If you’re considering becoming a jockey, there is likely to be a long but rewarding road ahead of you. Unlike in other sports, horse racing is one in which amateurs and professionals compete alongside one another on a regular basis.
Whilst you might sometimes see talk of an amateur golfer making it past the cut in one of the Majors or an amateur tennis player will make headlines for making it to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, in horse racing there are many races that take place that will have at least one amateur riding racing in it, going toe-to-toe with the professionals.
The question is, are they licensed to do so? The answer is yes, given the fact that all riders in horse races, regardless of the level that they ride to, need to have a licence.
Amateur jockeys are, to some extent, the lowest down the pecking order in terms of riding, coming behind professionals and conditional jockeys in the eyes of the watching public. You shouldn’t let the word ‘amateur’ fool you though; just because they’re not full professionals doesn’t mean that they don’t know exactly what they’re doing and amateurs have won some of the biggest races in the sport.
What Is An Amateur Rider?
The most obvious question to ask is what it is that makes a rider an amateur in the first place. This isn’t a derogatory word, such as when someone does a poor job and you say it ‘looks amateur’. Instead, it is just a literal classification of someone that is not a professional, nor are on they on the track to become a professional.
The fact that they are an amateur means that they don’t receive a fee for taking part in a race, with the motivation that they take in order to join a race differing from one person to the next. It might just be because of the love of the sport or the desire to compete.
A lot of amateur riders either have careers outside of racing or else have money from another source, which is why they do not need to earn money for taking part in events. It is possible that they do want to become a professional jockey but have chosen to go down the route of being an amateur in order to gain experience, rather than going down the route of being a conditional jockey or an apprentice.
It is entirely due to the individual’s own choice why they would do one thing or another, with as many reasons as there are people engaging in the art of becoming a jockey.
Who Can Become An Amateur Jockey
Though everyone riding as an amateur is not being paid for the experience, that doesn’t mean that they are incompetent or inexperienced. In fact, many amateurs are really experienced at what they’re doing. It is important to differentiate between those that are amateurs because they have neither turned professional nor are going down the route of trying to turn pro and those that have just got onto the back of a horse with no real experience. As a result, anyone that wishes to compete in horse races must have a licence to do so, with amateur licences being the starting point.
The Amateur Rider Category A Permit is the one that an amateur rider must obtain before being allowed to ride a horse. There are specific criteria set out before someone is able to gain such a licence, with anyone wanting to become an amateur jockey having to attend a two-day assessment course.
This course is usually held at either the National Horseracing College or else the British Racing School. During the two days in question, hopeful riders will be put through their paces in a number of different areas in order to prove that they can be trusted on the back of a horse.
What Training As An Amateur Entails
If you’re hoping to become an amateur rider and you’ve been able to get a place on a course that will see you obtain a licence to do so, you might be wondering what that course will entail. You will take part in a number of lectures and assessments, such as one on the position that your balanced body should take up, the principle of schooling and jumping and training on a simulator.
You will also be expected to learn the rules and regulations of riding, alongside the importance of integrity in the sport and the procedures that take place on a race day. There are also practical elements to the course too.
If you’ve done the Category A Permit and wish to move on to the Category B Permit, you can but you’ll first need to take part in at least 20 races. If you have a Category A Permit then you can take part in events that are confined to amateur riders, both on the flat and over jumps. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to head to Point-to-Point meetings to notch up your 20 races, which can be reduced to 15 if they are under the Rules of Racing. Then you can apply for a Category B Permit and take on the five-day training course that this Permit entails, with assessments carried out on the likes of your fitness.
Racing As An Amateur
If you have one your Category B course and gained the associated Permit, you’ll be allowed to take part in any race other than those that are limited to Conditional or Apprentice jockeys. If you’re racing, you’ll be given some weight allowance depending on how many wins you’ve enjoyed during your burgeoning career. Here are the allowances at the time of writing:
- Amateur with 0-4 wins: 7 pound allowance
- Amateur with 5-9 wins: 5 pound allowance
- Amateur with 10-19 wins: 3 pound allowance
- Amateur with 20 or more wins: no allowance
There are some races that are specifically limited to amateur jockeys, with arguably the three biggest ones taking place during the Cheltenham Festival. These are the Foxhunter Challenge Cup, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and the National Hunt Chase.
There are many other races besides these, with the amateur rider calendar being a relatively full one, but they are the races that all amateurs worth their salt will want to be a part of. Racing at the Cheltenham Festival is a highlight of most jockeys’ careers, which is no different just because the jockey in question is an amateur rather than a full-time professional rider of horses.