Jockey

A jockey rides horses in races. There are two specialist kinds of jockey: flat jockeys, who race on flat ground without obstacles, and jump jockeys, who race on tracks where they have to jump over fences, ditches and hurdles.

The Work

You could be:

• mucking out the stables

tacking up the horses you're going to exercise

• taking the horses through a series of exercises (walking, trotting, cantering and galloping) and then reporting back to the trainer on the horse's level of fitness for the race


• discussing the characteristics of horses and races with the owner and trainer – working out strategies to help you win the race


• on days when you are racing (most days in summer) accompanying horses to and from races


• getting weighed 30 minutes before the race


• riding the horses at flat races or at jump races (most specialise in one or the other).


• afterwards, discussing the race with the owner and trainer.

Conditions

• Hours would be long, with an early start and a late finish. In summer you might be racing seven days a week.


• You would be outdoors in all weathers, exercising horses.


• Mucking out stables can be dirty, heavy work.


• You might have to stay overnight at the stables, in a hostel.
• You might have to travel around the UK and possibly abroad, spending overnights away from home.


• There is a high risk of injury through falls and kicks.


• You must always keep your weight well below average.


• You wear riding gear including high boots and helmet.

Getting In

• Riding experience and confidence with horses is more important than educational qualifications.


• Most jockeys start off as a stable hand. To be either a stable hand or a jockey, you can start training in Scotland at Oatridge College through an 18 week Preparation for Racing course. It leads to a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Level 1 in Horse Care.


• You can then go on to a Foundation Apprenticeship, followed by an Advanced Apprenticeship at the Northern Racing College in Doncaster.


• A Foundation Apprenticeship takes 9-12 weeks and leads to NVQ Level 2 in Racehorse Care.


• An Advanced Apprenticeship leads to NVQ Level 3 in Racehorse Care and Management. It is completed in the workplace and usually takes 2 years.


• You can also train at racing schools in England, at Newmarket (British Racing School) and Marlborough (Haddon Training Limited), and in Ireland, at Kildare and Enniskillen.


• Or you could start by taking a college course in equine studies or horse care. You could follow this with a special ‘conversion’ course, to work with racehorses, at the Northern Racing College, Doncaster.


• To be a jockey, you should not be too tall and should weigh about 8 or 9 stone (50-57 kilos) for flat racing and less than 10 stone (approx. 63 kilos) for jump racing.


• You must be physically fit, with good eyesight, without glasses. You should be strong enough to control large high-spirited animals.


• A driving licence is often necessary, as many stables are in remote areas.

What Does It Take?

You must be:

• interested in horses, able to relate to them, understand and control them


• physically strong with a good sense of balance


• honest


• competitive and courageous


• a good team worker, to work with stablehands, trainers and owners.

Training

• You must have a licence from the British Horseracing Board, when you become an apprentice or conditional jockey.
• The British Racing School runs courses taking apprentice jockeys (flat racing) and conditional jockeys (jump racing) through the various stages: Licence, Continuation and Advanced Courses. Progress depends on the number of winners you ride.


• The apprenticeship ends when you are 25 (27 for a jump jockey). If you haven’t ridden enough winners by this age you are unlikely to keep your job. There is a high failure rate, partly because jockeys grow too big.

Getting On

• You will have a manager to negotiate races for you.


• You will have a short working life and will move on to other work around the age of 40 – sports journalism or commentating, racetrack management or training might be possibilities.

Pay

The figures below are only a guide. Actual pay rates may vary, depending on:

• where you work


• the size of the company or organisation you work for


• the demand for the job.

More Information

There are five racecourses in Scotland, at Ayr, Hamilton Park, Kelso, Musselburgh and Perth, each with a dramatically different layout and offering a different challenge. These courses host around 100 racing events a year. There are only about 450 jockeys in Britain. Both men and women can train as jockeys but only a small number of women do so.

Addresses

The following organisation(s) may be able to provide further information.