We previously wrote about the men , riders such as Ivan Miller , Craig Coleman , Bryan Patterson , Shayne and Darryll King , Josh Coppins and Ben Townley , to name a few , but now we ’ re looking at some of the successes of Kiwi women , Katherine Prumm and Courtney Duncan in particular , although individuals such as Lisa Heath , Jamie-Lee Caldwell , Josephine Adlam , Tania Satchwell , Emma Davis , Shelley Hickman , Mary Perkins , Melissa Mudgway , Alanna Columb , Elyse Wadsworth , Julie Managh , Letitia Alabaster , Taylar Rampton , Mel Patterson , Kimberley Murphy and Roma Edwards , among others , have also contributed in no small way to putting New Zealand on the motocross map over the years .
KATHERINE PRUMM
The first Kiwi woman to really make it big was Katherine Prumm , who was actually born in South Africa in 1988 , then moved to New Zealand with her family in 1995 . In 2004 , Auckland resident Prumm first tested the waters internationally , the then 16-yearold showing up at the final round of the Australian women ’ s motocross championships , and proceeded to seriously dominate the competition , humbling the best in the MX business on her trans-Tasman debut . Prumm ’ s success in Australia was just a taster of what was to come for the South Africanborn Pukekohe schoolgirl and her followers , as she branched further afield and headed to Europe and into the cauldron of world championship level action . Fronting up at Uddevalla for the Swedish Grand Prix on July 3 , 2005 , the Kiwi ace jumped at the chance to compete in the one-event inaugural Women ’ s World Cup . Remarkably , she finished runner-up in Sweden , only behind Germany ’ s Steffi Laier and ahead of France ’ s Livia Lancelot , in that Women ’ s World Cup season debut in 2005 . It wasn ’ t labelled the Women ’ s World Championships in those days , but , in everything but name , that ’ s exactly what it was and , expanded to several rounds in the years that followed , she eventually went on to win the
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