Forty years ago, Bob Champion and Aldaniti produced a fairytale finish to the 1981 Grand National that has become Aintree legend. Against all the odds, Bob rode the white-faced chestnut to an emotional victory after recovering from cancer, while Aldaniti had made a miraculous recovery from a leg injury.

“I was always very confident of winning,” said Bob when he talked to H&H magazine’s racing editor Jennifer Donald on episode 52 of The Horse & Hound Podcast.

“I’d had 10 rides before and got round five times and every time I went down to the start I thought I’d win, but never really thought it seriously. But that year I really did – I thought it was a formality.

“The Guv’nor [trainer Josh Gifford] said to me: ‘Hold Aldaniti up until the last fence’ – the way we always used to ride him. So we jumped off [at the start] and Aldaniti over-jumped the first fence, he was awful at the second and stood off too far – but then he realised the fences were a bit bigger and he really got his act together. 

“I can remember I jumped Becher’s in about 29th position, where I should have been, but we must have had the best run round the Canal Turn that any jockey in the history of the race has had, because three fences later at Valentine’s – which is three-and-a-half miles from home – I jumped to the front. So I spent the next three-and-a-half miles thinking of the rollicking I’m getting in the stands from the Guv’nor so I’d better start thinking of excuses!

“Coming to the last fence, it was the only fence I couldn’t see a stride — he was getting a bit tired – and I’m thinking if I stand him off and deck him I’m going to look an idiot, so I better just let him drift into the corner and pop. Thankfully I chose that method and got away from the fence pretty sharp. John Thorne [riding Spartan Missile] came to me at the Elbow but as soon as I hit the running rail I was going away and won about three lengths. Another 100 yards I’d have won 10 lengths – I just knew the old horse could keep galloping.”

Bob describes the great Aldaniti as “150% genuine”.

“Although he spent more time standing in plaster in his stable, than he ever did in training!” he remembered.

To mark the 40th anniversary of his momentous win in the Grand National, Bob recently completed a 191-mile walk, raising thousands of pounds for his charity The Bob Champion Cancer Trust. Bob even returned to the saddle for the first time in a decade.

“The final day at Findon [home of the Giffords, where Aldaniti was trained] was absolutely fantastic,” said Bob. “I hadn’t sat on a horse for 10 years, so I thought ‘I hope to God it’s quiet’ but I had a lovely chestnut horse, who was a Christian actually, and we cantered up the gallops and it brought back memories — I hadn’t forgotten what to do and I didn’t get run away with either!”

You can listen to more from the legendary Bob Champion on episode 52 of The Horse & Hound Podcast or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Bob Champion will embark on a 191-mile anniversary walk from Aintree next month, 40 years on from his Grand National win aboard Aldaniti.

The #Bobs40For40Challenge walk is in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and he will leave Aintree on 11 April, the day after the 2021 Randox Health Grand National.

The 191-mile route represents the 191 days from his diagnosis on 14 July 1979, to receiving the all-clear on 31 January 1980. It will feature 40 stops, all connected with his life story and representing every year from 1981 to 2021, finishing at Findon, where Aldaniti was trained.

“My story 40 years ago gave hope to people around the world fighting cancer,” said Bob. “I have dedicated my life to the cause and hope that people will support me again on this anniversary walk for the good work my trust does on a daily basis.”

The stops include Tom Dascombe, Dan Skelton and Jonjo O’Neill’s yards, as well as places of interest such as Barkfold Manor, where Aldaniti lived in retirement and is buried.

At each place, Bob will walk a circuit, or up and down the gallops, and he will be joined by people along the way. Members of the public can also apply to be sponsored to join him on certain days, in line with Covid restrictions.

Martin Tedham, chairman of the pharmaceutical industry partner Wasdell Group which is supporting Bob and also sponsors Jonjo O’Neill Racing, added: “Bob Champion’s story of surviving cancer and the amazing contribution he has since made towards funding research into the disease is legendary.

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Legends of the sport: The remarkable racing comeback of Bob Champion and Aldaniti *H&H Plus*

The story of Bob Champion and Aldaniti’s comeback from serious illness and injury is the stuff of legend – and

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Grand Nationals that earnt their place in history *H&H Plus*

“I have spent decades working closely with partners who develop life-saving drugs for serious illnesses, and in the spare time that I have, I love nothing better than dropping into Jackdaws Castle to see the great progress my friends Jonjo and Jacqui are making with my racehorses, including Sky Pirate who won at this year’s Cheltenham festival, so I feel an affinity with what Bob is doing.

“I sadly lost my wife Carol to cancer three years ago, and of course Jonjo has also had to deal with cancer in the past, so it’s an absolute privilege to support Bob in such a worthy endeavour.”

To donate, visit Bob’s JustGiving page.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

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A legendary former jockey, top racing figures and those who have changed lives for the better are among the list of those named in the 2021 New Year Honours List.

Bob Champion was appointed CBE for charitable services to prostate and testicular cancer research. Bob was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1979 and given weeks to live, but two years later (pictured) won the Grand National on Aldaniti, a horse who had overcome serious leg injuries.

Bob was appointed MBE after that win, which also led to the setting up of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, as many of those who had backed him sent their winnings to the Royal Marsden Hospital. Bob paid tribute to all those at the trust, which has raised some £15m, for the honour, adding that he was very surprised but “absolutely chuffed”.

Outgoing British Horseracing Authority (BHA) CEO Nick Rust said he was very proud to be appointed OBE for services to horseracing.

BHA chair Annamarie Phelps said she was delighted Mr Rust’s service to racing and the BHA had been recognised.

“Throughout his tenure at the BHA, Nick has worked to bring people together and do the right thing for the sport, and he has never been afraid to make the difficult decisions,” she said. “The award also recognises the leadership Nick has shown in areas such as diversity and inclusion, and the welfare of the sport’s human and equine participants.

“It is particularly fitting that this recognition should come this year, following the tireless commitment and resilience he showed in supporting the resumption of racing through this most difficult period.”

Ms Phelps also paid tribute to Bob, BHA board member Maggie Carver, also chairman of the Racecourse Association, who was appointed CBE for services to sport and the media sector, and former Professional Jockeys Association chairman Nigel Payne, who was appointed MBE for services to British horseracing and to charity, “particularly during the Covid-19 response”.

“Our congratulations also go to Bob Champion, Maggie Carver and Nigel Payne,” Ms Phelps said. “They represent the very best of British racing in terms of sporting achievement, charitable and community work, and representing an industry that supports the livelihoods of 80,000 people.”

Mr Payne said the news came as a “great shock”, and it was “very humbling”.

He added: “I’m absolutely thrilled and excited, for myself and my family, and all those people I work with, It’s great.”

Riding for the Disabled Association chairman Samantha Orde, also director of English Federation of Disability Sport, wasO appointed OBE, for services to people with disabilities.

Alan Oddie, co-founder of Milton Keynes children’s charity Ride High, which works with horses to transform the lives of severely disabled and troubled children, was appointed MBE for services to the community in Milton Keynes.

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Bob Champion to be honoured at BBC Sports Personality awards

Bob Champion will receive the Helen Rollason award, which recognises "outstanding achievement in the face of adversity"

Jilly Cooper and War Horse author to receive New Year honours

Three Riding for the Disabled Association volunteers are among the other members of the equestrian world to be recognised in

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The charity has raised over £12m in 12 years, to support thousands of children, of whom 90% have gone on to full-time education or work. CEO Olivia Sugdon said: “Alan is a true professional and a gentleman. He has generously and graciously given his time and overwhelming expertise to Ride High for 12 years.

“With his wife Rachel Medill MBE, he has founded Ride High, and tirelessly committed his days, and nights, to help the charity transform the lives of thousands of children. I cannot think of a more worthy recipient of such an honour.

“We’re exceptionally proud of him.”

Mary Smart, who retired after 36 years as financial controller of the Hertfordshire Agricultural Society last June, was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to agriculture.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The story of Bob Champion and Aldaniti’s comeback from serious illness and injury is the stuff of legend – and a popular film. Lucy Higginson finds out how it all started and their continuing legacy

Few stories in racing have captured public imagination like that of Bob Champion piloting Aldaniti to victory in the 1981 Grand National. The jockey had very nearly lost his life to cancer; the horse had fought back from major leg injuries and a recommendation that he be put down. Their win was the stuff of fairy tales, and indeed inspired a number of books and a hit movie.

But Bob Champion’s life is much more than that of a cancer survivor who clawed his way back to win the National. A fine horseman who worked hard to become a top jockey with some 500 or so winners to his name globally, his life has been shaped by his love of racing.

And the affection the horse world has for him has helped him become an unassuming hero of cancer research, helping to raise huge sums for the Trust that bears his name.

A life with horses was always a possibility for Bob, for he comes from generations of huntsmen. His father, Bob senior, worked for 17 years with the Cleveland, his uncle Jack was huntsman for over 40 years of the Old Surrey and Burstow, and his other uncles Nimrod and Bob have similarly enduring reputations with the Ledbury and West Kent.

Despite an inauspicious riding debut that ended in a pile of nettles, Bob was soon hunting “most Mondays and Thursdays – I didn’t go very well with school work. We’d have stone walls in Monday country and the vale in Saturday country,” remembers Bob. “I’d jump five-bar gates on my 13.2hh pony – I was too lazy to open them.”

The Hill family who owned Saltburn Riding School had Bob out competing different ponies every week in hunter trials – “that taught me so much.” And soon people were sending ponies for him to improve out hunting.

Bob’s aspirations were further coloured by his regular visits to Redcar racecourse with his father.

“When Lester Piggott came, the crowds would double,” says Bob. He was a Grand National nut from the age of about seven.

“It wasn’t televised then, but I’d go and watch it about a week later on the Pathé news at the cinema,” he recounts.

School holidays gave him a taste of life as a jockey, spent at Royal trainer Peter Cazalet’s yard, where his uncle was head lad.

“It was like a military operation, everything done immaculately, and people like [jockeys] David Mould and Dick Francis there,” remembers Bob. “I was lucky enough to ride some really good horses including The Queen Mother’s. I loved it, and it helped me make up my mind.”

At 15, Bob left school and went to work with a farming uncle who also kept some pointers. He was soon riding winners, which helped him land a job three years later with trainer Toby Balding – where he broke his ankle on his very first morning.

“Toby was a bit of a maverick and ran an academy; he was like a big uncle to various kids,” remembers racing journalist Brough Scott. “He gave people chances and they had to find their own way. The culture there was horsemanship.”

“It was a great grounding at Toby Balding’s,” agrees Bob. “I was fortunate to ride Highland Wedding [who later won the 1969 Grand National] and win the Eider Chase in Newcastle… It was my first big winner and meant an awful lot to me. People think I just rode Aldaniti but I was lucky enough to ride some very nice horses through my career.”

After losing his claim, Bob “struggled a bit, and then went freelance”, eventually working for Monty Stevens, who mainly trained hurdlers, “a self-made man, a real horseman and farmer, and a brilliant feeder,” according to Bob.

‘A superb horseman’

But it is the late Josh Gifford, for whom Bob became stable jockey in the early 1970s, with whom he is forever associated. Josh had been a jockey himself, and his wife Althea was a showjumper whose exceptional eye for a horse is still much valued by her trainer son Nick and eventing daughter Tina Cook.

Josh saw that Bob, with his hunting background and slightly longer leathers, was “a superb horseman”, he told Jonathan Powell in Bob’s biography, Champion’s Story. “Jumping is the name of the game. If horses jump, they are going to win races.”

Josh also liked the fact that Bob rarely used the whip. “Coming from a good hunting family, Bob had a natural seat and horses did jump for him,” agrees Althea. “Josh liked the fact that he could help them and see a good stride.”

John Francome also highights that “Bob was a very good rider. He was good with anything… you never saw him pull one in the mouth, and was always in a good position landing.”

Weight, however, turned out to be a constant struggle throughout Bob’s career and he tried out everything from laxatives and pee pills to regular saunas and wasting.

Although Bob’s early experiences in the National were unremarkable – he fell in his first two – he tasted Aintree magic first hand in 1973, coming sixth on Hurricane Rock, considered a rank outsider.

“It was the year of Red Rum versus Crisp,” says Bob. “To me that was the bees’ knees, to get round in the greatest National there’s ever been.”

In January 1975 Bob rode a young Aldaniti in his racing debut at Ascot, in Althea Gifford’s colours. He won easily, and was sold to Nick Embiricos and kept in training with Josh. Bob felt at once that he was a great National prospect, but before long the horse was off for a year off with a tendon injury.

