Home / Series / Man Alive / Aired Order / Season 1973 / Episode 13

Riding for a Fall: The Horse

When it comes to National Hunt Racing most people are only concerned about which horse is first past the post. Spectators can often be heard urging the leading horse to fall. You need to be tough to be a jockey. It means riding at 30 mph over fences that can send a horse flying - and a jockey to the ground with a broken back. The risks are great; the financial rewards not so great. In Grand National week Man Alive finds out why jockeys do it; why they risk their necks for £15 a ride when compensation is poor if they're injured - or killed. Richard Pitman, favourite for this year's Cheltenham Gold Cup, sums it up like this: 'Getting hurt is far less important than the glory, the enjoyment, the thrill. It's eating you. It's part of you. We love it.'

English
  • Originally Aired March 28, 1973
  • Network BBC Two
  • Created June 6, 2022 by
    AddingStuffIsFun
  • Modified November 1, 2024 by
    mosipd