Dear Rosemary Henderson: The Independent on Sunday's racing writer offers a message of congratulation to the 51-year-old woman who beat the odds -and most of the men - to finish fifth in the Grand National

First of all, very well done on Saturday, you and dear old Magnus. You've been quite self-effacing about what you did, almost matter of fact, but for anyone to get round the Grand National course, let alone a 51-year-old amateur rider, is darned good.

But then, you knew you'd do it, didn't you? In the four years you've been together, Magnus (let others call him Fiddlers Pike) has always looked after you, and you were pretty sure that if he started, he'd finish - with you still attached. And, actually, the pros in the game knew you were a safe bet, too. Otherwise the Jockey Club would never have given you that special dispensation to ride, and the bookmakers would not have had you as low as 8-1 to get round.

You are, as they say, a together lady. I expect it was your time as a secretary in New York, and as a teacher, that produced that competent, no-nonsense air.

What did you make of all the fuss before and after? I didn't notice any newspaper offering your fellow amateur Ron Treloggen 100 for every fence he jumped. I hope the editor of the Sun noted that the score was macho dairy-farming bloke 12, plucky silver-haired vet's wife 30. And I hope you make a point of picking up your three grand.

I thought the press's assumption that, because of your age and hair colour, you are a galloping granny a bit steep. You actually have no children, but there is a tendency in this business not to let facts stand in the way of a good cliche.

You know perfectly well that riding horses is the one athletic sport where age is not necessarily a bar to achievement. While Lester Piggott is still around that needs no proving.

It would probably have been politically correct for everyone not to have kept harping on about your age and sex. But blow that for a game of soldiers. You are 51, you are a woman and what you did was absolutely marvellous. And if it can highlight what women are capable of, terrific. Despite the achievements of the likes of Jenny Pitman and Mary Reveley as trainers, and the fact that half the stable staff in Britain seem to be girls, racing still tends to be a bastion of male chauvinism.

The feminist issue can be tricky, but you got it right - you just went out there and did it. But don't underestimate what you did, either, for yourself or for women.

Above all, your success was a joy for any horseperson, man or woman. Magnus is not just your horse, he is a trusted partner and friend, someone you've seen through illness and injury, the sharer of physical effort and thrill. Your achievement, even though you were fifth past the post, is all the more special when there is that bond.

How can you repay a horse for what he uncomplainingly and trustingly gives? I bet you didn't spray yours with champagne, like Freddie Starr did.