During my career I developed a growing interest in sculpture, which only came to fruition by chance. I was riding at Devon and Exeter and received a lift to the races with the trainer. Also in the car was sculptor Margot Dent. We got talking and she encouraged me to start. I then spent many happy days during the summer break at Margot’s and John’s farm in Hampshire learning the basic technique of sculpture. She inspired and enthusiasm that remains to this day. I was sure that as a professional jockey I could portray horse racing in a new and exciting way, lending to my work an authority through my extensive experience.

Luckily I have always had an ability to capture movement and this certainly helped in the early days when I was learning my trade I combined riding and sculpture for the last 7 years of my career in the saddle, naturally doing mainly racing subjects.

After becoming a full time sculptor I broadened my horizons. Hitherto I had employed an approach which captured the thrill and excitement of horse racing. I wanted to experiment a little, so studying sculptural form and space enabled me to find other, more subtle emotions in my work. Work on wild and domestic animals and the human form in large and small scale has followed although the horse stills remains at the core of my work.

Share with others...