Jockeys’ jockeys

Five current and past riders explain which of their colleagues inspired them the most

Ruby Walsh on Sir AP Mccoy

The generation above inspired me: Richard Dunwoody’s seat and poise; Charlie Swan’s tactical brilliance; Norman Williamson’s tenacity; Conor O’dwyer’s hands; Adrian Maguire’s bravery; Graham Bradley’s coolness. When I started to ride, AP Mccoy was beginning to set standards the rest of us had to try to copy just to compete.

His drive, hunger, fitness, resilience to pain and talent made him the greatest of all time and his 20 straight titles will never be beaten.

Richard Johnson on Richard Dunwoody

When I was younger, it was Richard Dunwoody who I most wanted to be like or try and model myself on. Our careers did cross over for a few years and he was definitely the jockey I looked up to the most. Dunwoody was a very special rider. He was so stylish and always in the right place at the right time. As a young jockey, he was the man myself and plenty of other young riders at the time looked up to. He had the perfect mix of strength and style that horses seemed to respond so well to.

Mick Fitzgerald on John Francome

We called Dunwoody the Prince, because he was the uncrowned king. When AP arrived on the scene, nothing gave him greater pleasure than beating Woody, because he looked up to him. We all did. But when I was getting going, it was John Francome. He was a master of his craft and took it to another level. He was a very good show jumper before he became a jockey and he carried that through into his riding.

Mick Fitzgerald and Ruby Walsh will be on ITV today and throughout the Festival Davy Russell on Charlie Swan

There were so many riders who inspired me, but if I had to single out one then it would be Charlie Swan. He really was an exceptional rider and I guess the thing that impressed me the most was how he rose to the occasion. It really was a case of the bigger the stage, the better he seemed to perform. If you look at the rides he gave a horse like Istabraq, they were faultless. He was a very special talent that’s for sure.

Davy Russell is brand ambassador for Star Sports Bryony Frost on Jimmy Frost

It has to be my dad. He taught me about his mistakes and helped make sure I haven’t made the same ones. When I was seven, I watched him schooling horses at home and asked if I could ride out with him. He said I could when I was nine. He must have thought I’d forget, but on my ninth birthday I ran in and jumped on the bed and he knew he had to keep his promise. So my first ride on a racehorse was on my ninth birthday. It’s still the best birthday present I’ve ever had!