'It wasn't until I was driving home I thought: I don't think I'm going to ride now'

Hayley Turner’s calendar has a distinct new look. Where once her days revolved around early mornings and race meetings, the schedule on the kitchen wall is now pencilled in with social calls – an appointment, an upcoming family visit and a weekend barbecue with friends. 

Free time is a commodity not afforded to jockeys, yet despite Turner being focused on her profession for more than two decades she has found the change of lifestyle rather easy to adapt to. Endless treks across Britain have been replaced by quiet afternoons like today, when a bout of vacuuming is about as taxing as things are due to get at her charming home in Newmarket. 

"I expected it to be worse than what it is, but I've been really comfortable with not being as busy," says Turner, 42. "As a jockey, you miss out on so much without even realising it, because you need to be fully in the job, there's no way around that. You need to make a lot of sacrifices and your family and friends have to be very understanding.