I recently stumbled across the Racing Academy and their Apprentice Jockey Course.  I am sure this would be a great resource for people wanting to get into race riding of thoroughbreds in Australia.  If you plan to be a jockey, you need to go through an apprenticeship.

I believe this often requires finding a trainer who will take you on and offer you horses to ride.  In this way you’re improving your riding skills whilst gaining experience.  And most importantly, you have someone providing you with the opportunity to ride in race events.

If you plan to be a jockey in Australia, then you have to undertake a course to gain a qualification.  And of course contacts would help, too!  I have no doubt that this is the case in other countries, too.  If you love horse riding and want to look into riding timed work as a career option, I encourage you to check out what’s involved in becoming an apprentice jockey.  Racing is big in Australia – a multi-billion dollar industry.  If you want to make a career of riding horses, the thoroughbred industry can be a good place to start.  This is due to the multitude of horses that race across the country.

Want to find out more about the course in which:

“This qualification is from the Racing Industry Training Package. It is for people who want to work as a jockey for a thoroughbred racing environment. As a jockey you will possess the highest level of race riding and horse handling skills, as well as a high degree of decision-making skills, to exercise judgement during races when choosing and assessing mounts.”

Be sure to check out the above website link.

“I understood then, with absolute certainty, that the ability of the horse to sense emotion, energy and spirit is beyond what most of the human world realises. This is why their impact on us can be so instant, so consistently positive, so transformational.” ― Pam Billinge

It was a few years ago now whilst first working for the National Centre for Equine Education that I became aware of the career a jockey agent.  Pondering the position, I realised that it made sense that jockeys would have agents much like actors may have.  So what would the role entail?

Someone who acts as an agent for jockeys would be involved in securing rides for the jockey to undertake.  This would mean conversing with trainers and lining up rides in line with a particular jockey’s capabilities, weight and location where they are able to ride.  It is possible that the agent also helps to negotiate fees for the rider.  This would be done with the trainer who is contracting them to ride in a race.

I have no doubt that the agent gets a cut of the jockey’s earnings, or gets a set fee.  In return they will be expected to secure as many rides as possible for a jockey within a race meeting.

After all, the more they ride, the more potential they have to earn and gain a name for themselves.  For a jockey agent, it would be beneficial to have good negotiating skills as well as good people skills.  And of course a knowledge of local horses, trainers, conditions at particular tracks and the rules of racing.

The Jockey Agent as a Career Choice

Interested in finding out more about this career choice?  You can head along to read an article from 2017 about jockey agents.  This article covers education and training required, licensing as a jockey agent and even anticipated salary for this role.  According to this article, the North American Riding Academy anticipate there being about 1500 licensed jockeys in America.

If you take into consideration that an agent represents 1-3 jockeys in total, this leaves a lot of room for jockey agents to secure clients and work on their behalf!  The thoroughbred industry would no doubt have the highest level of jockeys and better purses for race riding.  But jockeys are also found amongst other breeds including Quarter Horses, Standardbreds and Arabians.  If you love race riding and representing people, then this could be a career choice for you.