'He was a very cool rider when we were probably all rather agricultural' - Peter Dever dies at 61

Peter Dever, an "ultra-stylish" jump jockey who went on to set up a hugely successful saddlery business, has died at the age of 61.

The son of trainer and former jockey Frank Dever, he was runner-up in the conditional jockeys' handicap championship in 1983-84 and landed his biggest win on Artifice in the Manicou Handicap Chase at Ascot the following season.

His friend and fellow jump jockey Bruce Dowling said: "Peter died on Friday night. He'd been unwell for a little while and it was very peaceful.

"I'd known him since I started riding, since I was 20, and he was one of the leading young riders then.

"He was a very nice man and an underrated jockey. He was very self-effacing and modest, too much so, possibly – he wasn't the sort to push himself forward and that probably didn't help his riding career."

His family background meant that Dever was riding racehorses from the age of four and his first winner came on Quistador as a 20-year-old at Nottingham in 1982. 

His main trainers were John Thorne and Reg Hollinshead, for whom he won several times on smart staying hurdler Bluff Cove, and the last of around 100 career winners was on Good Tonic at Huntingdon on Easter Monday in 1991.

Dowling recalled: "He was a very cool rider who was a good tactician and ultra-stylish in the days when we were probably all rather agricultural. He really stood out.

"He was also the first one to have polished, patent leather boots and he began riding with a red stripe down his breeches, which a few of us copied. He was quite a trendsetter.

Peter Dever: "He was quite a trendsetter"

After hanging up those boots, Dever set up a wholesale saddlery business in Cheltenham with his former partner Nicola Manton, which he once promoted by sponsoring then conditional jockey Liam Treadwell.

He was divorced and is survived by his son Kristian. Funeral details have yet to be announced.