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I have been
involved in National Hunt, Point
to Point and Flat Racing for over
20 years at various levels. It is
a sport that embodies many kinds
of expertise and courage on both
the part of the horses, who are trained and bred and also
the jockeys who require both skill
and bravery to tackle the hurdles
and fences at the various tracks
around the country. Some of these
tracks, such as Aintree, Sandown
and Cheltenham have large fences
whilst others such as Plumpton and
Wincanton are very undulating and
have their own special problem
fences. My father was one of the
leading amateur jockeys of his day
and rode many winners at many
courses, including Cheltenham. He
took his general interest in
National Hunt racing from my
grandfather who was well known in
Racing throughout the country,
both as an owner and also as a
breeder of thoroughbred horses.
Naturally, I
followed on from them. Whilst at school, I spent my
holidays working on the flat yard
of Sir Mark Prescott and when I
left school in Cornwall some 20
years ago, I went into the yard of
Josh Gifford with whom I spent
four years as a pupil assistant
trainer. I later joined the flat
yard of Guy Harwood where I was privileged
to learn more about the detail and
methods of training flat
horses.
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