Richard Dunwoody
Camera: Nikon D4
Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO250
Even before he started school, Richard Dunwoody knew he’d be a jockey. His father and maternal grandfather were both celebrated trainers and riders, so it seemed obvious that the boy, Richard, would saddle up. But how many would have bet he’d go on to become Britain’s champion jockey three years in a row?
In a career spanning 16 years, Richard rode nearly 1900 winners, including two Grand Nationals, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase four times – twice on the legendary grey, Desert Orchid. There would have been more winners if it wasn’t for his career being cut short by a neck injury in 1999, so Richard had to search for another ride. Now a pro photographer specializing in travel and equestrian events, horses continue to feature prominently in many of his pictures, whether by design or some serendipitous moments…
Horses keep cropping up in many different ways in your pictures.
Is that deliberate or are you just instinctively drawn to horses?
It’s just the way things have worked out. I did some work for the Brooke Hospital for Animals, which is an equine charity, so that was one of my first contracts after I went to the Spéos Institute in Paris and studied photojournalism there for a year. The Brooke came along and then I did some work for magazine, which obviously is all equine as well. Yes, I enjoy taking photos of horses, but if I feel I’ve got a half decent image somewhere it doesn’t have to be of a horse! It’s
