her response is typically modest. “I don’t really feel like a role model,” she tells me, “Because I’m an amateur, I fall by the wayside, and my achievements go under the radar. Maybe I’d get more coverage if I was professional. However, I’ve been very lucky. I had the best possible start with Mum (Joanna) and Dad, and Pam Sly’s always supported me under rules, which helped me get seen. Mind you, I still struggle to get rules for British trainers in amateur races… even though I have an agent!”
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