Very disappointing. He's a class jockey and brilliant to watch. If this is what it has come to then some very serious questions need to be asked. This mess needs sorting as soon as possible before any further damage is done. How the BHA have managed to create such a humongous issue when one never existed in the first place is beyond me. I read that Barry Geraghty is considering his circumstances too. He may well follow suit. Would be a massive blow to British racing if neither Barry nor Ruby felt they could ride in England on a regular basis under the current regulations.
At least they are not throwing the toys out of the pram completely like Hughes did. I however feel that its very sad to see jockeys not riding because they are almost certain that they will break the rules and get bans/fines.
The worrying thing is that both Hughes and Walsh are renowned as being two of the finest horsemen around. The very fact that they have become so embroiled in the whip controversy must suggest strongly that the rules are simply not appropriate. Neither are 'whip jockeys' and both have fantastic empathy with their horses. If they are falling foul to this extent then some questions need asking.
What's the right number? Is a dozen acceptable? Can they use them all in the last furlong? How is it possible to ride a month ago, but not now? Has everyone forgotten how to count? I think the riders are starting to belt in the thin edge of the wedge.
The thing is Cyc, it's not just about being able to count. It is about multi-tasking (something blokes aren't much good at at the best of times!). You are trying to be aware of the other horses around you, about what your horse is doing, keeping in mind how far you have left to run and then on top of that keep count of how many times you use your whip during, what could be, a 5 minute period. Someone likened it to trying to count your loose change and recite your phone number at the same time, a pretty good analogy.
PN, have you been hit with one of these new whips yet? Apparently its going to be a feature on the Morning Line!!
Nass - I think that a journo from the Gaurdian has tried this act out already... Cant remember the blokes name or the jockey involved but he slapped the journo over his hand with a whip and then told of his pain... As it was the journo said something along the lines of it stung but othing more than that... I will try and find it and post it on here...
I just can't understand how there were so few problems getting their act together then, but now it's all too hard for them.
They hit a "larger" gentleman at Newbury on Friday and showed that on Saturday's Morning Line. Not quite the same thing, I appreciate
Horse racing Next Previous Blog home A jockey whipped me 'as hard as I'd hit a horse' and it didn't hurtRacing insiders claim their foam-cushioned whip is designed to produce noise, not pain. Our reporter put it to the test A jockey's whip is not widely considered to be a wonder of modern technology to match the iPod or the mobile phone but perhaps it should be. "It's your job to educate people," Jim Crowley said at Lingfield Park on Tuesday, shortly before hitting me with one. "The message needs to be got across. This has been blown up out of all proportion. Whips don't hurt horses." It is a line that has been heard many times in the debate over the use of the whip, not least during the current controversy over the British Horseracing Authority's strict new regulations on its use. It is also an argument that many people, perhaps, still find a little difficult to believe. If it doesn't hurt, they say, why use it at all? But Crowley is right. He hit me three times in quick succession on the palm of the hand yesterday afternoon, the third time "as hard as I'd ever hit a horse" and, thanks to the design of his lightweight, foam-cushioned whip, I scarcely felt a thing. It has not always been like this. A decade or so ago a fairly gentle swish from a heavy, old-fashioned whip with a loop of leather at its tip would have produced a smack with a real sting. The modern equivalent, though, is all about noise rather than impact. "A horse wouldn't feel it the same as a human," Crowley said. "They have a tough hide and it's covered with hair. This whip doesn't hurt a human, so it can't hurt a horse and these sticks have been tested and tested to show that they don't hurt the horse. "There's no way a jockey would want to hurt a horse. The sticks nowadays are fantastic and designed to startle the horse with a loud bang. We use them to create that sound, which is what people don't realise, and that's the problem." The lack of any pain from Crowley's strikes is so impressive that it is tempting to wonder whether jockeys should be encouraged to spread the message by hitting racegoers too. Better still, they could walk down Oxford Street hitting passers-by and, when they find that itdoesn't hurt, tell them to tell their friends. "The palm of your hand is one of the most sensitive parts of your body," Crowley said. "You wouldn't want to have a tattoo there but, when you're hit with one of these whips, you hardly feel it. "A friend of mine who was a soldier wanted to have a look at one of these. He wasn't involved in racing at all and his whole perception changed in one second