Enduring misery

By the end of the 1977/78 season, Bob was third in the jockeys’ championship behind Jonjo O’Neill and John Francome, two men he admires greatly.

But in July 1979 his life was to be turned on its head, when – aged just 31 – he sought medical advice for a swollen testicle where he’d been kicked by a horse, and was diagnosed with cancer.

Doctors advised that he may have only around eight months to live if he did not immediately begin a powerful course of treatment. Initially, Bob did not think much of the 30% chance of survival they gave him.

“I still remember thinking, ‘If I go back to riding, maybe I’ll just get killed on the racecourse instead…’,” he recalls.

Then a doctor translated his chances into racing odds, and it sounded like a bet that Bob would take.

The misery he endured through that treatment is evident when Bob speaks about it even now, aged 72, and is described in hideous detail in Champion’s Story: the six rounds of chemotherapy, the vomiting followed by dreadful constipation; the bout of septicaemia which very nearly killed him, the shocking weight loss and more.

“You felt horrendous; you just felt sick 24 hours a day,” says Bob. “A lot of people having my treatment gave up, and I nearly did one day too.”

“I remember driving away from the hospital, crying, believing he was going to die,” recalls Brough Scott, as the jockey who’d battled to race at 10-and-a-half stone was reduced to eight stone seven.

Josh Gifford – “the most loyal trainer there’s ever been,” according to Bob – was unstinting in his support. He assured Bob that his job was waiting for him, and – with his owners – presented him with a cheque one Christmas to help stay afloat financially.

Having completed and survived the rounds of chemo, Bob visited training friends in the United States, where he felt Florida’s warmer climate would speed his recuperation. He began riding out again, despite numbness in his hands and feet, lung problems and exhaustion.

To his astonishment, he won his first race, at Fairhill in Maryland. He then returned to Britain, and there was a tremendous reception for him at Fontwell when he scored his first win post treatment in this country, on Physicist – it was also Josh Gifford’s 500th winner as a jump trainer.

But then he hit the buffers: Josh’s horses hit a poor run of form, and owners began to doubt Bob’s ability. “I was getting no rides whatsoever,” he remembers. “Honestly, I don’t think I was as good as I was before – my lung capacity was damaged and I had to work harder to get fit. But Josh stood by me.”

“It was agonising the way it was going wrong,” remembers Brough Scott, who counselled his old friend that perhaps it was time to quit. “But thank God he didn’t listen to me. He said, ‘There’s this horse called Aldaniti… he’s going to win the National.’ Stubbornness is a good thing sometimes.”

Then his luck turned one day at Ascot. “I went to that meeting thinking about retiring… and went and won on both my rides,” Bob says. “I went from close to retiring to being almost golden boy again in an hour and a half. Suddenly everything I sat on seemed to be winning. Things were flying.”

Disaster struck

By 1981 Aldaniti had endured a second prolonged period of box rest with another leg injury, and been skilfully prepared for the National by Josh Gifford with minimal runs. But disaster struck when the Embiricos family’s Stone Park was killed in the Topham earlier at the same meeting.

“Everyone asked, ‘Do you want to pull Niti out of the National?’” remembers Alex Embiricos. “But it was Dad’s dream, and Bob’s dream to win it..”

If the Embiricoses felt queasy, their jockey, at least, felt bizarrely confident on the day of the race. “I couldn’t see myself getting beaten – what a stupid thing to think!” says Bob. “And I nearly went at the first…”

Niti was always a strong horse, but Bob had found ways to get round that: “I’d stick him up the backside of a horse and not touch his mouth. He’d relax then if he wasn’t seeing any daylight. But this time Niti took control of the race far sooner than Bob intended:

“I must have had the best run round the Canal Turn anyone’s ever had,” he remembers. “I hit the front three-and-a-half miles from home, and all I could think about was Josh in the stands and what he’d be calling me! But he’d been a jockey… the old horse had got himself there. He was still taking a fair old tug, but I was controlling the race then, going at my speed. All the way round he took me to a fence, enjoying it so much.”

It’s time well spent to look up the 1981 National on YouTube; it’s a wonderful piece of riding, Niti’s bright blaze and low head carriage making him easy to pick out.

“I love horses that go like that,” says Bob. “They’re all very well balanced and good jumpers.”

Their victory became a defining moment in sporting history, and made household names of those involved, with Bob and Aldaniti even becoming BBC sport’s “Team of the Year”. It was to be the sole win in the race for the horse, trainer, jockey and owner – but once is enough, when it’s that good.

Amid the euphoria, Bob briefly thought of retiring then and there – “What a way to end your career, winning the National” – but in the end did it a couple of years later, after another win in his home county of Yorkshire.

Many wonderful racing fans who had backed the pair for the National sent their winnings to the Royal Marsden Hospital, where Bob had been treated.

This led to the birth of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which focuses on male cancers such as prostate cancer, since testicular cancer now – happily – has an excellent recovery rate. In less than 40 years it has raised some £15m, not least for a research and education building at the University of East Anglia, and a research laboratory for Cancer Research.

Since retiring from racing, Bob’s career has encompassed everything from training – “I had a winner over the National fences which meant an awful lot to me” – to being a roving ambassador for the British Racing School, and various TV show appearances. But barely a month goes by when he isn’t out supporting the Trust.

“Bob plays a huge part in the fundraising calendar and helps with supporting patients and their families,” says its chief executive Lucy Wilkinson. “The Trust would not have survived without Bob and of course Nick Embiricos, the Trust’s chairman for many years.”

Like nearly every other top rider I’ve interviewed, Bob would give his back teeth to go back and do it all again – “It was the best thing I ever did, doing a job you love and making great friends” – and every April you’ll find him back at Aintree, his addiction to the race as strong as ever.

“Bob is quiet and undemonstrative and – I say this as a compliment – is happy just to be himself,” says Brough. “Trying to be more tutored wouldn’t work. He is what he is, and he’s entitled to be proud of it.”

Bob on…

• His own heroes: “The best I ever rode with, and the best I’ve ever seen is John Francome. He’s absolute class. He was always on the right stride to a fence because he’d organised things so far out. I’ll never forget his Champion Hurdle ride on Sea Pigeon.”
• Injuries, of which he’s had plenty: “If you’re going to be a jump jockey, you can’t think you’re not going to get hurt. I broke a lot of bones but I got out in one piece which means a lot to me. I’ve seen quite a lot of people in wheelchairs, sadly.”

What they say about Bob…

• Brough Scott: “Bob was extremely irritating to other jockeys because he was such a success with the ladies, without making any real effort. It was just a well-known phenomenon. “But he was a horseman jockey, he could handle a big burly gelding rolling round in soft ground. He rode quite long to get his legs round a horse and trainers liked that – [they] knew their horses would be balanced.”
• Althea Gifford: “Bob is quite shy, somebody who keeps his thoughts to himself a bit, but he always looked you in the eye and was absolutely straight. I give him great credit for all he did afterwards [for his Trust]… it is amazing.”
• John Francome: “Bob could walk into the weighing room, have a cup of tea and a sandwich and then he’d assure you he hadn’t eaten for two days. He loved his food and genuinely would think that he hadn’t eaten. But he’s just the nicest person.”

10 facts about Aldaniti

• Aldaniti (by Derek H) could pull like a tank and yet was gentle enough to let 11-year-old Alex Embiricos groom him when on box rest.
• He was bred by Tommy Barron in Yorkshire and named after his four grandchildren – Alastair, David, Nicola and Timothy.
• “Niti” raced 28 times in total with eight wins and 10 places, including third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and second in the Scottish National.
• He was bought as a youngster by Josh Gifford and sold on to Nick and Valda Embiricos in 1975, who had always dreamt of winning the National.
• “He took to jumping straight away,” says Althea Gifford. “He was just a natural jumper, very flamboyant. He could just stand off and always get there. Your heart was never in your mouth with him.”
• Because of his history of leg injuries, Josh gave him minimal preparatory runs. He had had only one run in 17 months before his National win.
• Niti played himself in some of the shots in Champions, the film about his and Bob’s story, although he didn’t jump for the film. Six equine doubles were also used, all made up to look like him.
• Nick Embiricos had the idea of Aldaniti doing a sponsored ride over 250 miles from Buckingham Palace to Aintree. Different people raised £1,000 or more to ride him for a mile, and he carried The Princess Royal and the Duchess of York, among others. He eventually did two rides, raising over £800,000 for cancer research.
• Niti was very laid-back when he wasn’t racing. “We all loved the horse,” says Alex Embiricos. “He was so kind and gentle, and so empathetic. On the sponsored rides, if he got someone who had a disability on him, he was a saint. He tried his hardest in everything he did.”
• Niti returned to the Embiricos farm (in the care of Beryl and Wilf Millam) to recuperate from injuries, and later to retire. He died there aged 27, and is buried there.

Ref Horse & Hound; 6 August 2020

Hi everyone,

First of all, please let me apologise for how long it’s taken me to sit down and write this blog. A few weeks have passed since the Champions Willberry Charity Derby at Epsom which seems mad. Unfortunately in the days following the race, some people who had been key supporters of mine in the run up to and during the race, were involved a serious car accident and it just didn’t feel right sitting down to write about my amazing experience. I can happily report though that they are well on the mend, so the time now feels right.

So, let’s rewind to 25 August, 48 hours before my race, which is where my last blog left us (this is a long one, so grab a cup of tea and a biscuit, and bear with me!).

After working Jerry on Mick Appleby’s gallops on the Friday, I bid him farewell as that was the last time I would see him until race day on the Monday. Thankfully this time of year is the busiest for me work-wise, with plenty of events to cover on top of the day-to-day work I carry out for Horse & Hound. In the run up to the race, this very much kept my mind busy and helped prevent me from over-thinking the whole thing.

Monday morning soon arrived, and with my kit bag packed, we were off to Epsom. Amazingly I wasn’t sick through nerves at any point during the day. The only thing I can put it down to is that I knew I had done all my preparation to the best of my ability, and everyone around me knew this. The only pressure came from myself and what I wanted to achieve, so any jangling of nerves was more due to the fact I wanted to perform as well as I could, and not because I was scared.

Unfortunately due to traffic, we arrived a little too late to join in with the Bob Champion coursewalk — an opportunity missed, but something that was out of our hands. So I swiftly decamped and went to walk the course with my boyfriend Simon, who has some race riding experience. He is a brilliant calming influence but also competitive, which suits me very well. We talked tactics, assessed the going and made a plan. I had never been to Epsom before and the terrain and camber that I had been warned about was clear to see. Until you go and walk that course, you really don’t get a sense for just how rollercoaster-like the Derby course is — it’s gnarly!

It was then onto a smart lunch, which the organisers laid on for the charity race jockeys and their supporters. I was so lucky to have a small army of friends and family come down to Epsom to cheer me on. There was over 20 of us in total and it meant the world to me, so thank you to all of you — you know who you are.

I caught up with Bob at the lunch and we talked through the game plan for the race. Darby Dennis, who we know from home and who is on Epsom’s racecourse committee, who was very kind with his well wishes. Surprisingly (although perhaps less surprisingly to those that know me and my piggish appetite!), I managed to eat the first two courses of the lunch (I’m not a dessert person anyway), no problem at all — no sign of me not wanting to eat due to nerves! There was a fab auction and raffle and we also had a great vantage point in the suite we were in to watch some of the early races. All of the winners were coming stand-side on the home straight, which was my plan when I walked the course.

I then went to meet Laura Morgan, the trainer of my horse Jerry (Gee Sixty Six), and her great lass Kate Hanson. I was and still am so grateful to them for trekking all the way down from just north of Oakham so that I could ride in the race.

Then, when it was 4pm, all of us charity jockeys went down to the changing rooms to start getting ready, and for me to get into my wonderful Velcourt-sponsored kit. It was a surreal experience, rubbing shoulders with the other female professional jockeys — not for the first time on this incredible journey, I felt like a total fraud! But we all had a chat and a laugh and the general feeling was that of excitement. I then went to the very friendly valet, who sorted out the weight I needed to carry in addition to what I already weighed with all my race kit on. Although I didn’t have to carry nearly as much lead as tiny fellow charity race jockey Georgia King, who carried a remarkable four-and-a-half stone extra to make the 12 stone racing weight, I still struggled to carry everything!

I weighed out with the clerk of the scales and handed my saddle over to Laura, who then went off to saddle Jerry in preparation.

