Make my 'dissy' into a video - Jenny Lane

Posted 4 February 2011

Watch the video on our YouTube channel.

A final year student at Harper Adams University College is investigating the effect of the jockey on National Hunt horses as part of her dissertation.

Jenny Lane, from Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, is looking at the effect of the rider’s position on the performance of the horse, what happens when different jockeys are used, and how the rider is selected by the trainer.

The 21-year-old, said: “I’m observing as many races as possible and comparing six different jockeys – A.P McCoy, Ruby Walsh, Andrew Thornton, Aiden Frost, Will Kennedy and Sam Thomas, to see how they affect their horses.

“I also plan to compare horses that have been ridden by a variety of jockeys.”

Jenny, who is due to graduate in September with a BSc (Hons) degree Bio-veterinary Science, spent her placement year at Henrietta Knight’s National Hunt yard in Oxfordshire. This is where she found a passion for racing.

She added: “When I returned to Harper from placement, I spoke to my dissertation tutor, Alison Monk, and we came up with the idea for my project after discussing Ruby Walsh’s riding techniques and how he doesn’t move his head when going over fences. 

“Henrietta Knight uses many different jockeys and two of the horses that I worked with during my placement also experienced different riders. I round that one ran better under Andrew Thornton compared with Sam Thomas and thought that it would be interesting to investigate this further.”

Jenny now hopes that the knowledge gained during her placement and final year of study will help her to achieve a career as a trainer at a National Hunt yard.

She intends to work at a variety of different yards and gain additional qualifications in racing and race management.