Linda Meech (born 1980) is an Australian

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

. Born in New Zealand, she went to Australia on a working holiday in 1998 and stayed.

Life and career

Meech grew up on the family farm in

Pongaroa Pongaroa is a town in the Tararua District, in the southeast of the North Island of New Zealand, 110 kilometres southwest of Hastings and 200 kilometres northeast of Wellington. The nearest town is Pahiatua, 50 kilometres to the west. Popular � ...

, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. She began her jockey's

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

in Queensland, then moved to New South Wales before settling in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. She rode in her first race in 1999. In November 2013 she became the second Australian woman, after Clare Lindop in 2008, to win 1000 races. She won her first

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

race on Plucky Belle in the

Coolmore Classic The Coolmore Classic, registered as the TAD Kennedy Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three years old and upwards under set weights conditions, run over a distance of 1500 metres at Roseh ...

in March 2015. In 2019, Meech was the first woman to win the Victorian Jockeys' Premiership, when she rode 145 winners from 755 rides. As of mid-June 2025, she has ridden 1,986 winners, including two in

races. Meech also has a trainer's licence. She and her partner Mark Pegus, who is also a trainer and jockey, had a son in January 2021. She resumed racing in May 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meech, Linda 1980 births Living people Australian female jockeys Australian jockeys New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia Sportspeople from Manawatū-Whanganui