It was then time for us jockeys to have a few photos taken and talk some last-minute tactics. I firmed up that I was going to come stand side on the home straight and was reassured by the fact Alex Embiricos said she was going to do the same thing, as she has much more racing knowledge than I do!

And then it was time. The moment we had all worked so hard to prepare for. I had a tiny twinge of nerves, but honestly I surprised myself in how relaxed I was. I was just dying to get on and enjoy it — I honestly couldn’t wait. We all walked out to the parade ring and it was great to see my friends and family there supporting, and Jerry looking absolutely fantastic — Laura and Kate had turned him out so beautifully, four-leaf clover quarter-marks and all. He looked the bee’s knees.

I chatted to Laura, Simon and point-to-point jockey and trainer Dale Peters, who had also helped me so much in the run-up to the race. I can’t remember what was said as it was all a bit of a blur, and before I knew it, the bell was rung signalling for jockeys to mount.

I’m pleased to report that my leg-up went without incident and I didn’t fall straight off the other side — phew! We made sure that I got on Jerry as late as possible so that we could try to keep him relaxed and so we pretty much went straight down to the course (via some very amazing, but also very noisy supporters of mine, hence my cringe worthy sshhh-ing in the video below!).

All was fine walking down the shoot towards the course — we were at the back, just where we wanted to be, until suddenly Georgia’s horse did some unplanned acrobatics, depositing her the other side of the white rails in the process. Thankfully they were both fine, but this meant I was now in front of her. This doesn’t sound like it should have been a problem, but unfortunately it was.

I took Jerry to the far side of the course for the trip down to the start, to try and keep him away from the noise and crowds. This worked very well and I had him anchored, but then, completely understandably, as I was only steadily cantering, Jerry spotted Georgia go past. For us, that was the beginning of the end of our race. Going to the start at Epsom was the bit I have always been most worried about — as the track isn’t circular, you have to go the full 1m4f distance of the race to get to the start. We knew keeping a lid on Jerry for this was going to be our sticking point, and we definitely weren’t wrong. He cantered sweetly enough, but we were all instructed to walk the final seven furlongs to the start, as they tend to do in the Derby itself. The only problem for us was that this prolonged the amount of time Jerry had to get wound up. I tried my absolute hardest to keep him settled by not holding onto much rein and reminding myself to keep breathing and chilled too, while all the time talking to him, but he became quite warm and was very on his toes. I think mentally he had already run his race by this point.

Still, we had to focus on the next part which was the race itself and getting a good start. It had been drilled into me that races can be won or lost at the start, so I made completely sure I was exactly where I wanted to be. To my surprise, this actually happened exactly how I had planned it, and when the starter dropped his flag, we were spot on. We couldn’t have wished for a better start.

So off we went, not at a mad pace, but just right. I reminded myself to breathe and realise this was it. This is what I have been working for ever since I found out I was going to be riding in the race months and months ago. And boy, was it amazing!

Jerry seemed quite settled until a couple of other horses came to him and he then took a real pull. I told myself not to panic and to keep my hands down and weight against him. The first seven furlongs is all uphill, so by the time we got there, Jerry had settled back down again. We turned to start coming down the hill towards the famous Tattenham corner. People told me this feels like a rollercoaster, and it did. I did my best to keep a good hold of Jerry’s head to keep him in balance, and before I knew it we were coming out of the bend and onto the home straight. We got to the three furlongs to go pole and I looked up the hill to the finish line — I never thought we were going to make it — it looked so far away! I made my move to come stand side, as did a few others, but the rest stayed on the far side rail. I gave Jerry a squeeze and unfortunately I didn’t get much of a response. This meant I was going to have to debut my rather unrefined ‘riding a race finish’ style — which isn’t stylish AT ALL (see picture, top!).

People started to come past me and my heart sank every time they did — the places were slipping away, but I absolutely would not give up. I hadn’t worked this hard to just throw in the towel. So on I kicked and wobbled about a bit, channelling my inner non-existent Ryan Moore. Gorgeous Jerry kept going for me and we finished eighth. NOT LAST!! In my heart of hearts I would have loved to finish in the top four so that we got in the winners’ enclosure, but hey, a couple of weeks before the race, I didn’t even have a horse to ride, so this result wasn’t too shabby at all.

Georgia and Sula Island seemingly cantered to victory — on the bridle with a very stylish 16-year-old Georgia on board. What a thrill that must have been! Sixty-year-old Lucia Borradaile, who put us all to shame in our fitness assessment in May, was second, meaning the top two were Alan King-trained. While the lovely Spencer Sturmey was third on a horse trained by Jamie Osborne. I saw Spencer just two days later at the first Burghley trot-up, and he had already decided he was going to buy himself a point-to-pointer!

I got off Jerry once we had pulled up and took his saddle off, which nearly saw me fall over with the weight of it combined with my jelly legs! Everyone came to say well done and the realisation that it was all over started to sink in.

I said a big thank you and goodbye to Laura, Kate and Jerry, who went back to the stables to get ready to head home, while my supportive gang went to a room where the winning connections head to on normal race days, for a celebratory drink. Simon helped me carry my saddle back to the weighing room and after a quick change I also joined in on the celebrations. It was here that all jockeys received the most fantastic momento of the day — a mini Epsom-style iPad, which had our race downloaded onto it so that we can relive the experience again and again.

At the last count, £88,576.57 had been raised in aid of The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry the Wonder Pony — a truly brilliant effort by everyone.

Continued below…

From journalist to jockey: this is it — suddenly everything feels very real…

There’s a little over 48 hours to go until the big race

And so that’s the end of that chapter, although hopefully not the very end of my racing one. I now ride out as much as I can at Dale’s yard, where I will soon be trying my hand at having a go over some fences with his pointers. I decided I want to win a race, and then I will happily retire from it. I can’t settle for one eighth place — I want more! So, perhaps I might be seen point-to-pointing at some stage in the future, but if not, I am definitely going to continue riding out as, aside from really enjoying it, it continues to help my day-to-day riding.

I knew that this whole experience would be a fun thing to try, but I never in a million years dreamed it would have the affect on me it has. I’ve met some truly inspirational people and some incredible horses on this crazy journey — thank you to each and every one of you. I will cherish this forever.

Gemma x

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Well, this is it — the Champions Willberry Charity Derby is now a little over 48 hours away and everything is starting to feel very real. When I found out back in November last year that I would be riding in the race, it obviously felt a very long way away. But now it’s time to put into practice everything I’ve worked hard on over the past few months — I really want to make it all worthwhile. Although winning might not be quite within our reach having seen a list of the other horses in the race, I just want to give it my best shot and not look back on it wishing I could have done better. Most of all, I don’t want to let the horse (now nicknamed Gorgeous Jerry by myself) and everyone who has supported me down.

I really want to give my fundraising effort one last push — sorry, it’s probably getting annoying for you by now! But please do head over here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GemmaRedrup and donate whatever you can. All the money is going to two incredible charities; Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony and The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, so please dig deep and, as I’ve said before, even if it’s £1, you will make a difference.

Yesterday morning (Friday) I rode Jerry in the one and only piece of proper work I was able to squeeze in before the race (see video top). I met his trainer, Laura Morgan, and Kate Hanson, who works for Laura, at local Flat trainer Mick Appleby’s yard near Oakham.

It was a great opportunity to give Jerry a proper workout on Mick’s gallop and get a feel for his gears and how and when to use them. The gallop also had a little downhill stretch which was useful to ride to get a feel of how Jerry might be when we’re going down and round the famous Tattenham Corner at Epsom.

I’m thrilled to report Jerry was fabulous — he’s such a gent and I hope it stays that way come Monday!

I’ve tried to keep up with my fitness and I feel a lot stronger than I did a couple of months ago. Unfortunately though (this is the competitive person in me speaking!), we all have to carry the same weight — 12st. This means that I’ve had to borrow a one-stone saddle and by the time I’m kitted out, I will still need to carry around 1.5 stone in lead. This is less than ideal from a racing perspective as it’s all dead weight, as opposed to weight that can actually be useful.

Excitingly I picked up my freshly embroidered kit from Racesafe HQ yesterday. Thanks to the team there, it looks very professional (insert joke about all the gear and no idea here…!). Again, I’m so grateful to Velcourt, a leading provider of farm business management and advisory services in the UK and overseas, for sponsoring my kit.

Everything is in place now, so it’s full-steam ahead. I have one more ride on Jerry tomorrow morning and then the next time I see him will be in the paddock before my race — argh! I’ve had all sorts of weird dreams and nightmares about the day, such as falling off as soon as I’m legged-up and also falling off at the start and watching the wonderful Jerry win the race without me, but thankfully the track in that particular nightmare was right-handed and not left like Epsom, so I’m praying it’s not a premonition!

I’m also so excited to have a bus-load of friends and family coming to support, enjoy the day and also hopefully keep me distracted — we need to be at Epsom at 11.30am to walk the course and enjoy a fundraising lunch, but my race isn’t until 5.55pm, so there’s a lot of time to get nervous!

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From journalist to jockey: a panic search comes good

There’s just five days to go until the big race...

I will be in among some great other runners and riders, including Lucia Borradaile, who is rumoured to become the oldest competitor to ride around the Derby course at the age of 60. This is the same Lucia that put us all to shame in our fitness assessment at the British Racing School in May, so she is not to be underestimated! At the other end of the scale, 16-year-old Georgia King, daughter of trainer Alan King, is also having a go. She looks to be on a very good horse, and she is obviously very familiar with the racing world, not to mention the fact she recently represented Great Britain at the Pony European Eventing Championships. It’s going to be a hot race, but as long as we all enjoy it and runners and riders come back in one piece, it will be a success.

Wish us luck!

Gemma x

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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The big day is just around the corner, and I can’t wait to get going in the Champions Willberry Charity Derby at Epsom on Monday (27 August).

I’m going to start this blog with a big plea… Please, if you can possibly spare any size of donation to my fundraising efforts, I would be so grateful. All money raised goes to two amazing charities; Hannah’s Willberry the Wonder Pony and The Bob Champion Cancer Trust. The link to my fundraising page is here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GemmaRedrup A huge thank you to those who have already generously donated, and I hope I don’t let you down on Monday.

My biggest news is that I have a horse to ride! After some unforeseen circumstances, I found myself a couple of weeks ago with no horse to ride in the race. I think I cried for about 10 seconds and then realised that wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so a nationwide search was put into action. After hundreds of emails, phone calls, and messages, thanks to some very helpful people, a horse was sourced. The wonderful Michael Grange put me in touch with trainer Laura Morgan, who very helpfully, is based just 25 minutes from home.

On Saturday Laura very kindly said she had a horse I could ride in the race, but unfortunately I was away covering the Pony Club Championships in Cheshire for work until late on Monday. The days seemed to drag by until, yesterday morning (Tuesday), I was introduced to the drop dead gorgeous Gee Sixty Six, or Jerry (pictured throughout and leading in the video) as he’s known at home.

Jerry is a big, bright bay four-year-old, who Laura bought this summer. He has run in 16 races, up to two-miles, all on the Flat bar one hurdles race.

It was love at first sight for me, and now, two rides in, I feel like we should be OK on Monday. Winning might not be within our reach, but as long as we enjoy ourselves, I will be happy.

I will be riding a proper piece of work on Jerry on Friday and hopefully that will set me up mentally for the challenge on Monday. Everything crossed!

I continued to ride out at Charlie Appleby’s until Jerry came into my life, and I’m hoping to go back there to ride out after the race, mostly to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped me on this journey.

Continues below…

Journalist to jockey blog: my nerves are starting to jangle

The countdown to race day is on as there is less than two weeks to go...

In other news, it seems this race riding training has had a positive impact on my day-to-day riding too. I took my own horse, Basil, cross-country schooling with my trainer, four-star event rider Richard Jones recently and he announced: “What’s happened? It looks like you’ve finally got some lead in your pencil!” I do feel like I’ve got more grit and determination than I had six months ago. I had no idea that this race would have such a big impact on me, but it has. I just want to get out there and make the most of it all now.

T-minus five days!

Gemma

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There’s now just under two weeks until the Champions Willberry Charity Derby at Epsom (27 August), and my nerves are starting to jangle. To combat this, every time the race pops into my mind, I quickly try to focus on something else — my thought process being, if I let myself get wound up about it with 13 days to go, I will likely hardly be able to walk come race day, let alone ride!

I have been heading to ride out at Charlie Appleby’s yard in Newmarket three times a week. I have to pinch myself every time I drive in through the electric gates adorned with the Godolphin logo, and I will be terribly sad when this whole experience is over.

