New Year’s inspiration, jockey style

January 2, 2014Heather BensonUncategorized#NEW YEAR'S, #RACING2 Comments

Need a jump start on your resolution to diet and ride better? Why not draw some inspiration from those who have us all beat on both riding skill and weight loss discipline: JOCKEYS.

It’s that time of the year again for THE RESOLUTION. The resolution that may or may not have any base in reality (I’m going to run 5 miles a week? Likely not, as the person who runs when fleeing large and scary monsters), but we will all try and make one nonetheless. This year, I want to ride AND look better while I do it. So I woke up and looked for some inspiration from my favorite horse world riding scions: jockeys.

While it’s no secret that some jockeys resort to poor lifestyle choices and eating disorders to control their weight, successful jockeys understand that their job requires proper nutrition–simply being skinny doesn’t cut it; to effectively guide a 1,000+ pound racehorse around the track, you have to be strong and healthy as well. In response, top jocks rely on a diet that helps keep them slim and trim while providing maximum nourishment.

I first found the “Jockey Diet“, a collection of the 300-to-500 calorie meals that international superstar jockeys like Frankie Dettori adhere to. They have some things the rest of us don’t think about (consume 2-3 portions of dairy a day to keep the bones strong–a serious detail when your day job breaks at least one bone in your body every few months) and many things we do (at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day to provide vitamins and minerals).

[Lovethe Races]

You can read through all their recipes and tips here.

But my search for race rider inspiration got off-tracked (no pun intended) shortly thereafter, by the jockeys themselves. Somehow, way back when in 2012, I missed something very important–the 2012 Thoroughbred Racing Jockeys calendar. Sold as a benefit for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, it featured 12 of America’s top riders photographed by top racing photog Barbara Livingston in what we shall term “inspiring” poses.

Inspiring? Well, let’s just say for the purposes of getting you off your butt and getting in riding shape. Enjoy!