Lata Brandis

Source: Czech Centres / FDULS

Noblewoman and horse rider, she was the first woman to participate in the famed Great Pardubice Steeplechase in 1927, one of the most difficult horse races in Europe.

Source: Czech Centres / FDULS

Noblewoman and horse rider, she was the first woman to participate in the famed Great Pardubice Steeplechase in 1927, one of the most difficult horse races in Europe. Ten years later she won the race on the mare Norma. Thus far she is the only woman in history to win this race. As a competitor, she was supported by the aristocratic Kinský family to whom she was related.

The illustrated project Czech Heroines was inspired by the centenary of voting rights for Czech women and the 200th anniversary of the birth of the prominent Czech writer Božena Němcová. It is a joint project by the Czech Centres, the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia and Radio Prague International.