[2][4] She lamented the snooker hall's demolition in 2009 (though it had been converted into a bowling alley in 1989) and the role the venue played for her in a sport dominated by men:[4] I was heartbroken when it closed.

If it wasn't for the Commonwealth I probably would never have taken the game up because most local venues at the time didn't allow ladies to play on the tables.Despite the loss of her preferred venue and the snooker celebrity crowd – an ideal training pool – that it had attracted during its dozen years, Horsburgh, at age 17, reached the quarterfinal in the 1991 World Masters, losing 4–5 to Stacey Hillyard of England, after beating Kim Shaw of England in the last 16, and Natalie Stelmach of Canada in the last 32.

[3] She fought to the semifinals of the 2003 WLBSA Ladies' World Snooker Championship,[8] and the final match of the LG Cup, losing only to Kelly Fisher, who was on an unprecedented 48-match winning streak across 10 tournaments.

She was the runner-up in the EPA 2004 Ladies' International Pool Tour Event 2 early in the year,[10] and relegated her snooker play to amateur leagues one night per week, rarely practising except before a tournament.

[11][2] Nevertheless, at age 30, she won the Ladies' United Kingdom Snooker Championship in November 2004, taking the final in a close 4-frames-to-3 competition against England's Reanne Evans – a full-time player also competing in the open/men's circuit[11] (and later a record-setting ten-time world champion, 2005–2014).

She beat Barbara Taylor (then-current World Cup Champion and later captain of the England Ladies' team) in the televised final, 8–6, after initially trailing 0–2; both were first-time finalists.

3 at the time in women's eightball pool, Horsburgh won the event in her home town of Blackpool, Lancashire, making it a triple win for locals with a year, as Blackpool natives Paul McGuire and Daryl Peach respectively won the WEPF Juniors' World Championship (at the same event) and the WPA World Nine-ball Championship (in the Philippines, previous November).

[10] She next won the EPA 2009 Ladies' International Pool Tour opening event in March, again defeating fellow Sue Thompson (7–5), after narrowly besting another former world champion, Emma Cunningham, 6–5.

[16] Horsburgh also entered some open events (i.e., competing against male as well as female pros), such as the 2009 Ireland's Invitation 8Ball Pool Pro-Am Classic, where she reached the last 32.

[2] She shoots with the same custom-shortened Joe Davis 146 cue stick she has used since her days at the Commonwealth Sporting Club,[6] and favoured three Blackpool snooker halls during their heyday: Potters, Great Harwood, and Rileys.

[6] In 2008, she began working as a personal pool and snooker coach,[22] and an exhibition player (with Karl Boyes, Mick Hill, and Ian McCulloch).