A couple of weeks ago, jumps jockey Emily Farr elected to call time on her riding career and circled the Grand National Festival of Racing at Riccarton as her swansong, but she didn’t get the fairytale ending she was hoping for.

On the opening day of the carnival she was runner-up in the Koral Steeplechase (4250m) aboard the Kevin Myers-trained Prince Turbo, and she was looking forward to trying to turn the tables on winner Lord Spencer in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) on Saturday, but she didn’t get that opportunity.

Farr’s mount Sir Mikki fell near the 800m in the opening race of the day, the Speight’s Ultra On Tap 0-1 Win Hurdles (3100m), and Farr suffered a concussion and was transferred to Christchurch Hospital for observation, ruling her out of riding for the rest of the meeting.

While disappointed in the way her 15-year riding career ended, Farr is looking at the silver lining and said things could have ended far worse.

“I am disappointed that it ended the way it did, but things happen, and it’s jumps racing after all,” she said. “I would love to have ended on a better note, but you have to make a decision and put a line in the sand. I did that before I went out on Saturday and I have just followed through with the decision.

“I am fairly battered and bruised, and I have got a bit of a terrible headache because I was knocked out for a while, but I am very lucky with the fall that I had.”

Farr said the decision to retire had been weighing on her mind for some time, and it was made easier after Never Look Back, who she had ridden to victory in last year’s Hawke’s Bay Hurdles (3000m) and this year’s Manawatu Steeplechase (4000m), was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

“Never Look Back has been amazing for me,” Farr said. “He is out for the rest of the season now so that kind of helped me make that decision that I wasn’t going to continue because he wasn’t there.

“I made my mind up towards the end of last season (to retire from riding) and I decided to ride at the Riccarton Carnival because I had the boys I always ride in Sir Mikki, The Bambino and Prince Turbo, and I felt like I had a connection with those horses the whole way through.”

Farr said she has been thankful for the support she has received since announcing her decision to retire from riding.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for the support I have been given over the last couple of weeks in making the decision,” she said. “I am 35 now and I have other things in my life that I want to do and jumps racing is hard on the body without the falls, and it is one of those things where I need to put a line underneath it.”

In a career spanning more than 15 years, Farr has won 108 races in New Zealand and several others in Australia, with Gobstopper’s victory in the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle (3500m) for trainer Andrew Campbell a particular highlight.

“Teaching Gobstopper to jump after his flat career ended and winning his first start, and then taking him over to Australia to win the Drechsler Hurdle was something that was very close to my heart,” she said. “He stayed over there and was very successful. Giving those horses another string to their bow and then see them continue their racing life is something that I am very proud of.”

Farr has also been proud of being a pioneer for female jumps jockeys on both sides of the Tasman, and she particularly enjoyed her time in Australia.

“I was the only licensed female at the time over there and the Australians made that a big thing, riding against the boys,” she said. “They were very welcoming and very supportive of me, which was great.

“I had a lot of support from the Aussie jockeys over there, including Steven Pateman and Tommy Ryan. The whole thrill of being over there is very different to New Zealand. I would have loved to have gone back a couple of more times, but being with a shortage of jockeys over here, I never really had the opportunity to do that.

“Emma-Lee and David Browne were very good to me when I went over and rode for them and had a couple of seconds for them. It was an incredible opportunity and I loved it.”

Farr was also runner-up on the flat in Australia when piloting Crafty Cruiser in the 2018 edition of the Jericho Cup (4600m).

Farr has also enjoyed being a leading figure for female jumps jockeys in New Zealand and is hoping to continue as a mentor in her retirement.

“Showing that it is not all about strength, there are other qualities by having a connection with a horse and using a female touch,” she said. “It has been great helping the young girls in the changing room because there are not many of us. There are a lot of young ones coming through nowadays and they all ask me questions, and I am always going to be there to help them.”

Farr said she has enjoyed plenty of memorable moments in the saddle, but her association with Laekeeper and her quartet of wins at Te Aroha one day particularly stand out.

“The four wins in a day at Te Aroha was something that is hard to do, even as a flat jockey, and to do it as a jumps jockey was a thrill, especially to do it at Te Aroha, which was my favourite course at the time,” she said. “Laekeeper was a big highlight for me. He was one that was consistent throughout his career.”

While Farr is better known for being a jumps jockey, she also rode on the flat as an apprentice, but weight and a passion for jumps racing led her to committing to a career over fences.

“I did nine months as an apprentice,” she said. “I started up in Cambridge and Ralph Manning and Graeme Rogerson were huge supporters of mine. I got to ride Pump Up The Volume a fair few times and he went on to win the New Zealand Cup the year I rode him. Winning the Taupo Cup on Francis Drake for Graeme Rogerson was also great.

“I was very lucky with the career I had when I was an apprentice because I was a little bit heavy. I did ride 53 (kilograms) a couple of times, but it did kill me to get down there. I am a heavy flat jockey and a light jumps jockey, I sat somewhere in the middle.

“Jumps racing has always been my passion and my Mum and Dad were both amateur jumps jockeys, and my heart has always been with the jumps.”

Now living in Otaki with her partner, Johno Benner, Farr said she is loving the quieter lifestyle on the Kapiti Coast, and she is now looking forward to letting her body recover and concentrate on other areas of her life.

“I have no set goals at the moment, I just want to heal the body and look after myself for a little bit,” Farr said.

“I am very settled down here and I love Otaki life. Wellington is only 40 minutes away and the beach is two minutes down the road, and I have got a good circle of friends down here, and Palmy is not that far away. It is a beautiful place to live.

“Johno is extremely busy now with his new two-year-olds and three-year-olds coming through, and I am helping him and doing as much work with him as I can. We have a very exciting yard coming through. We only do 16 horses between us, so it is a small yard that is quality over quantity, and they are a very exciting lot of horses for this summer.

“I was up in the Waikato for the last 16 years. I worked hard for Wexford for four years and had an incredible time up there with their crew of horses. Now I just want to heal up a little bit, hopefully start a family, and have a quieter life down here.”