Linda Meech (born 1980) is an Australian jockey. Born in New Zealand, she went to Australia on a working holiday in 1998 and stayed. [1]
Meech grew up on the family farm in Pongaroa, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. [2] She began her jockey's apprenticeship in Queensland, then moved to New South Wales before settling in Victoria. [3] 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. [1] [4] [5] She won her first Group One race on Plucky Belle in the Coolmore Classic in March 2015. [2]
In 2019, Meech was the first woman to win the Victorian Jockeys' Premiership, when she rode 145 winners from 755 rides. [2] [6] As of late September 2023, she has ridden 1,842 winners, including two in Group One races. [7]
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. [6]