Back in the 1920s motorcycle racing was a man's sport.

Eva Askquith, a tough Yorkshire lass with nerves of steel, changed all that. Now an exhibition will celebrate her life. Kate Bowman reports.

EVA Askquith was not like other young ladies of her age.

At a time when her friends were looking to marry and settle down, young Eva was taking part in the world's toughest test of motorcycle control - the Scott Trial.

With its miles of gullies, torrential streams, jagged rocks, deep mud, water holes, bogs and atrocious gradients, the trial took a harsh toll on everyone who entered.

No one gave young Eva a chance when she decided to enter in 1927. Few of the men expected her to get beyond the first couple of miles.

To their surprise, Eva didn't just finish - she did so in style, winning a second-class award along the way.

Her success only came to a close when the sport's governing body - the Auto Cycle Union - introduced a regulation banning her from competition.

The ACU said it was for her own safety. Fans countered that the men were fed up with always coming second.

Eva Askquith's courageous life is celebrated in a display that goes on view today.

A moving exhibition of photos, trophies and magazine cuttings tells the story of the remarkable woman speedway rider of the 1920s and 1930s who died in 1985.

Born in 1905 in Bedale, North Yorkshire, Eva spent the best part of her life involved in dirt track racing.

Besides her outstanding performances at home tracks in England, she made many guest appearances in Denmark, South Africa and Spain, often beating the top rider.

On her second visit to Spain, she took part in bull fighting on dirt bikes, with the matador riding pillion.

The exhibition has been organised by Bedale Museum and will take place in the lounge at Bedale Hall, in the Market Place.

Museum curator Harvey Blogg said: "She was born into a well known Bedale family and by the time she was ten she was riding horses. She may have had a spectacular time on the speedway, but she did lead an interesting life aside from that.

"She was a competitor to the end - a very determined and able lady who lived life to the full. Even in her later years she was awarded trophies for her gardening work."

After she was barred from beating the men by the sport's governing body, Eva went back to work and to attend to her father's point-to-point horses.

When the Second World War began she joined the National Fire Service as a dispatch rider, and was also a fire-engine driver.

Many of the photos and trophies have been donated to the museum after the recent death of Miss Askquith's sister Lolly Hird. Many of the magazine clippings have been provided from the Speedway Star magazine.

Riders, collectors of vintage speedway machines and others can enjoy the exhibition, today, from 1pm until 4pm, tomorrow and Friday from 10am until 4pm, and on Saturday from 10am and 3pm.