I have met some wonderful people at Charlie’s and have learnt a great deal. I realised early doors that I couldn’t ask too many questions — the more I could learn about race and work riding, the better. Not to mention the fact that there are plenty of people in Charlie’s team that have ridden at Epsom and in the Derby itself (which is the course I will be racing over), so I have absorbed any advice they have offered on how to ride the track.

A real ‘is this really happening to me?’ moment occurred just a couple of weeks ago. As usual, I arrived at Charlie’s to ride two lots at 5.30am. I tacked up my first horse and as a bit of a change to normal proceedings, I was sent down to the main yard’s covered trotting ring where the big guns hang out, instead of staying at up at the yard I was usually riding horses from.

After a few laps of trot we peeled out of the trotting ring and Charlie said to me “You’re going up the grass today to ride a piece of work. Follow that horse in front of you until the three-furlong pole, then ease your horse upsides him, and then James will join you on the other side of you.”

That’s cool, I thought — how exciting to be allowed to ride a proper piece of work. Then I realised the James he was on about was none other than James Doyle. This is the same James Doyle who recently recorded his 1,000th career win, and the King George at Royal Ascot in June, not to mention the Irish Oaks last month too. No pressure then.

I was so nervous about messing it all up, but with Charlie’s instructions ringing in my ear, off we went. It was fantastic. I’ve most definitely never ridden a horse at such speed. I just kept telling myself to “keep straight or you’ll cause a bloody disaster”. The horse I was riding was one I have ridden almost every morning I’ve been at Charlie’s — he is usually on the keen side, but riding at a faster pace definitely made life a lot easier and I could actually fully enjoy the experience.

Upon finishing my morning’s riding out, I soon realised that the day marked two years since the tragic passing of Hannah Francis, the founder of her Willberry the Wonder Pony charity. Although I never met Hannah, I took a moment to remember her and the incredible legacy she has left behind. I am so fortunate to have this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I hope all of us can do her proud and raise a huge amount of money at Epsom. Please, please, please, if you can, donate to my fundraising page — all proceeds raised will be split between Hannah’s charity and the Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

In other news, I have secured a great sponsor for the race itself in the form of Velcourt, a farm business management and advisory service. I’m so grateful to them for agreeing to sponsor me and thanks to the wonderful Tom and James How at Racesafe, my Velcourt-embroidered kit is currently being prepared.

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I have also been lucky enough to have access to an equicizer, thanks to the Thorpe-Codman family, who live locally. Thanks also to the boots and one-stone racing saddle leant to me by point-to-pointing friend Lucy Wheeler, and proper breeches leant to me by my boyfriend Simon (well, I say leant, I don’t think he has fitted into them since his pointing days, so I will claim them as my own now!) I took the opportunity to have a session on the equicizer with all this kit to get a rough idea for how things will feel come race day.

Dale Peters, a friend and local point-to-point trainer and jockey (the current Midlands area champion), came to give me some advice. I wanted to learn how to ride some sort of finish, as although we aren’t allowed to use whips during the race, I still want to be able to have a positive affect on the horse in the run-in. Dale had me riding normally for a minute before getting to work for another minute — goodness know what I looked like, but I felt the burn — oddly not in my legs, which are reasonably strong, but everywhere else felt like it was going to fall to bits!

Anyway, the Thorpe-Codmans have kindly said I am welcome to their equicizer any time I would like, so I hope to make good use of it during the next couple of weeks.

The countdown is on!

Gemma x

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Hi everyone,

A lot has happened since I last blogged about my preparation for the Pertemps Willberry Charity Derby at Epsom (27 August — dear God, it’s less than five weeks away…!). In short, I have found myself riding out at one of the best yards anyone could wish to ever possibly visit, let alone ride at.

This all came about when Bob Champion called me saying “I’ve got you a trainer sorted. Come down to the Spring Meeting at Newmarket Racecourse and I can introduce you to him.”

So off I toddled one afternoon to be introduced to Charlie Appleby, who trains horses for racing giant, Godolphin, and who just so happened to train this year’s Epsom Derby winner, Masar.

A few weeks later at 4.20am, I typed in the postcode of the Moulton Paddocks yard from which Charlie runs his UK operation for Godolphin on the outskirts of Newmarket, and off I went.

I was completely crippled with nerves — it felt like my first day at school again. Would everyone laugh at how terrible a ‘jockey’ I was? Would I fall off? Would I get run away with? Would I ever be able to show my face at the yard ever again? I genuinely felt sick to my stomach.

There are no words to describe the set-up I was met by. If ever there was a place that would best represent horse heaven, this was it. There are several yards on the estate, all totally immaculate. Stables with shavings beds made to perfection. Horses with coats so shiny, you could see your face in them. A number of private gallops — grass and all-weather over varying distances. And staff — loads of them!

I was greeted warmly by everyone, all in matching ‘Godolphin blue’ and assigned my first horse to ride; a six-year-old. The first lot pulled out at 6am and off we went, initially trotting around a circular all-weather, before a 15 minute hack through the estate to the gallop we were using on those horses that morning — an eight-furlong woodchip — under the watchful eye of Charlie and his assistant, Alex Merriam.

I survived! And I survived the next lot too; a gorgeous two-year-old filly. And actually, I’ve survived all the ones I’ve ridden out since then (famous last words — I bet I get decked tomorrow morning…).

I drive down twice a week to ride two lots each time at the moment — the 4am alarm isn’t particularly welcoming, but actually it is great as I can fit it in before work starts at 10am — thankfully I work from home four days a week so there is nobody judging my horsey odour when I open my laptop to start my working day!

Everyone is so friendly and so free and generous in sharing their advice. I thought I was riding pretty short, but apparently not — I definitely still looked like I was riding at dressage length in comparison. So each time I go and ride out, I put my stirrups up another hole — I think I’m nearly there now (riding much shorter than these pictures show), and actually, as it was pointed out to me, it makes life a lot easier when trying to hold one that is a bit keen.

I know I’m probably not supposed to have favourites, but I have to admit I do; a three-year-old bay gelding who (so far!) has really looked after me, and allowed me to get to grips with things, such as position, my hands, reins and acclimatising to the pace these Flat horses travel at — upon reaching the top of the gallop on my first morning, a jockey commented I wasn’t meant to be puffing more than the horse. I explained the adrenaline rush was incredible — it took me until lunchtime to stop shaking…

I am so incredibly fortunate to be getting the once in a lifetime opportunity to ride in this brilliant charity race. Just writing it gives me goosebumps. I can’t wait, but at the same time, I don’t want the race to come around, because then it will all be over.

Talking of the race, I am currently in search of sponsorship for the clothing I will wear. There are three spots available for companies to display their name on my kit — on the leg of my breeches, on the neck line of my base layer and at the top of the back of my breeches. This is a great way to get involved with a truly historic day and an opportunity to advertise your brand in a unique way, with all money going to the two great charities; Hannah’s Willberry the Wonder Pony and the Bob Champion Cancer Trust. If you think you might be interested, or would like more details, please do get in touch with me via gemma.redrup@ti-media.com — all suggestions are very welcome!

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You might have also seen that the race is being supported by a unique lunch, which is being held in the wonderful Diomed suite, with panoramic views and balcony overlooking the racecourse and Epsom Downs. Guests will be welcomed from 11.30am onwards with a champagne reception followed by a delicious three-course lunch. All the charity race riders will be there, plus celebrities from the racing and equestrian world, giving you a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the equestrian world’s big names. Not only that, but afternoon tea will also be served. Tickets are £125 per person, which includes racecourse entry — if you’re interested, please please visit www.championswillberry.org.uk or email lucy@bobchampion.org.uk.

My boyfriend and I also recently managed to find the only five nights we both had free in our diaries between now and next summer, and made a last-minute escape to Majorca. I took it upon myself to take full advantage of our all inclusive deal, Aperol Sprtiz’s et al, and have returned refreshed but unfortunately also quite fat — back on with the trainers it is…!

Finally, as always, please do feel free to donate to my fundraising page here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GemmaRedrup All donations, no matter what size are so welcome as I’m desperate to raise as much as I can for both wonderful charities — thank you to anyone that already has!

Gemma

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Next month on Bank Holiday Monday (27 August), the first ever charity race will take place at Epsom Racecourse (pictured) — the Champions Willberry Charity Derby — and you could be there.

Epsom is the home of arguably the most famous Flat race in the world, the Derby, and this year the charity riders will be riding around exactly the same course and distance as this historic race, which will prove to be an almighty challenge and experience.

Here are just a few reasons why you should be there, plus one incredible opportunity that would make your day a particularly memorable one…

1. The race is being supported by a unique lunch, which is being held in the wonderful Diomed suite, with panoramic views and balcony overlooking the racecourse and Epsom Downs. Guests will be welcomed from 11.30am onwards with a champagne reception followed by a delicious three-course lunch. All the charity race riders will be there, plus celebrities from the racing and equestrian world, giving you a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the equestrian world’s big names. Not only that, but afternoon tea will also be served.

2. A full card of great racing is on offer with the Charity Derby following the last race.

3. To help with the fundraising for the event, there will be an auction and raffle taking place during the day. The Diomed Suite offers the opportunity for guests to really relax and enjoy themselves with family and friends, have the best view of the racing and hopefully have a few winners.

4. The lunch and race are both running to raise money for two wonderful charities; The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry the Wonder Pony. Bob Champion will be there on the day.

5. The race is held on the Bank Holiday Fun Day fixture at Epsom, which offers not just great racing, but fabulous entertainment for all of the family too. Gates open at 11.30am with the first race at 2.05pm and the final race at 5.25pm.

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6. You could make a full day of it by visiting local trainers, who are opening their stables on the morning of this meeting. The morning starts at 8.30am where you will be able to see the horses out training on the gallops and then from 9.30am the trainers will be opening up their yards.

7. All under-18s go free on this particular race day.

To book tickets or a table for the charity lunch, or to find out more about the event or the charities please visit www.championswillberry.org.uk or email lucy@bobchampion.org.uk. Lunch tickets are £125 per person and this price includes racecourse entry.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Preparations for the Champions Willberry Derby charity race at Epsom in August have stepped up a notch, and the reality of what lies ahead is really starting to hit me.

Last Wednesday (9 May) myself and six fellow Epsom jockeys had an assessment day at the British Racing School (BRS) in Newmarket, which is a truly fabulous facility.

To try and give myself a chance at not completely embarrassing myself in the assessment, I met Bob [Champion] back at Palace House in Newmarket the week before for a refresher session on the Equicizer.

Thankfully I hadn’t forgotten everything he had taught me and I found that the time I could spend on the Equicizer had increased which was encouraging.

I then went to ride out for friends Dale Peters and Nat Richardson at their point-to-point yard. I say ‘ride out for them’, but really it is more a case of them letting me steal one of their horses and then hoping I don’t ruin it!

They were very kind and let me canter a horse called You Too Pet, who has enjoyed a very successful season of point-to-pointing with three wins and had just finished well at the Hunter Chase evening at Cheltenham.

Importantly I didn’t fall off and I didn’t seem to annoy the horse — success!

So it was on to assessment day and although really looking forward to the experience, I have to admit I was also completely terrified. There were so many things that I could do wrong or badly, but I tried to put them to the back of my mind, telling myself that it wasn’t like I was a professional jockey whose career depended on the outcome.

It was great to finally meet some of the other people taking part in the race — Deborah Auld, Lucia Borradaile, Abigail Groves, Heather Larson, Alex Monro and Camilla Swift. Most of them had already met each other when they walked the course at Epsom a few weeks ago, but unfortunately as I was at the Punchestown Festival in Ireland, watching some brilliant racing, I couldn’t make it. It was also interesting to hear how their fundraising efforts are going and I feel like this is a good place for me to ask if you do have even just £1 to donate, please do! My fundraising page is here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GemmaRedrup and any donation would be fantastic, thank you.

We were welcomed, briefed and weighed by Richard Perham, a senior jockey coach at the BRS, who let us know what we were in for with regards to our assessment. I think it’s safe to say everyone in the room knew they were in for some rigorous testing.

The first task of the day was a fitness test, beginning with the bleep test. I was quietly confident as I am a frequent runner, and was pleased to finish equal first of the group with Alex. Sadly my performance peaked there…!

