Freda Posted August 30, 2019 Posted August 30, 2019 Centenarian Barbara Blackie lost her battle with cancer yesterday, and passed away late yesterday afternoon. She was so proud to have received the messages from the Queen, and Jacinda Ardern. Rest well, Mrs. B. 4 Quote
theshu Posted August 30, 2019 Posted August 30, 2019 Terrible news,a lovely classy lady . May she RIP. 1 Quote
Hedley Posted August 30, 2019 Posted August 30, 2019 What a special Lady..there needs to be a T.V. tribute put together in her honour. R.I.P. Barbara 1 1 Quote
Chimbu Posted August 31, 2019 Posted August 31, 2019 Racing needs more people like Mrs Blackie. RIP, lovely lady. 1 Quote
Chief Stipe Posted September 2, 2019 Posted September 2, 2019 Legendary racing trainer Barbara Blackie dies at 100 11:43, Sep 02 2019 DON SCOTT Barbara Blackie tended her horses at Riccarton Park for 45 years. The racing community is mourning the loss of legendary Canterbury trainer Barbara Blackie just weeks after her 100th birthday. Blackie - a licensed trainer known around the tracks as "Mrs B" - died at home in Christchurch last Friday. She will be farewelled at a funeral service on Thursday in a lounge at the Riccarton Park race course, where she trained many winners in her long and successful career. Blackie, who turned 100 on July 20, received a New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) service award in June after almost 45 years as a licensed trainer. She was New Zealand's oldest trainer and NZTR said her record "might be unmatched in the racing world". Blackie - born on the same day as Mt Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary - had a lifelong love of horses, and became a trainer in her 50s after raising three children. She trained her first winner, Lurkio, at Rangiora in 1976 and never looked back. IAIN MCGREGOR Trainer Barbara Blackie and her horse Ayrgo prepare for races at Riccarton race course in 2009. Blackie had a number of successful horses in her stable over the decades, with the most successful being Ayrgo, a gelding by Sumayr out of Fair Petingo, which won 10 races from 49 starts. Her last win was in Timaru in 2003, on her 84th birthday. Until her late 90s, Blackie would rise at 5am to tend her horses and clearing muck at the Riccarton racetrack. She spent last Christmas at the stables and only eased back her workload after suffering a suspected cracked pelvis earlier this year. Blackie's daughter, Angie Brott, told Stuff in July, that her mother had been "so looking forward to her birthday" and had desperately wanted to reach 100 while till holding her trainer's licence. "Family and horses. That was it for mum," Angie Brott said. Blackie was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for her voluntary work with Riding for the Disabled in 1983. 3 2 Quote
Freda Posted September 5, 2019 Author Posted September 5, 2019 A great funeral for Mrs B..marking the respect in which she was held, her style and graciousness. She was fondly termed ' Mrs Google ' and I remember Terry asking her one morning if she knew anything about ' the Hood' - the battleship that was, with the Prince of Wales, ordered to intercept the Bismarck. Oh, she said, I went to a cocktail party on the Hood the night before she sailed. 4 Quote
Kopia Posted September 5, 2019 Posted September 5, 2019 Thanks for sharing that with us Freda. It's amazing to think that she was old enough to do that! Unfortunately some people reading this site will not know what your'e referring to,.they should read up on the History of the Second World War. ? 2 Quote
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