In November, Betfair launched its one-of-a-kind charity initiative, the ‘Rachael Blackmore - Serial Winners Fund’, to benefit both the Injured Jockeys Fund and Irish Injured Jockeys. The fund currently stands at £205,000 and is due to close today, Saturday, April 13th. This weekly column, which concludes this week, seeks to shed some light on how jockeys have, and will continue to benefit from, the work the IIJ and the IJF do, and some of the services this contribution will support.
Tell us about an experience where mental strength played a crucial role in overcoming a challenging situation in your career to date.
Growing up, I did not do any pony racing so it has been a bit harder to get started. It took quite a while to get the opportunity to race. However, I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to ride some of my dad’s horses to get started.
These days it is tough enough to find a balance between studying Commerce International in UCD and going to ride out in the mornings. In college, once you let things get away from you it can be hard to get back on top of things.
How do you maintain focus and stay resilient amid all the highs and lows?
Growing up, I’ve always been into horse racing as my family have owned a few horses throughout the years. Being around it all the time, I think that I’ve got a good enough grip on the emotions that come with it, from the highs to the lows.
When things go wrong, I try to take advice from the good people I have around me. There is no game like racing to bring you back down to earth.
That is why it is so important to keep both feet on the ground and to stay level headed.
What techniques do you use to manage stress and pressure before and during a race?
I feel as though the more rides I get, the easier it gets. I like to get organised the night before and to have a look through the other horses in the race, which can sometimes be hard in a bumper where some horses have no form to go off.
I like to drive myself to the track, listening to music on the way. I try to arrive nice and early as I don’t like to be under time pressure. I walk the track before every ride as there are a lot of tracks that I have not ridden yet, so I try to learn as much about each track as I can.
Once I get the leg up, I like to zone in on the race and focus on the job at hand.
How has the ability to bounce back from disappointments contributed to your overall success as a jockey?
Racing can be hard, but I try to control what I have control over and to learn from my mistakes. The drive home can be tough after some races but I do my best to learn from my mistakes and work to improve for future rides.
I am also lucky to have good people around me, like my family and Keith Dongohue, who has been a great help to me. It is great to have someone of his experience there to bounce ideas off and to review my races with afterwards.
Are there specific mental exercises or routines you practice to enhance your mental strength?
As I am still in college, I can only ride out a few mornings a week. I try to keep my body healthy by working out in the gym and going out for runs. While I do have a simulator at home, it does not nearly compare to actually being up on a horse.
I also have an ice bath at home. I find with an ice bath, the mental benefits outweigh the physical ones. It helps to build discipline, especially on cold evenings when you really don’t want to get in.
Can you recall a race where maintaining a positive mindset was pivotal to winning?
Thursday, April 4th, at Naas. I was riding the favourite Forty Coats in the bumper. The frontrunners were a good few lengths in front of me on the back straight, but I knew not to panic and how important it was to ride my own race. I managed to stay patient and luckily enough my horse had the class to pick them off and go clear inside the final furlong.
How do you handle the weight of expectations, both from yourself and others?
I put myself under pressure as I want to do the best for all involved. I want to do all those involved justice when I see the work that goes into getting a horse to the track. I am very lucky to have people around me who have done it all before. I always do my best to take their advice on board, which has helped me deal with the pressure of riding since the beginning.
Are you a naturally confident person or is that something you have to work hard at?
In a personal sense, I would say that I would be pretty confident and that I am used to meeting a lot of different characters throughout the years going racing with my dad. In terms of confidence in a riding sense, I am just focusing on getting miles on the clock and getting as much experience as I can. The more experience I get, the more my confidence will grow.
What do you do to switch off?
Fortunately I have a nice balance between my personal life and being a jockey. My family has a place in Dunshaughlin and also in Dublin. A lot of my Dublin friends wouldn’t have much of an interest in racing, which is nice as it lets me detach from racing at times. I like going to rugby games in both the RDS and the Aviva and I also love to go abroad during the summer.
What message would you give to someone who is struggling to cope with pressure or disappointment in their professional life?
Try to use pressure to your advantage, don’t let it overwhelm you. Surround yourself with good people, don’t dwell on the past and always look to the future. As well as this, try to establish a good network of people around you.
Have you ever availed of support from the Injured Jockeys Fund or Irish Injured Jockeys?
No, I have not had any injuries so far. But their work doesn’t go unnoticed. Jennifer Pugh and her team play a vital role in the sport. My older brother Christopher Jones Jnr is currently training to run a marathon and is actually fundraising for Irish Injured Jockeys.