The ensuing challenges, comprising leg raises to the beat of a metronome, wobble cushion squats, a plank, elastic band pushes, a press-up and hold and exercise ball squats, were nothing short of hellish and overall I was disappointed. My leg strength was a great deal better than the rest of me. I smashed my collarbone in a nasty rotational fall while eventing nine years ago and it is now virtually non-existent, so I have always steered clear of doing any sort of upper body strengthening exercises as it is very painful. Well, as I was on the floor of the BRS gym, attempting to sustain my press-up, I wish I had tried to do something about it!

I must at this point say a huge well done to Lucia, who as the oldest member of our group, absolutely smashed it — her fitness was equal to that of a professional jockey and put us all to shame.

The point was hammered home to us — although this is a charity race, it is a very serious challenge. Every racing person I tell that I’m riding the Derby course at Epsom looks at me in horror. It is widely regarded as the most difficult Flat course in Britain, if not the world, due to its twists, turns and camber. The racing world can’t have a bunch of unfit riders on supremely fit racehorses going round such a tough course. Point duly noted, I am considerably upping the content of my home workouts.

With that out of the way, it was time for the fun bit — riding.

We were all wired up with earpieces so that Richard could talk to us while we were on board and then handed our tack and assigned our horses.

It’s safe to say I fell in love with my horse; Astrovirtue, a seven-year-old who previously ran on the Flat. He was foot-perfect throughout the ridden assessment which involved trotting around the round gallop as a string and then doing some slightly quicker work in pairs (bright bay pictured top, getting some advice from Bob). I untacked Astrovirtue and said a big thank you to him for being so understanding with me!

Continued below…

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From journalist to jockey: looking like a pillock

After some lunch, we all headed to a room with four Equicizers in it. Here we were able to ride a Racewood equicizer, which is wired up to a TV screen which plays headcam footage from a real race.

Richard chose a two-mile race to try and replicate the amount of time we will be riding at Epsom. We also practised changing our hands, which is essentially a way of keeping your reins nice and short to help keep the horse balanced, and also tried getting lower into the saddle to start riding some sort of finish. To my surprise, I didn’t get too tired and although far from stylish, I feel like I am improving.

Sadly our day was then complete — my brain was fried with information and I had jelly legs, but I would have loved to have stayed there a few more days to learn even more.

Over the next few weeks, I will concentrate on riding out more frequently. I’ve got a trainer in Newmarket lined up to help me do this and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. Beautiful early summer mornings riding out in Newmarket — what’s not to love?

Gemma x

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

This week’s magazine, out 17 May, features our full report from Royal Windsor Horse Show, including all the showing, showjumping and dressage action plus much more

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Hi everyone,

My training for the Pertemps Champions Willberry Derby at Epsom in August has started in earnest.

Bob Champion, my mentor for this very daunting challenge, gave me a call and suggested I should have a go on an Equicizer in Newmarket. Handily, Newmarket is only about 45 minutes from home, so I drove down there one Saturday morning and met up with Bob.

He took me to Palace House, the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing, and here we met up with the wonderful Frank Conlon and the Equicizer.

Frank is a real salt of the Earth kind of man. He was Henry Cecil’s head lad for 14 years and is an equine tour guide for Palace House. I got the impression that what Frank doesn’t know about Newmarket, probably isn’t worth knowing.

I hopped onto the Equicizer and suddenly found myself feeling increasingly nervous. As I said in my previous blog, I am clueless when it comes to knowing how to be a ‘jockey’, and the thought of sitting in a racing saddle with my stirrups seemingly round my ears while being watched by Bob and Frank, made me feel totally embarrassed. That coupled with the fact two youngsters, probably around 10 years younger than me, who work for Flat trainer Luca Cumani were there watching as I interrupted their Equisizer session, just made things worse.

Then it dawned on me. Nobody cares. Nobody cares if I look like a pillock to start with — that’s the whole point. I’m not trying to be a professional jockey and everyone there very much knew I was a work in progress. So I told myself to stop being so bl**dy stupid and just got on with it.

To start with, the Equicizer was in ‘halt’. Frank asked me to get into my racing position — bridged reins, hands up the ‘horse’s’ neck and bum in the air.

Bob and Frank immediately told me to lower the front of my body down towards the horse more — I was too upright in my position and definitely looked like an amateur event rider doing a jockey impression. There was an instant change and I gave myself a good talking to and vowed to never have my body too upright again (I don’t like making the same mistake twice — it makes life annoying for those trying to help you!).

We got into a ‘gallop’ and all was fine until, ouch. I soon realised I had dressed wrong. We all know jeans with no chaps makes for a painful time while riding, so why didn’t I think this through before I came to have a go on the Equisizer. I didn’t admit the pinching pain I was experiencing on the inside of my legs to anyone, but I now have the scabs to prove it! Lesson learnt…

I could manage a two to three minutes at a time on the Equicizer. I wasn’t doing anything other than holding myself in place. Now the fastest ever time the Epsom Derby has been run in was 2 minutes 31.33 seconds by Workforce in 2010. It goes without saying that our race won’t be run in anywhere near that sort of time, but I evidently have some work to do fitness-wise. And we haven’t even started training in how to ride a finish…

I did about four on and off sessions on the Equicizer, and while I was resting from one, Bob got onto the machine and had a go. I hope I can still do that when I’m 69!

Continued below…

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From journalist to jockey: ‘You? In a race? Going fast? Are you joking?’

So my fitness work continues, including completing a 10 mile run in gale force blizzards last week in a little over one hour 20 minutes (I can’t say it was a nice experience!) and with the Cheltenham Festival now sadly over and done with, I will be resuming training with Bob.

After launching my blog, I have received some wonderful donations — thank you to each and every one of you. If you haven’t donated but are feeling particularly generous, please do feel free to donate to my page, which is raising money for both The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony, two fantastic and worthy causes.

Gemma x

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Hi everyone,

Welcome to my new blog, which will document my challenge to become a ‘jockey’ in time to take part in the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Derby.

The day I found out I had been chosen as one of the lucky few to take part in this charity race at Epsom on 27 August, is one I won’t forget. I did laps of the kitchen, jumping for joy as I knew full-well that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After I had managed to peel myself off the ceiling, the enormity of the challenge ahead dawned on me. I am not a jockey. I had never even got out of walk in a racing saddle before and I had zero idea of what was required in how to ride any sort of race. This sudden realisation was cemented in one clear cut statement by my father when I shared my exciting news with him:

“You? In a race? Trying to be a jockey? Going fast? Are you joking?”

Indeed, good old dad has a point. My British Eventing record is peppered with cross-country time-faults. He is no fool and obviously remembers the days when he and mum drove me to competitions, only to witness me throwing any chances I had at a winning a rosette out the window thanks to my snail-like tendencies. And so you can start to see why me riding in a Flat race on an actual racehorse begins to sound like some sort of joke.

So here’s a bit about me. I’m Gemma Redrup, 27-years-old and a journalist for Horse & Hound. I was fortunate to land my dream job back in June 2014 and have been praying ever since those that employed me won’t realise that they must have got their applications muddled, as I honestly don’t know how I got my foot in the door with a fairly average degree from the mighty fun Royal Agricultural University.

I have ridden at intermediate and CCI* level eventing, and was sure when I was a teenager that I could stand a chance at becoming the next Pippa Funnell. Sadly it dawned on me pretty quickly that I was never going to be anywhere near good enough to mix it with the big boys, so a job where I can talk about horses and interview my childhood heroes and get paid for it seems like the next best thing, and I love it.

I also enjoy the odd bit of hunting, and am fortunate that my boyfriend, Simon, who is huntsman of the Fitzwilliam, is just as keen to spend at least once a week going jumps racing or point-to-pointing as I am.

I have one horse of my own, the talented but quirky Basil, who is both the bane and love of my life. I’ve had him a couple of years now, and after some success in his five-year-old year, he hit the ‘teenage phase’. I think we’ve just about come out the other side of it, thanks to some hunting and a lot of patience! I hope to do some BE100s with him this season.

When I received the great news that I had been accepted into this race, none other than Bob Champion, of Grand National winning fame and so much more besides, got in touch with me saying he would be happy to become my mentor. I almost keeled over in shock that such a legend of the racing and wider equestrian world would want to help silly little me. But help me he has and I can already feel like I am starting to make some sort of progress towards being able to ride in a race.

I first met Bob when he offered to come and watch me ride to make an assessment and find out where we are at in terms of the very amateur rider to jockey scale. He met me at a point-to-point and racing yard owned and run by my great friends, Dale Peters and his girlfriend Nat Richardson (Bob and Dale pictured top with Mo and I).

Nat and Dale very kindly let me hunt one of their pointers, Mo (Important Moment, who can be seen in the video above at Sheriff Hutton point-to-point in January with Nat leading him up and Dale riding), over the winter and so it seemed logical for me to ride him in front of Bob while I did my best jockey impression (I felt like a fraud!).

Now, on the hunting field Mo is known as my ‘ladies hunter’, but Mo on the gallops was a whole different kettle of fish. He was electric and went along with his ears up my nose. This, paired with the fact I was riding in a racing saddle properly for the first time, made the experience terrifying and exhilarating in equal measures. All I could think of was trying to keep my hands down and the horse between me and the floor and I clung onto the top of the breastplate for dear life, as the more you pull on the reins with Mo, the higher his head carriage becomes.

Happily, Bob announced: “I think we can make something of you”, while I got my breath back from my first ‘jockey’ experience and almost fainted at this positivity from a racing hero. I run four or five times each week around five to six miles a time, but it’s clear I am nowhere near fit enough for this particular challenge. Rising trot in a racing saddle is evil — think somewhere along the lines of doing 200 squats in the gym without a break. Bob recommended swimming as the best way to get fit for the race, so I have joined my local pool. I have a very long way to go and have a whole new level of respect for the ‘real’ jockeys out there.

Continued below…

‘The thrill of a lifetime’: line-up for Champions Willberry Charity Derby revealed

Find out who will be taking part in the race at Epsom over the same course and distance as the

So I hope you will enjoy following my journey, but of course the root cause behind all of this is to raise as much as possible for two wonderful charities; the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony. I hate to be one of those annoying people begging for donations, but even if it’s £1, it would mean the world to me and go some way to reaching my £6,000 target. You can find my fundraising page here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GemmaRedrup

Thank you all and wish me luck!

Gemma x

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The 12 riders who will race in the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Derby at Epsom, have been revealed.

The race, which will take place over the same course and distance as the Epsom Derby on Monday 27 August 2018 (Bank Holiday Monday), saw 150 people apply from all corners of the UK.

Ten riders join the two cousins that have already been announced, Lissa Green, rising eventing talent and daughter of eventing legend Lucinda Green MBE, and Lara Prior-Palmer, winner of the 2013 Mongol Derby. Lara’s entry is particularly poignant as she battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017.

The other riders taking part are (in alphabetical order):

Joseph Akehurt, 29, is based near Ipswich. He is currently a groom working with horses being transported around the world by plane, has worked and ridden for many trainers and has been involved with the Shetland Pony Grand National

Deborah Auld, 26, owns an equine feed store in East Lothian. Having ridden all her life, she pre-trains her own racehorses

Lucia Borradaile, 60, from Dorset, is now retired and spends a lot of time cycling. She is a former point-to-point rider who rode in the Cheltenham Foxhunters in 1995

Alex Embiricos, 50, has been connected to the Bob Champion story all of her life, her father owning Aldaniti, the horse who carried Bob to Grand National glory in 1981. Based in Sussex, she works as a freelance expedition leader

Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, 28, of Qatar is chairman of Qatar Racing, a passionate supporter of British racing and an equestrian enthusiast who took part in the 2016 Mongol Derby

Tim Gredley, 32, has represented Great Britain at showjumping. Based in Newmarket, he now rides in point-to-points as well as running his own company

Abigail Groves, 49, is a cancer and end of life care manager, based near Epsom in Surrey. A keen horsewoman, she competes in showjumping and will be celebrating her 50th birthday this year

Heather Larson, 25, from Somerset is a showjumper and director of a sports horse company. She and Hannah Francis were friends who started out in the Wyle Valley Pony Club together

Alex Monro, 45, works in Devon for Mole Energy Switching, a division of Mole Valley Farmers. A British young rider in the 1990s, he has competed at eventing and showjumping internationally and point-to-pointed

Gemma Redrup, 27, from Rutland is a journalist at Horse & Hound magazine. She is a keen horsewoman who has competed across many disciplines

Reserves (in alphabetical order):

• John Nielson, 51, a company director from Co Durham
• John Reddington, 45, a company director from Hertfordshire
• Laura Rolph, 32, a BSJA Training Co-ordinator from Oxfordshire
• Camilla Swift, 29, a journalist and editor from Surrey

The race will be run in aid of The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity, the inaugural race in April 2017 having raised over £120,00 for the two charities.

