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Does anyone know of any yards here or abroad that would offer the possibility of a few jump race rides? My problem is im 29 now, so no longer have conditional status in this country and am struggling to get goning again after been out injured for nearly 16mths.
Any advice is much appreciated
PS Does anyone have, or know where I could find, any infomation on jump racing in Poland, Austria, Italy and Germany
There are a few authorities on German racing on these boards for sure – I’ll leave it to the gentlemen concerned to volunteer their services as they see fit, but I’m sure one in particular might be able to give an idea as to what opportunities there are over there to ride work on jumps horses.
Actually riding in jumps races over there might be a different matter altogether – there are barely 70 races over the sticks in Germany per annum at present.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
In 2006 there were only 2 jump races run in Austria, and 6 in Poland.
In Italy there were 292 races, so if your Italian is reasonable that would be the least worst option of the 4 countries you listed, but it might be best to keep plugging away over here. Good luck anyway.
Does anyone know of any yards here or abroad that would offer the possibility of a few jump race rides? My problem is im 29 now, so no longer have conditional status in this country and am struggling to get goning again after been out injured for nearly 16mths.
Any advice is much appreciated
PS Does anyone have, or know where I could find, any infomation on jump racing in Poland, Austria, Italy and Germany
You’ve come to the right place!!
We’re always on the lookout for overseas jockeys – indeed, quite a few of our recent winners have been ridden by British or Irish jockeys, so I’ll drop you a PM, and we’ll see what we can do. However, I’m an agent for a German-based jumps jockey, who asked me to get him rides in the UK – and I’ve got him nothing yet!!
Several British born jockeys are big names in Central Europe nowadays – Paul Johnson is as good as you get over fences in Germany, and on the flat, Gary Hind and Darren Moffatt are regulars at Munich, and even Steve Drowne is becoming a known face in Slovakia – he’s ridden at Bratislava 4 out of the last 6 Sundays. Dane O’Neill has accompanied him on his last 2 trips as well. Mark Giles can often be seen at Kincsem Park in Budapest, and there are several British and Irish amateur riders who can be seen in Germany – Gemma Gracey-Davison was second at the weekend in Bad Harzburg. Venturing north, Matty Batchelor and Sean Curran have for some time now been regulars on the jumps circuit in Sweden and Norway, indeed Batchelor rode in last months Swedish Champion Hurdle.
As Venusian has mentioned, jumps racing in Poland and Austria is pretty much non-existent, and as Jeremy has stated, unfortunately, there’s not many jumps races in Germany nowadays – indeed, the richest jumps race is worth a paltry 18,000 Euros (that’s in September at Baden-Baden). Italy, although not having many races this month over jumps, is a real spectacle, with the Alpine city of Merano hosting some of the best events, including some superb cross country races. No British jump jockeys operate out here as far as I know (although the aforementioned Paul Johnson is sometimes in attendance), but northern based Jan Faltejsek can often be seen riding winners in Italy.
Two countries that have jumps racing, albeit limited, are Belgium and Switzerland. Belgium only has 1 days jumps racing a year, but that’s at the splendid Waregem course, home to the 100,000 Euro Grand Steeplechase de Flanders. As for Switzerland, the hurdles races on the frozen lake at Arosa in January are quite something else, whilst the Maienfeld racecourse holds a Listed Cross Coutry steeplechase, usually on the second Sunday in October (same day as the Velka Pardubicka unfortunately). Very interesting obstacles, including one made up of a row of flowerpots!!
Hope this helps, and I’ll be in touch soon.
Darren – AngloGerman
You could give the P2P community a try or failing that Jonjo O’Neill as he has some real pigs who could give you a safe hack around for a circuit.
You could give the P2P community a try or failing that Jonjo O’Neill as he has some real pigs who could give you a safe hack around for a circuit.
am failing to detect the sarcasm from my side of the screen!
Does anyone know of any yards here or abroad that would offer the possibility of a few jump race rides? My problem is im 29 now, so no longer have conditional status in this country and am struggling to get goning again after been out injured for nearly 16mths.
