"you need willpower, but that’s never been a problem for me." Images: Jeff Crow / Sport the Library

OFF AND RACING

“I was 16 when I went in for an assessment for my jockey’s licence. I was 57kg at the time (the other candidates were barely 40kg). My Dad talked them into allowing me to do a three-month trial – that my dreams of being a jockey would be shattered if they didn’t at least give me a chance. They had a meeting, came back, and gave me three months. I would have to stay in school and if my weight came down and I still wanted to be a jockey at the end of that time, I could start my apprenticeship.

“There wasn’t the help available to me that apprentices have now through the racing industry – these days they have the best dieticians and nutritionists. When I started there wasn’t any kind of emphasis on that side of things, so a lot has changed. We had to find the experts ourselves.“My parents sought out a top nutritionist, so we were able to learn and understand food values. From then on we were really lucky. I got put on to a sports dietician, Karen Inge, who’s now at the Institute of Sport. It was amazing that our paths crossed, luckily for me so early in my career. She was brilliant.

“It’s not like I follow any kind of fad diet. Karen didn’t change my diet around so I could compete; she just recognised the fact that my body was growing. You need to be strong, so you just need to be aware of the food you’re eating and how your body reacts to it. Everyone’s different. By good cooking and good management, I never had a strict diet – I was always just given good options. That’s the reason why I’m where I am now, because in my life, as a juvenile, I wasn’t told what I had to eat, and I think that’s really helped me mentally.

“I also walked 8-10km every day – I had to do that or else I’d be too heavy. My body is so adapted now to walking – I could walk ten kilometres in an hour and 20 mins, so I could really hike. Running tired me out too much; I enjoyed power walking more than running and I found I had more energy on race day.

“Of course, I walked to make myself sweat: I wore plastic bags, five jackets, everything. I even had plastic Gladwrap gloves on. It wasn’t very comfortable but the other choice I had was to sit in a sauna and take diuretics, which at that time you were able to take. My father was a jockey, and all he knew [about weight management] was ‘don’t eat, take tablets and sit in a sauna’. But they wanted a better life for me, which is why they sought out those diet experts. So I don’t have to sit in the sauna and diuretics are barred, which is great.

“Back in those days jockeys thought that smoking would stop them putting anything else in their mouths. But my father was never a smoker – and told me not to smoke. And he kept me away from alcohol, which is a big help when you’re keeping an eye on your weight. I don’t drink at all.”

 WEIGHT’S RIGHT

“These days I know some weeks in advance what weight I will have to ride. If it becomes my goal to ride at a very light weight, it’s obviously for a horse that’s worth it. And so I prepare for it. I don’t all of a sudden say that in three days I’m going to drop two kilos and compete, because I know I can’t do it – I know I can’t do it strong, so I’m no benefit to anyone. Everything is about preparation.

“When I have to ride light, my diet changes two weeks out. My diet consists mainly of vegetables, though I might have meat in the first few days. But from ten days down there would be no red meat, and it’ll be fish and vegetables. If I was happy with my weight coming down to a sensible level, where I was comfortable, I would continue with the vegetables and the fish. If I was struggling I would go to fish and salad, and then at the end it would come down to just salad and fruit. It just depends on where I am with

my body. But I’ve found it’s all about preparing properly. Nowadays I know what foods work best for me – I know what foods actually flush out my system.

“Of course you need willpower – but that’s never been a problem for me: I’ve always really wanted to be a jockey. I love it. You make sacrifices, but for where I am now, they seem like very minor sacrifices ... ”