"I was born in 1953 in Wiltshire. I started playing bridge with my parents when I was 14. It was only social rubber bridge but they were quite keen, and I guess I played a couple of times a week with them when I was in the sixth form. Then I went to Nottingham University, joined the bridge club there and subsequently married Tony Sowter. The bridge flourished and I played in my first Lady Milne, with Sally Eggett, in 1976, heavily pregnant with my son Ben.

I played in my first European Championship in 1979 with Sandra Landy, which we won. And we won again in 1981 and also the Venice Cup that year.

Round about then my marriage broke up and in December 1981 I married Mark Horton. The British women won the world championship again in 1985. The Landy/Horton bridge partnership broke up in 1987 and I started playing with Steve Lodge. We got very close to making the open team but not quite close enough. In 1991 my marriage again finished and in 1993 I married Raymond Brock. At that time I gave up any interest in international bridge to have two children, but started playing again in 2000 - in the mixed teams in Maastricht with Jason Hackett. I formed a partnership with Margaret Courtney and we won the European Championship in 2001 in Tenerife. In 2003 and 2004 I played with Kitty Teltscher. Our best performance resulted in a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympiad in Istanbul.

Sadly Raymond died in early 2008 after a short illness.

Then at the end of 2008 I was brought in to form a scratch partnership with Nicola Smith in order to join the England Women's team for the World Mind Sports Games in 2008, where we won the gold medal. Since then we have become a regular partnership and contended the Venice Cup in October 201l, eventually coming fourth.

2012 was an exciting year for me, as I was a part of the England team that won the European Championships in Dublin during July; and then I was part of the England team that won the second World Mind Sports Games in Lille.

Nowadays I make living partly by typesetting travel guides, and partly by professional bridge of one sort or another: writing (I am the columnist for the Sunday Times), playing and teaching online. That, and trying my best to exercise a bit of control over two teenagers, takes up most of the rest of my time. However, in the last year I have formed a partnership, both at and away from the bridge table, with Barry Myers, a long-time friend who has recently returned to bridge after a long absence."

Since writing this biography Sally has added to her international successes. With the England Women's team at the European Championships she won gold in 2016 and silver in 2014, and won a silver medal in 2013 Venice Cup in Bali and a bronze medal in 2015 Venice Cup in Chennai. In 2014 she was part of the team which won the Women's Team competition at the World Series in Sanya, China. Sally is also squad leader of the Women's Under 25 squad.

Read Sally's Top Table interview - December 2012

Last updated: June 2016

Major International Appearances

Women's European Championships: 1979* 1981* 1983 1985 1987 1989 1993 2001* 2004 2010 2012* 2014 and 2016*
Venice Cup: 1981* 1985* 2001 2005 2011 2013 and 2015
Women's World Olympiad: 1980 1984 2004 2008* 2012* and 2016

* = 1st place

Camrose Trophy Selections: 1985 1989 1990 1991 and 2015

Lady Milne Trophy Selection: 1976 1977 1982 1985 1986 2001 2004 2010 (EBU team) 2011 2013 and 2015

Teltscher Trophy Selections: 2016

Gold Cup Winner: 1984 1989 and 1990

Crockfords Winner: 1985 1987 1990 and 2004

National Teams Congress winner: 1990

The Hubert Phillips Bowl Winner: 2000 2001 2002 2004 2014 and 2016

Tollemache Cup winner: 2013 and 2014

Player of the Year Championship: 2015/16 - 18th=