John Tapp Racing

She’s disappointed, frustrated and very bored. Anna Roper still can’t believe a freak accident at Muswellbrook in November has halted an amazing trot that brought her 56 wins in seven months. She talks of the accident that stirred up an old injury. Like most horse people, Anna couldn’t believe that a horse would buck after having galloped 1450m. The young jockey reflects on the soccer injury that damaged her right knee in the first place. She says she became a couch potato during a long recovery. Anna talks of her earliest involvement with horses following in the footsteps of two older sisters. She looks back on some satisfying achievements in the dressage and eventing pursuits. Anna admits she muddled her way through early schooling but got serious when the HSC approached. She says her early intentions were to seek a career as a veterinary nurse, but all of that changed when she started riding trackwork for Gosford trainer Greg McFarlane. Later she sought and was given an apprenticeship by Wyong trainer Trac