In January this year it was suggested that I should get fit to ride in a Charity Race!  The race is to be at Newbury on 30 June in memory of my stepfather Christian Marner and our great friend John Hills.  Both were taken from us far too early by the ravages of Cancer.

The last time that I had sat on a racehorse before undertaking this challenge was 10 September 1999!  This was the final ride of my amateur jockey career that had resulted in over seventy winners.  I was fortunate that I rode horses for the likes of Messrs Hannon, Henderson, Hills and Sir Mark Prescott that had considerably more talent than I had in the saddle!  My first ever ride was for John Hills.  It was a winning one on the grand old servant Gilderdale who knew a lot more about the game than I did about race riding!  My younger sister Sarah, who is also riding in the charity race, won the same race the following year on Gilderdale for John on her only ever ride under rules.

In the intervening years a lack of exercise coupled with a predilection for fine food (and even finer wine!) had resulted in my weight becoming closer to fourteen stone than ten stone!  With a strict exercise regime from the team at Oaksey House in Lambourn and several significant lifestyle changes I have shed nearly two and a half stone to ride in the race.  I have set myself a hugely ambitious, yet hopefully obtainable, target to raise as much money as possible for the chosen charities.  They are three wonderful charities that are all important to me personally.  Please feel free to donate to the charity that is closest to you or better still split your donation between the charities.  Any donation you are able to give will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!