On behalf of the two charities, Epsom Racecourse and the event committee, Bob Champion said: “It was brilliant to have so many suitable and enthusiastic people entering the race. We are all thrilled with our line-up of 12 from all different parts of the country and all experienced riders, which is so necessary for the challenges of the Epsom Derby track. They are being offered a thrill of a lifetime and in return, we hope to raise as much as we can for the two charities, both in the riders’ fundraising and on the day via our lunch and activities.”

Simon Durrant from Epsom Downs Racecourse said: “We are delighted to be hosting this Charity Derby for two such worthy causes on our family fun day and the local trainers open day — something for everyone.”

Continued below…

Soldier wins Willberry race for young daughter with leukaemia

The 39-year-old beat famous faces during a charity race at Cheltenham which helped raise vital funds

‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’: applications open for Champions Willberry charity race

Find out how you can get involved with this race in aid of two great causes

Each selected rider has pledged to raise a minimum of £5,000 and it is hoped the day will make at least £100,000 to be split evenly between the two charities.

For all details of how to get involved in sponsorship of the race and the jockeys riding, how to attend the race and lunch on the day and how to donate, visit: www.championswillberry.org.uk

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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Applications to ride in the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Derby are now open.

After the success of the 2017 race held at Cheltenham, which raised over £120,000 for The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity, this year the race will be run over the same course and distance as the Epsom Derby on Monday 27 August (Bank Holiday Monday).

Eight members of the public, selected from the applicants, will ride alongside four celebrities. It was Hannah Francis’s wish, expressed before she died in August 2016, to have a race in aid of her Willberry Wonder Pony Charity.

Confirmed celebrity jockeys include Lissa Green and Lara Prior-Palmer, winner of the 2013 Mongol Derby, who has also been suffering with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Lissa said: “I am in awe of what Hannah Francis has achieved with Willberry. She was an extraordinary girl. It is so exciting that her charity has teamed up with the Bob Champion Cancer Trust for this exciting event at Epsom and I feel honoured to be a part of it.”

Bob Champion, the Grand National-winning jockey who has also recovered from cancer said: “The Cheltenham race was such a success and we’re absolutely delighted to now be going to Epsom, home of the greatest Flat race in the world.

“With more than 600 people applying to ride in last year’s race and with so much support for both charities, I’m sure we’ll have another amazing line-up. I would quite like a grand prix dressage rider to take their place alongside our celebrity eventers this time – so come on and apply!”

“We are delighted to host the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Derby race at Epsom Downs racecourse,” said racecourse general manager Simon Durrant.

“Run over the Derby course and distance, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these riders to experience the unique contours and undulations of the world-famous Epsom Downs.”

Last year’s line-up included Sir Mark Todd, Tina Cook and Ben Hobday as well as TV presenter, Alice Fox-Pitt. It was won by soldier Ben Moore, himself a cancer victim and particularly special to him and his family as his daughter has leukaemia.

Entries are open via the Champions Willberry website and close on 21 February. Applicants must be under 12 stone, over 18, competent riders, can pledge to raise over £5,000 and are able to source their own racehorses.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Thursday 20 April began with drizzle — a welcome sight for horsey folks, especially those of us destined to be galloping around Cheltenham Racecourse later that day for the Champions Willberry Charity Race (www.championswillberry.org.uk).

Upon arriving at the course, the riders were met by the race organisers and Bob Champion, who then took us on a course walk. We wandered through the empty parade ring, down the chute and onto the course. Looking right, we spotted the finish line and brimmed with excitement. Then we looked left, and saw the hill. Our mouths dropped open and we fell quiet, apart from one, alarmingly uninformed rider, who proclaimed: “Wow, bit of a pull up here, isn’t it?”, to which the rest of us replied, wide-eyed: “Um, yes — it’s actually quite a famous hill!”.

Bob was brilliant, giving us simple yet invaluable advice: settle into a rhythm and save some energy for the hill.

Standing at the bottom of that hill, I became acutely aware that my little horse, Miss Inga Sock (Inga), had never run more than a mile in a race, and today, she’d have to run 1 mile 5 furlongs, and tackle the monster hill at the end. I decided that if she felt tired, I’d just let her trot! I know, not very competitive of me, but the last thing I wanted was for her to suffer on my account.

Early on in the day I made firm friends with fellow rider and all-round superstar, Abi Dean. Abi and I laughed our way around the course walk and into the marquee for lunch. I managed to eat a little as we nervously waited for 5pm when we had to go to the weighing room to get dressed and weigh out.

Silks on and group photos taken, the parade of equine celebrities took centre stage. We cheered as Big Star, Chilli Morning, Sprinter Sacre and Valegro calmly lapped up the applause from adoring fans. What an honour to be in the presence of those horses.

Then, the super-horses were gone and our horses were lead in. There was Inga, ears pricked, plaited up and white socks gleaming, thanks to the wonderful Nicky from Eve Johnson-Houghton’s yard. Inga was noticeably smaller than the other horses, but looked so confident and ready for action. Before I knew it, I’d been successfully legged up by my partner, Alan. Phew! A couple more times around the paddock, and then we were off down the chute and onto the course. My only instructions were to not get left at the start…

The start, however, was a muddle. The first few horses got about six lengths on us before I realised they were letting us go! But Inga looked after me. Off she went, and it was only after the first two furlongs that my brain caught up with me… This was IT! We were galloping around Cheltenham!

We hung out wide and kept out of trouble. Half way around the course I asked Inga to close up — she responded well. One mile done — surely Inga must be getting weary now? I urged her on: “I’ve still got some in the tank!” she said. We caught up with Abi, and around the final bend we went. We hugged the right hand rail, looking for fresh ground. I couldn’t believe it — Inga was still travelling. I asked her if she had any more to give… “Yes!” she said! Head down, she tried her hardest to drive up the hill. We may not have had the speed to carry us to the front, but Inga finished beautifully, bunched in the middle of the pack.

What a professional Inga is — I didn’t for one moment feel unsafe. Nicky and Alan were quickly with us, Nicky undid Inga’s noseband and lead us back up the chute, cheers ringing out all around us. In the unsaddling area Alan removed the saddle, Inga had a good drink and buckets of water were thrown over her, to get her temperature down. She recovered well and although tired, she looked happy.

I lugged my saddle and weight cloth back to the weighing room, then went to get changed and tried to take everything in. Inga and I had galloped up the famous Cheltenham hill, beaten Sir Mark Todd and ridden a finish against Tina Cook!

Then, the reality hit me. We were there because of a girl who wasn’t. Hannah Francis would have been unbelievably proud of what the Willberry team, alongside the Bob Champion Cancer Trust achieved that day, but my overwhelming feeling was regret that she wasn’t able to ride in the race. She would have loved it. I channelled Hannah’s unwavering strength last Thursday — she was my motivation when I was nervous. I’m honoured and thankful that I was chosen to ride on behalf of two such brilliant charities, who, with the help of back up teams, raised in excess of £100,000.

I am so grateful to everyone who donated, to Dominic Elsworth for teaching (and torturing!) me on the Equiciser at Oakey House, and to my band of supporters who came to Cheltenham. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to trainer extraordinaire, Eve Johnson-Houghton and her team for letting me ride out so much, as well as providing a wonderful horse. A massive thank you also needs to go to Bliss of London for providing a beautiful saddle, and generously donating it to to be auctioned off for the charities. My final thanks go to my two heroes of the day: Miss Inga Sock, and Alan Daly, who both did a sterling job of looking after me.

Continued below…

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: can you be disqualified in a horse race for going too slowly?

Ali talks us through why she has "roughly

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: I’ve got a new psychologist, now all I need to do is ride

Ali's big race day is tomorrow — find

Although I should concentrate on dressage for a while, I’m going to continue riding out, but just a couple of times a week. This experience has been a whirlwind of highs and lows. I doubted myself and worried myself silly. I worked hard, long hours and struggled to find time to fit much else in.

Would I do it all again?

Absolutely!

Ali

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A soldier beat a host of famous faces from the equestrian world during the Pertemps Champions Willberry Charity Race held at Cheltenham yesterday (20 April).

Ben Moore, who partnered the David Pipe-trained Three Star General, said he was riding for his young daughter, Grace (pictured, below) who is battling leukaemia — the former conditional jockey having also fought cancer himself.

The 12 riders were selected from more than 600 applicants and raised approximately £110,00 for charities, The Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Hannah Francis’ Willberry Wonder Pony charity.

“It has simply been an unbelievable day. The atmosphere has been electric and what a race those 12 riders gave us,” said Bob Champion. “We are so delighted to have raised so much and must continue to do so, as we fight this terrible disease that effects so many people indiscriminately.”

Click here to donate money to the worthwhile causes.

The 39-year-old winning rider, who is based in Melton Mowbray, said he and his daughter decided he should apply for the challenge while he was in hospital receiving treatment.

He beat Sheikh Fahad Al Thani — from the famous Qatar Racing dynasty — aboard the David Simcock-trained New World Power into the runner-up spot.

The remaining riders were closely grouped behind including Olympians Mark Todd and Tina Cook, racing presenter Alice Fox-Pitt and event rider Ben Hobday — the latter beat cancer having been diagnosed in 2015.

“It was great fun and they were a fantastic bunch of people. It was so brilliant that Ben won the race,” said Mark.

Many racegoers, plus the jockeys’ families, enjoyed the “emotional” occasion at the home of National Hunt racing in Gloucestershire.

They were also treated to a display of equine superstars with William Fox-Pitt’s Chilli Morning, dressage hero Valegro, the former Nicky Henderson-trained Sprinter Sacre and Nick Skelton’s Olympic mount Big Star parading in the paddock before the charity race.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

When I wrote my last blog, I was absolutely exhausted, overly emotional and lying awake at night worrying myself silly about the race (the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham on 20 April 2017 — www.championswillberry.org.uk).

Now we are just a day away from the race, and mentally, I am in a very different, much more positive place. Thank goodness. I’m still totally exhausted, and definitely still more emotionally fragile than usual, but now my overwhelming feeling is that I just want to get on with it! I can’t wait to be legged up and let loose onto that beautiful turf at Cheltenham with all the other riders. I get the tingles just thinking about that moment.

So, what’s brought about such a dramatic change in my psychological state? I haven’t had sports psychology sessions, or suddenly worked out how to combat my 2am demons. Have I upped my fitness dramatically over the past two weeks? No. I’ve just found a new friend who has systematically helped me work through my fears. She has coached me in keeping my balance when jumping off, helped me to correct my position when cantering and guided me through my first bit of ‘work’.

Continued below…

To support my fundraising efforts, please visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com

To learn more about the two wonderful charities involved, please follow these links:

www.bobchampion.org.uk

www.willberrywonderpony.org

She has ginger hair, big brown eyes and the softest, pink nose. She’s Miss Inga Sock, a five-year-old chestnut mare (pictured top and above). She (Inga) has done more for my confidence in the past two weeks than any number of sports psychology sessions could and I’m so pleased to say that she’s going to be my partner for the race.

Inga usually only runs over a mile, so one mile five furlongs on quick ground is going to be a huge push for her, but she’s feeling fit and we’ll look after each other. All I want is for both of us to finish with smiles on our faces. She’s trained by Eve Johnson-Houghton and owned by the Ascot Colts and Fillies Club, which is a free-to-join club for kids under 17, to help get more youngsters involved with racing. A few times a year, Inga is paid a visit by around 30 children at once. While they watch her being groomed and tacked up ready for work, she stands like a rock as kids of all ages wander around her legs, stroke her nose and pat her neck. I suppose this is her ‘family pony’ mode. Then her work rider is legged up and Inga switches to ‘racehorse mode’. She might not be a world beater, but she really is a special girl and I am so looking froward to seeing her all spruced up and ready to race tomorrow.

Overall I’m feeling fit, despite nearly collapsing after my last Equiciser session with my jockey coach, Dominic Elsworth. I’m riding two lots a day and genuinely loving the experience. The more I learn about racing, the more I become hooked. I can see why people become addicted to it. I know quite a few of the 70-odd horses at Eve’s yard by sight and have come to understand their work routine and how they should feel while working. We are cantering on the grass every day now, which is so different to using the all-weather gallops, and I’m so pleased I’ve had a chance to feel what it’s like to work a horse on grass before the race.

Continued below…

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: can you be disqualified in a horse race for going too slowly?

