John Carter - Warriors on Horseback: The Inside Story of the Professional Jockey

So much help, so many people to thank. The horse-racing community has been particularly supportive throughout my research. There are too many people and organisations to mention them all here, but in particular, and in alphabetical order, can I pick out Ron Atkins, Michael Caulfield, Bob Champion, Hollie Doyle, Martin Dwyer, Dale Gibson, Lisa Hancock, Martin Lane, Daloni Lucas, Richard Perham, Stan Singleton, Steve Smith-Eccles, John Snaith, Willie Snaith, Paul Struthers and Phil Taylor. Thanks also to Frankie Dettori and Hayley Turner, whom I had interviewed previously, as well as the team at Bloomsbury.

Meeting and talking to such fascinating subjects remains the best part of creating a manuscript. I learned so much.

Finally, thanks, as ever, to my long-suffering wife Paula and children Elisha and Joshua for their tolerance during the many hours when I was absent; either writing in my office or with them in body but not in mind as I shaped a paragraph in my head, eyes glazed over. Writing a book is deceptively time consuming. Thankfully they had the arrival of Bentley, the sausage dog, to keep them entertained. At times it was as if they didnt miss me at all

Jockeys body weights have been given in stone as is common in Great Britain and Ireland. For those less used to measuring body weight in stone, the following conversion table may be useful.

BOB CHAMPION, MBE

Most people remember me for my Grand National win at Liverpool in 1981 on Aldaniti. Because of that, I suppose its easy to overlook the fact that I spent 11 seasons as a professional jockey on the circuit in Britain. We certainly relished the big race days at Aintree, Cheltenham, Sandown and the like, but for much of the time we were riding in front of much smaller crowds at events in diverse locations, from Hexham to Hereford, Wetherby to Worcester.

Looking back it was certainly a great way to make a living and I loved my time as a professional jump jockey. Just working with racehorses every day was so gratifying. There can be few better feelings than to ride one in competition. And when you win, particularly a big race, the adrenalin buzz is addictive and makes you want more. I was fortunate to experience that buzz nearly 500 times. The jockeys lifestyle is dangerous and requires discipline and sacrifices, but the rewards make it all worthwhile and are what kept driving me forwards when times were tough.

Yet it wasnt just the racing and the wins that gave me such pleasure. It was the atmosphere and camaraderie within the weighing room that I missed most when I retired. Amid the laughter and pranks I made life-long friends. Of course, we took it all seriously when we needed to and I shared the weighing room with some of the truly great jockeys, such as John Francome but we also had so much fun. And remember that in my time jockeys werent breathalysed at the racecourse each day, so it was possible to have the odd night out and a few drinks.

Thats just one aspect that has changed since my era. Its difficult to compare jockeys from different periods but I have no doubt that we are currently in a golden age. The riders are so professional and dedicated nowadays, none more so than AP McCoy, who would have been hugely successfully whenever he rode. He really is brilliant, so aggressive. I have never seen another jockey get a horse more quickly from one side of a fence to another.

I think John Carters book accurately conveys life as a professional jockey, going back to the 18th century, through my era, right up to 2014. It is a world within a world and I hope the insights will be illuminating for readers. Jockeys are undoubtedly a rare breed and a special community that, to my mind, deserves to be recognised and celebrated.

Bob Champion

August 2014

BOB CHAMPION CANCER TRUST

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In my pre-school years I was horse-racing mad, avidly watching it on television. My mum loved to relate the true story that I learned to read and tell the time at an early age because I needed to be able to check in the newspaper to see what time the racing was on. I cringe as I write these words, but I used to ride a wooden rocking horse as each contest developed, as though I were a jockey involved in the race. I wore a cap and goggles, and used one of my mums knitting needles as a whip. I tended to be Josh Gifford or Terry Biddlecombe.

Once at primary school I remember asking my teacher if I could be released early one afternoon so that I could make sure I was home in time to watch the Epson Derby. He said no, so I ran all the way home once school finished and just made it, breathless, before the stalls opened.

Somewhat thankfully, in time I grew out of my rocking-horse habit. Indeed I moved away from the sport, transferring my interests to football and cricket, activities for which my height I developed into a sturdy 6-footer by my teenage years was an asset rather than the hindrance it would have been had I carried on hoping to one day become a jockey.

Nevertheless, my awe for those who earn their living on horseback never left me. When I wrote two books on horse racing I came into close contact with many jockeys and the experience fuelled my desire to learn more, while reinforcing my opinion that they are a quite remarkable, not to mention abnormal, band of brothers and sisters.

Seriously, what possesses someone to earn a living by placing himself or herself in mortal danger every day? Who would want to starve their body of food and hydration 24/7 while attempting to maintain an elite athletes level of fitness? Why would anybody want to get up at the crack of dawn seven days a week to rack up yet more miles on motorways for an annual income that Premiership footballers can earn in a week?

Those questions have nagged away at the back of my mind and, during the course of researching this book, I have tried to discover and document the answers. While doing so, I think that my previously limited involvement in the tight-knit horse-racing community has been an advantage: I dont view jockeys through the filter of personal experience or long-held opinions. I also know just enough to have been able to ask the right questions of the right people at the right time; just enough to have been capable of reflecting and capturing the views of experts who are truly in the know; just enough to tell it the way it is, unaffected by matey friendships.

Three moments during the researching and interviewing process gave me goosebumps and will stick in my mind long after the publication of this book.

First, I met a former National Hunt jockey who, at the age of 28, suffered a fall that left him in an induced coma for six weeks. Doctors demanded that he never rode again and for the past 30 years he has battled with both the injury and the mental torture of being unable to do the thing that made him happiest.