Horse Racing is a very physical sport despite the common misconceptions, controlling the horse and making the horse feel comfortable is a massive challenge and only specific people can be jockeys. If a jockey weighs too much or isn’t strong enough then the horse will throw them around and they will have no control. 

Requirements

To become a jockey the requirements are less strict than you would think. The only requirement is that the jockey has to be over 16 years old, other than that you can do anything you would like. As much as the sport is inclusive for all types of people, the majority of jockeys weigh less than 125 pounds, but this is dependent on the height of the jockey, however, most jockeys are usually around 5 feet tall. It is a fact that smaller jockeys are better riders and as well as the jockey’s form, their height and weight are good stats to track and Boylesports is a great site that provides all this information, as well as Irish Grand National betting & odds so that you can stay well-informed for the event.

Why are Jockeys so small?

Jockeys have to wear equipment and control a horse that weighs half a ton and can get up to 30 miles per hour, all while being smaller and lighter than the average person. So you are probably thinking, why are they so small then? Well, the answer is that it is for the protection of the horse, a thoroughbred horse is still very durable but having a larger human and equipment can cause the horse to have unnecessary pain, the way to prevent this is to use smaller jockeys. 

How does gender affect the jockeys?

It is a fact that women are statistically smaller and weigh less than men, so you would assume this would translate to a lot of female jockeys being around but only 16% of jockeys are female which is a massive disparity in the genders. This has gotten better over the years as people did not believe that women could be as strong and capable as men in the sport. Over time it has been proved wrong with some of the best jockeys being female. Rachel Blackmore is a great example of this. 

What diets do Jockeys follow?

As we have mentioned, Jockeys need to be a specific weight to get the best out of their horses, so how do they do it? 

Well, the average jockey will consume around 1500 calories a day. Having three meals that consist of around 500 calories each. 

They also need to hit their specific food categories and have all of their food groups to keep their diet healthy and balanced. This is also a very expensive part of an already expensive sport, their diets and cost of training is a massive budget for the stable they work with. 

Training styles 

We have spoken about Jockeys and their strength and diet for most of this so what is the training regime that they have to follow? Well, because of the cardio and the strength that is needed to race with a horse, they need to improve endurance, which they do by cycling, running or HIIT workouts. They also need to do strengthening exercises, specifically lower body muscles. They do this by doing squats, jump lunges and bond exercises. 

They also do balancing exercises, train their core muscles and weight training. It is a very physical regime and with the diet on top of it, it is a massive challenge. 

Summary

Overall, as we look at the requirements and standards for jockeys it makes it even more impressive as to why it is seen as such a challenging sport by the fans. The sheer strength, balance and mental toughness you need to be a jockey who has a very small diet and excessive training must wear the jockeys down but they power through and race and train regularly.