Ali talks us through why she has "roughly

Dominic, Eve, my partner Alan and the rest of the team at Woodway Stables have all helped me to prepare for this race as best they can. I have all my kit now (including a beautiful saddle from Bliss of London!) and I have my horse.

I’m ready. Now all I need to do is ride.

See you on the other side!

Ali

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Over the past six weeks, I’ve learned the true meaning of the phrase “a rollercoaster of emotion”. This race (the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham on 20 April 2017 — www.championswillberry.org.uk) has already pushed me well out of my comfort zone, and we’re still a couple of weeks away.

Pure joy pulses through me when I’m sat on board my favourite little racehorse, Fanstasy Queen (or Fannie Annie to her friends!), and we’re making our way across the rolling hills of the Berkshire Downs to the gallops. Even on a miserable day, I can’t describe the high I get from cantering over the ancient turf on Eve Johnson-Houghton’s estate, upside another fit, keen racehorse. Feeling the horse pick up the bridle, listening to the rhythm of their breathing, the views, the power, the speed; there’s something about this combination that makes my soul soar. During my drive back from Eve’s yard, the early start, wobbly arms and aching hips are all forgotten. For the duration of that 20 minute journey, I don’t have a care in the world. Who needs alcohol or drugs when you can ride a racehorse?

But then there are the low points. These are born of anxiety and a deep-rooted fear of failure that I’m sure most competitive sportspeople experience. My worries wake me at 2am, taunting me and depriving me of much needed sleep. Most of these worries, I realise in the morning, are totally irrational but for some reason, in the wee hours, they seem like perfectly plausible scenarios. Luckily, the people around me are rather good at putting my fears into context, soothing my nerves and basically telling me to put my big girl pants back on.

But I still seem to have roughly the same emotional stability as a pre-pubescent teenager. My highs are so ludicrously wonderful. I come back from riding out brimming with enthusiasm. One seriously good day, I actually found myself Googling: “how to get your amateur jockey licence” (I also Googled: “can you be disqualified in a horse race for going too slowly?” two hours later, but that’s another story…). My lows, however, are so full of self-doubt that it sometimes takes me a whole day to pull myself out of the pit of doom I’ve sunk myself into. I’m not used to experiencing this many feelings; I’m usually so sensible, driven, level-headed and logical. Being this way is positively exhausting, not just for me but also, I think, for my poor boyfriend.

Continued below…

To support my fundraising efforts, please visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com

To learn more about the two wonderful charities involved, please follow these links:

www.bobchampion.org.uk

www.willberrywonderpony.org

Every year, I attend Cheltenham Festival with a group of friends. This year, I helped Candy Morris (who runs Woodlands Enterprises and is supplying all my racing gear) carry jockeys’ equipment to the weighing room. As I followed Candy up the stairs to meet the valet, she casually pointed out that the next time I’d be in there, I’d be preparing for the race. She must have seen the colour drain from my face because she said that thing that everyone says to me when I tell them that I’m nervous: “You’ll be fine! Just think of all those huge fences you’ve jumped on cross-country courses!”. It is true, of course, that eventing is statistically more dangerous than Flat racing, but as I said, my fears are generally completely irrational and not based on any form of logic.

Continued below…

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: Will my see-through breeches survive the trip?

Meet Ali Dane and join her on her

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: ‘I need to start doing some cardio work. Soon. Maybe next week’

We catch up with Ali Dane as she

Anyway, I’m not actually scared of riding in the race, as such. For example, one of the recurring anxiety dreams I have is that I’m just about to be legged up onto my horse in the paddock on the big day, I get into position, offer my leg and the trainer heaves me up, but suddenly I lose all control over my limbs. I flop over my poor little horse’s back like a giant squid, and slip straight off the other side. All I can see, as I lay in a heap, is disapproving faces staring down at me from all angles.

Then I wake up in a sweat and worry for the next three hours that this very situation is likely to come to fruition on the day. I get legged up daily, and thus far I have a 100% strike rate, without any squid-like tendencies. I’ve been getting legged up since I was five-years-old. There is no logical reason that I should lose control over my limbs.

See? Totally irrational.

I hope…

Ali

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As my horse Morris and I made our way to the Summerhouse British Dressage (BD) regional finals last week, with my friend Ruth and Morris’ ‘girlfriend’ Arietta, Ruth and I discussed the differences between dressage and race riding, of which, there are many. There are the obvious ones, such as my stirrups on my tiny riding out saddle being a quarter of the length of those on my beautiful Bliss Paramour Dressage saddle. Or finding your balance during the sudden burst of power as your horse jumps off at the bottom of the gallops.

There are, however, more subtle differences that you only realise exist when you’re required to switch between the two riding styles. In dressage, you encourage the horse to go in ‘self-carriage’. An elastic, independent contact is desirable on a dressage horse and your bodyweight should never be used directly against it. Ride forward, to a forward hand. Allow! Soften! Don’t pull! This principle has been drummed into me, so you can imagine how alien it feels for me to counteract a horse’s desire to move forwards, entirely with the contact and not my seat!

However my determination to avoid embarrassment and keep my trusty (yet eager!) four-legged friend, Panther Patrol, behind our cantering partner overwrites my pre-programmed ‘dressage mode’. In short, I fight my instincts to soften, and hang on to Panther as tight as possible.

Each morning when I’m riding first lot at Eve Johnson-Houghton’s yard, Panther allows me to shift my weight, experiment with my stirrup length and try to remember my training on the Equiciser (neutral foot balance, soft knees, bum back…). In exchange, I just have to keep my balance central and the contact secure. My arms are usually a bit shaky after cantering as they’re not used to working so hard, but other than that, I’m pleased to report that my body is coping well with the new demands being placed on it. Although I do need to start doing some cardio work. Soon. Maybe next week.

While staying at my dressage trainer’s yard for a pre-regionals tune up, he told us about a friend of theirs who’s husband is terminally ill with cancer. Nowadays, I don’t believe there is a person on this earth who hasn’t been affected by cancer in some way, be it directly or indirectly. Cancer doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, what colour your skin is or how old you are. Hearing this tragic news renewed my resolve to do my best for both the charities I’m riding for — Willberry Wonder Pony and The Bob Champion Cancer Trust – in the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham on 20 April 2017 (www.championswillberry.org.uk).

Fundraising is going well; I am perpetually amazed by the generosity of my family and friends. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken time to donate so far, and to prompt anyone else who might be thinking about it! Every little helps. Bliss of London Saddles are kindly making me my very own half-tree training saddle in their beautiful colours, which will be up for grabs in the charity auction on the day of the race! A must-have for anyone wanting to ride out in style.

Continued below…

To support my fundraising efforts, please visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com

To learn more about the two wonderful charities involved, please follow these links:

www.bobchampion.org.uk

www.willberrywonderpony.org

Back in the truck on the way to Summerhouse, while Ruth and I were merrily munching our way through a packet of Mini Eggs, Morris and Arietta were in the back, deciding how they could best contribute to each of their rider’s long term interests. Arietta decided that Ruth required a quick lesson in rodeo riding in the warm up, to help improve her seat and ensure she knew the location of the neck strap. Luckily, Ruth held her nerve (and her seat!) and produced a super test.

Continued below…

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Dressage rider to jockey in 60 days: Will my see-through breeches survive the trip?

Morris, attentive as ever, had obviously noticed me wearing my new riding out breeches in the mornings, and goggles on my skull cap. Maybe he also noticed a slightly lighter seat. Who knows. But for some reason, he chose the moment that we cantered down the centre line in the advanced medium winter regionals to show off his Frankel-Valegro-hybrid impression. That day, I clung on to Morris as tight as I cling on to Panther each morning. My arms shook as we cantered sideways out of the arena after our test, as though we’d been up the gallops.

I’m sure Morris’ intentions were good. I’m positive he enjoyed himself. However, it turns out that despite making the judge at C smile at his enthusiasm, channelling one’s inner racehorse during the extended canter isn’t what buys you a ticket to the nationals. It’s just as well really; I’m so busy trying to be a jockey that I wouldn’t have had time to go to the nationals anyway.

Clever Morris.

Ali

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Meet Ali Dane and join her on her journey as she embarks on a great challenge to learn how to race ride in time for the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham on 20 April 2017

The past two years of my life in the saddle have been spent working on lengthening my little legs, deepening my seat, keeping my wandering hands still and straightening my poor crooked back. Changing disciplines from eventing to pure dressage was, as I expected, a challenge, and Lord knows I love a challenge. I have scars on my legs from riding in endless circles with no stirrups. I’ve had a lot of physiotherapy to help my hips move more easily with the horse. My instructor’s voice rings in my ears each time I pick up the reins: “DO NOT PULL! SOFTEN THE CONTACT!” It still makes me quake a little just thinking about it.

In short, I’ve literally bled to become a half decent dressage rider. I’m not a natural, but I am obsessively imperfect, as well as being seriously competitive.

And now, again, because I apparently love a challenge, I’ve got to learn to do the exact opposite of everything I’ve worked so hard to perfect. And, I’ve got to learn it all within the next 60 days. Then I’ve got to perform in front of more people than I’ve ever had to before.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time, and the chances of actually being chosen to ride in the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham on 20 April 2017 (www.championswillberry.org.uk) were so slim. But then I received a phone call asking me if I’d like to take part and as I mentioned before, I like a challenge, so I eagerly agreed.

Later that night, the enormity of what I faced hit me: I had to get fit enough (and brave enough!) to ride a racehorse, in a Flat race, over a mile and five furlongs, against 11 other people. Having flopped on the sofa with a glass of wine and an alarmed expression on my face, my partner cajoled me into making a plan of action. Conveniently for me, he, Alan (Arthur) Daly, is an ex-Flat jockey, and I live just 10 minutes from Lambourn, Valley of the Racehorse. Alan was on the phone for much of the evening, calling in favours from various racing folk. Within hours I had a trainer to ride out for, an Equiciser session and instructor at Oaskey House booked and Alan had been into the loft to get all his old racing gear down for me.

The following day, I ventured down to Woodlands Enterprises in Great Shefford, which is run by dear friends Candy and Billy Morris, to purchase some actual racing stuff. I had considered riding out in my Pikeur breeches, but when I attempted to bend my knees past a ninety degree angle in them, I realised that proper racing breeches would be required for riding out, as well as some white breeches for the race. Furthermore, I knew Candy would soothe my nerves, and tell me that I’d be fine.

Continued below…

To support my fundraising efforts, please visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com

To learn more about the two wonderful charities involved, please follow these links:

www.bobchampion.org.uk

www.willberrywonderpony.org

I’d usually pick out a size 8-10 in breeches, or a small, or a 26”-28”, but Candy looked at me up and down, and declared that she’d try and find a large pair of white breeches for me to try on… I think I just about managed to stop the horror from showing on my face before I realised that, on balance, I am a hell of a lot larger than most jockeys. Then I got another shock; the white “breeches” I’m expected to wear in the race are as thin as tissue paper, about as see-through, and absolutely no give in them whatsoever. Oh, how I longed for my high waisted, figure-hugging, ‘hold-everything-in’ dressage breeches. As I stared forlornly at myself in the mirror, in my large pair of tissue paper breeches, I remembered the part in Clare Balding’s book “My Animals and Other Family”, where her breeches split up the back while she’s racing.

So my apprehension at this precise moment isn’t about raising enough money, whether I’ll find companies to sponsor me or even which poor horse will eventually be lumbered with me. I’m not worried about my fitness or my riding. I can control most of those things…

My primary concern, and the subject of a few anxiety dreams, is whether or not my see-through breeches will survive the trip.

Ali

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Yesterday’s (25 October) launch of the Equestrian.com Liverpool International Horse Show (31 December-2 January 2017) wasn’t short of the celebrity factor. Grand National-winning jockey Bob Champion led a parade of arond 50 riders, including showjumpers Billy Twomey, Laura Renwick and Geoff Billington, through the city centre ending up at the Echo Arena, where the show will be held at the end of the year. Check out some of the day’s highlights…

The show’s president Nina Barbour sets off with showjumper Billy Twomey, winner of the first Liverpool International Grand Prix on Diaghilev

Parade participants came in all shapes and sizes…

Grand National-winning hero Neptunes Collonge takes centre stage

A bird’s eye view of the action

Excitement builds outside the show’s Liverpool venue

1981 Grand National winner Bob Champion returns to Liverpool, where 35 years ago he won the National on Aldaniti

Representing the British Horse Society…

Nina Barbour’s mount is smartly groomed for the occasion

Geoff Billington gets into the spirit of it…

Geoff Billington

Hacking round Liverpool with Bob Champion, as you do , on a Tuesday morning ?

