Clare Balding a former amateur flat jockey Champion Lady Rider in 1990

Clare has close family links with horse racing and between 1988-1993 was a leading amateur flat jockey. In 1990 she was the Champion Lady Rider. She then moved onto commentating on horse racing.

She is an English broadcast journalist and author. Her memoir My Animals and Other Family, looking at her life growing up in racing yard won the 2012 National Book award for* Autobiography of the year.

She has reported on 7 Olympic Games and presented 5 Paralympic Games.
(Read her Broadcasting Career- 30 years covering sport and many other events)

She has written columns for* The Sporting Life, Racing Post, Sunday Telegraph, The Evening Standard,* and regularly writes in the Waitrose Weekend.

She is now focusing on women’s sport and had a great time doing women’s football show for C4, women’s super League matches for BT Sport, women’s tennis for the BBC and BT.

She is a patron for a number of charities (Read* Charitable activities*)

She believes strongly that improving coverage and investment in Paralympic and women’s sport will have far reaching benefits

In 2013 received OBE for services to broadcasting and journalism.

In 2020 appointed ,for 2 years, president of the Rugby Football League. In her tenure she hoped women’s game would turn professional.

In 2022 she received a CBE for services to sport and charity.

Clare is definitely one of the UK’s renown sports broadcasters.

Sources
Wikipedia
Women in Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky
*Passing the Torch Sportswomen who Inspire Mary Peters Trust