19th October 2020

Typical Monday morning canters for most horses. Red Nika and Dorking Boy had a little blow on the hill Dorking Rogue jumped some hurdles as did a few of the babies. The babies will be moving onto fences in the very near future as they are all jumping the hurdle with barrels very nicely and I don’t want them getting into bad habits. 

I had to check the date yesterday when I read Mike Smith thought the new whip rules in California were putting jockeys lives at risk.  In California, the whip can now only be used in the underhand position, six times and no more than twice in succession. Smith has stated that the rule will result in more dangerous riding and it will potentially, result in the death of a jockey. He also suggested that some jockeys were unable to ride to the new rules and that the integrity and outcome of the results were compromised as result of the new whip rule. I was surprised to find it was not April 1^st. Something had to be done, any racing I have seen from America has not made pleasant viewing, they use the whip repeatedly, they do not give the horse time to respond and their whips look a lot thinner and longer than the ones we have in the UK. I think Mike Smith should hand in his license if he feels he can’t ride a race without beating the living daylights out of horse to get it to perform. 

I am all for the whip and I certainly do not want it removed from racing in any country, I believe it adds to the spectacle when used correctly. I think there are worse things that a horse can experience during a finish. Jockeys have been screaming in their ears forever, which I believe is more traumatic for the horse than getting a slap on the backside with a padded stick. 

Dorking Rouge and Dorking Boy head to Exeter tomorrow, to read my thoughts click here.