Pony Club members pose for a photo with Bob Champion

Last year’s show was a huge success, with riders and spectators in agreement about how enjoyable the New Year show was. Find out more about this year’s show >>

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Grand National winner Bob Champion will head the launch parade for the upcoming Liverpool International Horse Show.

Top showjumper Geoff Billington, carriage driver George Bowman and some of the Shetland ponies competing on the Shetland pony Grand National circuit will join Bob for the launch on 25 October.

Joining them on the “ride into Liverpool” will be around 50 riders from nearby riding schools, including Croxteth Park, Beechley, Gellings and Knowsley Village, as well as some Pony Club members.

“It promises to be a terrific launch to the event as riders of all ages combine on a ride into the city,” said show president Nina Barbour.

This year marks 35 years since Bob won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti — two years after being diagnosed with cancer. His story was subsequently made into the film “Champions”, where Bob was portrayed by actor John Hurt.

The parade will start at 11am in Liverpool’s Festival Gardens, before moving along Riverside Drive, through Salthouse Quay and ending at around noon at the ACC Plaza and Echo Arena.

The four-star showjumping show, organised by the team behind Bolesworth, made its debut over the 2015-16 New Year and was well received by visitors, competitors and tradestand holders alike.

The livestream also proved popular, with more than 85,000 playbacks and more than 500,000 minutes of action watched.

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• ‘It’s an unbelievable show’: Liverpool International hailed a success
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The 2016-17 event will be held at the Echo Arena from 31 December – 2 January and has a prize fund of £160,000.

As well as showjumping, the event features a dressage display by Abi and Charlie Hutton, carriage driving from George Bowman, music from musical theatre boy band Collabro and Abba tribute band Revival, a Shetland pony Grand National and fire displays.

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The show that held the first Shetland pony Grand National is to be revived after 30 years, with the help of one of its original supporters – former jockey Bob Champion.

The Shetland Show Highland Fair ran from 1980-82 in the grounds of the charity for which it raised money – the Sue Ryder Nettlebed Hospice in Henley-on-Thames, Oxon.

It was started by Marlene Simpson – who came up with the idea for the Shetland Grand National in her kitchen.

Now, her daughter Sarah Buckner – with friend Charlotte Snowden – is relaunching the show, in memory of Mrs Snowden’s sister Sophie, who died in the hospice.

Mrs Snowden (pictured competing against Sophie and Bob on Grand National winner Aldaniti) told H&H the shows had been “an amazing time of our lives”.

“We’ve followed the exact schedule and timetable of the old show, so we hope it will be just as successful,” she said.

A cutting from an edition of the Henley Standard at the time reports that one show attracted 5,000 people.

Bob Champion returns to this year’s event, on Sunday, 27 May, to start the Shetland Grand National.

Bob recovered from testicular cancer to win the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti and has since raised millions of pounds for cancer research.

“I am very much looking forward it,” he told H&H.

“This photo is one of my all-time favourites. Aldaniti was a joy that day, he behaved perfectly.”

The show will have a range of Shetland showing classes as well as fancy dress and a gymkhana.

For more information visit www.shetlandshow.co.uk.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (29 March 2012)

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Bob Champion is to be honoured at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) awards tonight (22 December).

The former jockey will receive the Helen Rollason award, which recognises “outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”.

In 1979 Bob was diagnosed with testicular cancer and given just months to live. But two years later he went on to win the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti.

The horse had also fought back after suffering serious leg injuries and the pair’s story was made into the film Champions.

“I’m absolutely chuffed,” Bob told H&H. “It’s a great honour.

“But you must remember [trainer] Josh Gifford and [owner] Nick Embiricos – without them the horse would have been put down. He was in plaster for six months and had to be a good patient.

“I’d wanted to ride in the Grand National since I was seven years old and it was the race I was desperate to win. Going into it, I was actually very confident and it meant everything to win. It was such a great feeling.”

Bob retired from the saddle in 1982 and set up the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which has raised more than £12million.

The award was set up in 1999 in memory of BBC sport reporter and presenter Helen Rollason, who died of cancer aged 43.

The SPOTY awards will be shown on BBC1 at 8pm.

For further information visit: www.bobchampion.org.uk and www.bbc.co.uk/sportspersonality.

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Bob Champion and Aldaniti are among nine racing greats who are to be inducted into the John Smith’s Grand National Legends hall of fame this year.

The hall of fame, which was launched last year, celebrates the history of the race and an awards ceremony will be held on Grand National Day — Saturday 9 April.

It has been 30 years since Bob Champion and Aldaniti’s emotional victory — and they this year topped the public poll to chose five Legends.

A shortlist of Grand National Legends was compiled by a selection panel of racing experts who were asked to consider the star performers — equine and human — from the 1830s through to the present day.

Thousands of racing fans placed their votes over the past few weeks. Those voted in by the public are Bob Champion and Aldaniti, 1986 winners West Tip and Richard Dunwoody, Red Rum’s jockey Brian Fletcher and trainer Vincent O’Brien.

And four former racing figures selected by the panel are Tom Olliver who won three times as a jockey the 1840s and 50s, 1894 winning horse Karel Kinsky, three-time winning jockey Jack Anthony (1911,1915, 1920) and BBC radio commentator Peter Bromley.

“The Grand National always seems to produce a great story, and in a year when we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bob Champion’s victory on Aldaniti, it is very appropriate that the public has voted for him,” said Julian Thick, managing director at Aintree.

Aintree is also searching for Grand National “People’s Legends” and is asking local communities to nominate those who make a contribution to the race.

The first nominee for this year’s People’s Legends is Jaguar, an 18-year-old police horse.

Jaguar (pictured) has been a serving police horse for Merseyside since January 1998. He has led in the Grand National winner several times — most recently Mon Mome in 2009 — and will be repeating that job again this year.

According to Merseyside Police he “performs all aspects of his work willingly, is brave and uncomplicated and does whatever is asked of him without fear. He can also always be entrusted with new riders when they are starting out their mounted careers”.

Nominations are open until March 25 at www.grandnationallegends.com

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Former Grand National-winning jockeys will be returning to the famous Aintree turf next April for a charity race in aid of The Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

Bob Champion, Graham Thorner, Ben De Haan, Hywel Davies, Brendan Powell, Jimmy Frost, Marcus Armytage, Carl Llewellyn, Tony Dobbin and Jim Cullotty will ride in the Flat race.

They will be joined by eight-times champion jockey Peter Scudamore and 10-times Irish champion Charlie Swan.

The Bob Champion Cancer Trust was founded in 1983 and has so far raised £12m for research into testicular and prostate cancers.

“The 1981 Grand National was a remarkable day, not just for me, but for all of those around the world who gained hope from my victory in their personal battles against cancer,” said Mr Champion who famously won on Aldaniti.

“Thirty years on, and with the money this race raises, I want to continue to reduce the odds against cancer.”

The race will be the first on the card on John Smith’s Grand National Day, Saturday, 9 April.

Julian Thick, managing director of Aintree, added: “Bob’s story is inextricably linked to the Grand National and we are honoured to be able to help his fantastic fund-raising with what should be an interesting race.”

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Later this month Alex Embiricos — whose father Nick Embiricos owned the 1981 Grand National winner Aldaniti — is going to cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

Alex will set off on tomorrow (Tuesday 31 August), aiming to cover 1,000 miles in 12 days.

“It will be an incredible, but I imagine painful, way to view Great Britain — I am certainly no Victoria Pendleton,” said Alex.

“This charity is very close to my heart as my father’s horse Aldaniti won the Grand National. This was no ordinary achievement, but a fairy tale to end all fairy tales.

“Bob [Champion, who rode the horse to win] had won a hard and gritty battle against cancer, but, during his illness and tough treatments, the dream that kept Bob going was to win the National on Aldaniti.

“This was not all straight forward as the horse himself suffered a severe tendon injury.

“Things at one stage looked incredibly grim, but together they fought through their pain, and their incredible bravery and determination led them to storm up the run in and win one of the greatest Grand Nationals ever.”

Alex, who has ridden 58 winners in point-to-points and under rules, is hoping to raise £10,000.

To donate visit: www.justgiving.com and type in Alex Embiricos, or contact The Bob Champion Cancer Trust on 0207 924 3553

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Grand National-winning former jockey Bob Champion has raised more than £100,000 on his epic 14,000 mile journey around Britain’s racecourses.

Bob completed his 60:60 Challenge last week, in which he visited all of the country’s 60 racecourses in 60 consecutive days.

He started his drive on 18 April and the venture was in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and the Injured Jockeys Fund.

Bob declared himself “overwhelmed” after he arrived at his final destination, Ascot racecourse, last Wednesday (16 June).

“The last 60 days have been quite extraordinary,” said Bob.

“Travelling the length and breadth of the country several times has enabled me to meet so many great people and left me with the strong opinion that racing is still extremely popular and such a great sport.

“I hope to have raised well over £100,000 by doing this and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me. I am now looking for what to do next as 2011 will be 30 years on since Aldaniti and I shared that wonderful day at Aintree.”

The sport’s Racing For Change campaign, to attract a broader audience to the sport, was also at the forefront of Bob’s mind throughout his journey.

“What people want is very simple, a value for money experience and a great day out. I find it hard to fathom how a sandwich can cost £2 at one track and exactly the same sandwich, £4.65 at another. If the whole family can get in for £20, be able to afford to eat and drink and have things for the kids to do, then they’ll come back again. Courses that welcome everyone and work on building an atmosphere and a buzz are the ones that will prosper.”

For more information visit: www.champions6060.org.uk

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Grand National winning-jockey Bob Champion is undertaking a 10,000-mile journey this year, to raise £250,000 for charity.

The Champions 60:60 Charity Challenge is in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and The Injured Jockeys Fund and the inspirational jockey will set out from Ascot racecourse on 18 April.

Bob will visit all 60 British racecourses, on 60 consecutive racedays, driving between tracks in a Lotus, to end on 16 June back at Ascot.

Bob was diagnosed with cancer in 1979 and told he had eight months to live, but two years later he won the Grand National with Aldaniti.

“The charities are very close to my heart. It’s a three-fold mission — to raise money for them as well as trying to get more people into racing,” he told H&H.

Supporters are asked to make a minimum donation of £50 and choose which race meeting they want to attend.

They will then spend the day with Bob — meeting jockeys and going on a behind-the-scenes racecourse tour.

“I initially wanted to ride to each racecourse in 60 days — but it just wouldn’t work,” said Bob. “You can’t exactly canter up the M1 and it would probably have taken me three years!

“It was quite hard to find 60 days in a row with a meeting on, so there’s no logical order to the journey — I’ll be going backwards and forwards through England, Scotland and Wales.”

Everyone who supports the challenge will be entered into a draw for prizes including a trip to the 2011 Dubai World Cup and a behind-the-scenes tour at Channel 4’s The Morning Line.

For more information visit: www.champions6060.org.uk

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (11 February, ’10)

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A charity ride supported by Bob Champion and other racing world greats will take place next month in Devon to raise funds and awareness for autism.

The fifth Dartmoor Horse Ride for Autism on 13 April has been organised by Allen Lewis.

The 20-mile ride is to raise funds for Paul Lewis, Allen’s son, who is six years old and autistic.

The family take part in the Son-Rise Programme, a natural American therapy that they say has transformed their lives.

Paul, who had no eye contact and was unable to speak a word, now has an uncountable vocabulary and interacts with all his family directly as a result of this natural therapy.

Allen told H&H: “We started the Son-Rise Programme in January 2005. It is based on mirroring the child, entering their world and in turn they enter yours.

“The results have been absolutely amazing.”

Former jockey Bob Champion will start the ride and will also present the medals at the end. Bob famously won the Grand National with Aldaniti in 1981 when he was recovering from cancer.

In 1983 the Bob Champion Cancer Research Trust was formed, and has since raised millions of pounds.

Several famous faces from the world of horse racing and hunting will be present to show their support including former eight-time champion jockey Peter Scudamore and former champion trainer Martin Pipe.

Jimmy Frost, who won the 1989 Grand National on Little Polvier, will be riding with his daughter.

Willie Carson, Richard Dunwoody and Tommy Stack have all donated racing pictures to auction on the day.

The ride will start at 11am on Sunday 13 April at The East Dart Hotel, Postbrigde, Devon. The ride costs £10 to enter but all sponsored riders are free.

For more information tel: 01822 614335

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now