Any advice is much appreciated
PS Does anyone have, or know where I could find, any infomation on jump racing in Poland, Austria, Italy and Germany
At 29 i guess a lot depends on your CV ie how many winners you rode before you where injured, you would certainly need a profile to pick up rides without working in a yard!
The level of Jump racing in Germany is very moderate as are the jump jockeys involved(the races are either run at a crawl or break neck pace), i think that`s the reason the likes of Jim Colloty/Nina Carberry have found winning relatively easy when going over for the odd ride (Ability to read the pace!!),i don`t think it will be difficult to find opportunities to ride work and school because theirs a lack of decent work riders and i know when we wanted to try one over the sticks our trainer said forget it as he couldn`t find anyone to do the schooling!!
Sweden is even more backward in this respect thus i couldn`t reccommend trying your luck over there,personally,i think without disrupting your living style you would have more opportunities at home,its a simple call on the numbers!!
I suppose its a question of passion for jump riding or the need to work,if its financially viable you could purchase your own horses and ride them in public.
Darren can probably find you work but i should imagine even he would find it difficult to convince the trainer/owners of giving a ride to an “unknown“,afterall most yards have a pecking order!!
You could give the P2P community a try or failing that Jonjo O’Neill as he has some real pigs who could give you a safe hack around for a circuit.
am failing to detect the sarcasm from my side of the screen!
Ok sorry, Do hope it goes well for you, Last time i ever spoke to a jockey was Colman Sweeney at Aintree, having looked at The Chair with him he turned at me and said
"Do they bypass this on the last circuit"
Was slightly worried as i backed him to win on Montifault in the Foxhunters
You could give the P2P community a try or failing that Jonjo O’Neill as he has some real pigs who could give you a safe hack around for a circuit.
am failing to detect the sarcasm from my side of the screen!
Ok sorry, Do hope it goes well for you, Last time i ever spoke to a jockey was Colman Sweeney at Aintree, having looked at The Chair with him he turned at me and said
"Do they bypass this on the last circuit"
Was slightly worried as i backed him to win on Montifault in the
FoxhuntersApology accepted.
I’ve said it before on this forum but when a trainer i.e your boss says you cant ride a horse in a certain race "because the owner wants a irish jockey (he came with fewer rides and winners)" or "if you ride it people will know it is sh1t and im trying to sell it" (and i have had numerous other spurrious excuses when a simple "your not good enough" would at least stop trying to shove the blame elsewhere and be more to the point in the trainers eye) it gets disheartening especially when obtaining outside rides and winners was going along well.
I do not in any way think that im owed rides by anyone in racing or that racing owes me a living but im prepared to work my guts out to get some rides again on the track.
Its worth pointing out to many people that a race is only the final 10mins of maybe 10wks work but it is the bit people outside looking in see and nearly all the time the best horse wins regardless of whose on it.
How about America? David or Nick Bentley, im sure it was David, went there and became chamption jockey, he wasn’t even 3rd jockey at Micky Hammonds when he left. Didnt Xavier Aizpuru (sp?) move over there too when he lost his claim? Best of luck that you can keep riding somewhere.
Whoever suggested p2p is totally wrong as he’s been a conditional so wont be able to be amatuer again so soon
Yep, David Bentley, Xavier Aizpuru, Cal McCormack, Richard Young and Carl Rafter are all either out there at the moment, or else have been in the recent past.
Again, it’s not as if there are thousands of jumps races run in the States, but the simple logistical / lifestyle issue of upping sticks and moving there completely keeps down the numbers of UK jockeys crossing the pond to try their luck.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
It depends, Katy – if you held a conditional or apprentice licence for less than 48 months and rode no more than ten winners you are eligible for an amateur riders permit. There are some other circumstances in which people who have ridden on a full licence qualify also.
Padge Whelan is out in the States now too and having some success. Really pleased for him as he’s a proper hard worker and a decent jock.
sorry mate
can you email me your mobile number again
and whats the minimum weight you can do????
cheers
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