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Is this the ultimate saddle swap? Watch a champion jockey and Ben Maher switch disciplines…

Gemma Redrup Gemma Redrup

    • Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper Ben Maher and three-time champion Flat jockey Oisin Murphy are both obviously experts in their respective fields, but they recently discovered what it was like to swap saddles when they sampled each other’s trade for a Great British Racing video.

    First up was Ben Maher, who won individual Olympic gold on Explosion W at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Ben made the short trip from his own yard to the British Racing School in Newmarket to sample riding in a racing saddle.

    Oisin joked “I like the way you’re still trying to put your heels down” once Ben was on-board.

    Ben commented “that felt so fast to me” once he and Oisin had enjoyed a spin up the gallops, but admitted that it was “slow” compared to how fast horses usually travel within a race.

    Oisin, who is currently enjoying a spot of showjumping on the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Spain, but who hasn’t done a great deal of competitive jumping due to his busy career on the Flat, then got on board a sport horse at the Peter O’Sullevan Arena in the centre of Newmarket.

    After jumping around a course of fences, Ben jokingly asked Oisin “when do you retire from racing?”.

    Reflecting at the end of both sessions, Ben says: “This morning’s been great – it’s been an experience. I’ve never really ridden racehorse on the tracks and I don’t live so far from Newmarket, so it was always something that I wanted to do. It was great to meet Oisin and see him riding a jumper.”

    Watch the video to see how they both got on below…

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    Gemma Redrup
    Gemma Redrup

    H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor
    Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
    Gemma Redrup

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