Brent "The Babe" Thompson

[Chrome Prince]

Just taking a stroll down memory lane, I remember distinctly this champion jockey returning from a stint in England, and being called into the stewards room prior to a race for "riding with his stirrups too high", he replied that that is the way they ride in the UK. The stewards wouldn't let him ride that high that day, however, reversed their decision at later meetings and let him ride with short stirrups.

What prompted this post is, I have noticed jockeys these days ride even higher than Brent did. There are two negatives to this, the incidence of falls even in track work has risen, the second being more dead weight centred on the back of the horse just behind the withers, leading to a rise in back problems in horses.

[Mark]

I remember Gavan Duffy getting into similar trouble, which struck me as strange at the time because he was miles shorter in stature than any other jockey around, and it seemed obvious that he would ride shorter.