I am very interested in horse races, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. So I wanted to know more about it, and found the biography of Anthony McCoy, a very succesful English National Hunt Jockey. I started to read the book and I couldn't put it down. It is a very nice read and it tells the story of Tony, as he was called later, or AP untill the early years of this century. The book starts with a young boy who hates school and does everything to be at a stable near his house and ends with one of the most succesful jockey's in history.
I loved the book, but there was one thing that struck me when I read it. There are a few chapters about Tony getting punished for using a whip on the horses. I felt very sorry for him. I understand that people don't want the horses to get hurt, but you can take that to far aswell. I understand very well that there are people out there who are for wellfare of the horses, but from what I read, they took it a bit to far. I see that the horses enjoy the races and I am sure that the jockey's don't mean any harm on the horses when they use the whip. If the horses don't like it, I am sure there are plenty of ways for them to show that they don't like it at all. Tony seems like a very nice and reasonalble man to me. All he wanted was to make his dream come true. He made it come true for sure and he is one of the best jockey's in British history. The book also has a lot of wonderful pictures of Tony, the horses he rode and the people that were and are important in his life. Ofcourse his parents, but also Billy Rock and Martin Pipe played a big role in his carreer. This is really a book that I recommand to read. But for people who love racing and want to know more about the person behind the jockey. I am really looking forward to read the biography of Timmy Murphy, another succesful jockey.
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