Beating the Odds

Four years after her horrific horse racing fall, this is Bev Buckingham's remarkable story of recovery from both a broken back and a broken heart.

There are two things that make Bev Buckingham a champion - her unbreakable will and the unbeatable love of her family.

In the late 1990s Bev Buckingham had it all. She was Australia's most successful woman jockey ever. She had conquered the entrenched sexism of the racing industry to become her state's leading rider, the first woman in the world to win a jockey's premiership and the darling of the racing fraternity. On top of this she was madly in love and happily married. This all came to an end at Elwick racecourse, when a dramatic fall left her with a broken neck.

After months of hard work and anguish, and with her family constantly by her side, Bev defied the odds and the doctors who said she would never walk again. But even the miracle of her recovery could not prepare her for the pain in her private life that would follow.

Here Bev Buckingham tells her story of triumph and tragedy on and off the racetrack, and of how she overcame not only a broken neck, but a broken heart. This is the inspiring true story of one woman's fierce determination and remarkable recovery.

'Exceptional courage displayed by a determined and talented young woman; an inspirational story.'

Gai Waterhouse

'An uplifting story of courage, grit and determination - a celebration of the human spirit.' Janine Shepherd, author of Dare to Fly, Never Tell me Never and Reach for the Stars