The biggest buzz came from getting to jump a horse from the stalls

My very first racing memory is a hazy scene from early childhood, sat around with my mum and the girls from her work doing a penny sweepstake on the Grand National. I started riding at nine and, although not interested in racing at that point, I loved trips with the Pony Club to the National Horseracing Museum and the National Stud!

Many years later my mum took me to Fakenham because, although at the time I was against racing on welfare grounds, I was also intrigued to learn more about the sport and try to understand why it had such a following and ‘buzz’. It didn’t take me long to understand or fall in love!

Around the same time I met my partner – she has been a follower of the sport since Rooster Booster’s time, so her obsession slowly began rubbing off on me.