by looking at one of these new whips and realising that they're padded and they don't hurt. "The sticks are getting better and better all the time. They're all tested and they've all got serial numbers in. To be honest, the only problem I have with these sticks is that on a windy day, the wind catches them because they're so light." Three strokes from a whip on the palm of the hand is hardly a controlled scientific experiment. For one thing it could be argued that Crowley, one of the most easy-going members of the weighing room, is simply too pleasant to launch a proper, full-blooded assault on anyone, even a journalist. Ryan Moore or Kieren Fallon, by contrast, might apply themselves to the task with real venom. Having felt the best that Crowley could do, though, I would be happy to let them try. "Hopefully the BHA will come around," Crowley said of the hasty review of the new rules that is due to conclude by the end of this week. "The jockeys just want what's right. The whole situation has been blown out of proportion but what the jockeys have put forward the BHA can hopefully bring into force." Posted by Greg Wood at Lingfield Tuesday 18 October 2011 19.47 BST The Guardian
Thanks Red, interesting. It would be a catastrophe if someone like Ruby decided against racing over here because of the new rules, a joy to watch and probably the best horeseman I've ever seen. My only question amongst the current chaos is why the jocks didn't object, question, complain when the new rules were announced ? Surely they were consulted ? The sport has suffered (possibly irreversably) in recent weeks but the BHA will not undertake a further review, what we have now I believe is what we're stuck with, everyone knows they're spineless but they can't risk a complete loss of credibility but succombing further. Ever since the announcement I always felt the rules were heaviliy anti-NH - how can it be allowed that a horse can be struck just once more during a 9 min 4 mile slog in a bog with a horse that wants to run out at his fences and canter off to the stables every time they pass the stands, than it is in a 55 sec 5f sprint ? People forget that the whip is often used to aid concentration and in a race with 20+ fences this is very necessary compared to a sprint. It's a nonsense. Given Ruby's standing in NH racing I wouldn't be surprised if many follow, a week or two before Cheltenham next March we may well see a shortage of jockeys, imagine meetings abandoned through lack of jockeys willing to race....
redcgull, I read that last week and it raised one question for me "just how hard did he hit him!" Then watching tubbs being 'hit' on the Morning Line made me appreciate that jockeys talk a good deal of bull when it suits. If I put a jockey on a horse and he hit it with the power that he hit tubbs I wouldn't be booking him again. PN, I think you should nominate yourself for next weekends Morning Line experiment they might get more viewers than when Big Mac is on!! (saying that perhaps they should just hit Big Mac instead)
Grizzly, the line that seems to have come out is that no individual jockeys were consulted. The PJA were, so they probably have more than a few questions to answer. I bet Kevin Darley can't wait for the end of the year to come, he announced a month or two ago that he was leaving his position at PJA as he felt it would be bettered suited to someone based in the South.
Part of the problem about testing the whip out on people is that the jockey's can't hold the whip the same way they would when riding a horse. The hand position is different and when held, as a jockey does, it is not easy to get real force behind it. Belting someone with a the full force of a forehand position, or a backhander, would not replicate the true use. Saying that, I'd pay good money to watch Andy Murray come in and apply the full force of his serving arm to Big Mac
So you are suggesting you want a jockey to mount you (in a purely pantomime horse style) on this weeks Morning Line to show how the whip is actually used? I will send that off to C4!!
PN - I've heard this a few times. I know this sounds like a mini mission of mine but so many high profile NH jockeys and trainers gave their support when the changes were announced, why ? How can they give their backing to something if they are not aware of the changes ? How can anyone in an influencial position publicly support anything before being made fully aware of the detail ? I don't believe the likes of AP and Nicholls are niaive, I believe they fully knew the rule changes but because a number of their colleagues have voiced concern and the sheer weight of public feeling since the changes were adopted they have completey backtracked. The fact they've all deleted previous supportive 'tweets' suggests they're now trying to conceal their original opinion.
In regards to what the riders did or did not know, I'm 100pc behind Grizz. That they came out so publicly in support of the new rules, says it all.
Now, now Nass, don't get carried away. I'm afraid there isn't a jockey on this planet that floats my boat. Short n' skinny just ain't my style!
Grizzly, the suggestion I have heard is that the BHA applied pressure on people to toe the party line without letting people see the proposals in detail.
