I was brought up in Ledbury in Herefordshire and my father and his brothers, who ran a building business, were into point-to-point racing. I very rarely rode as a youngster. I worked out quite quickly that I was neither the right shape, nor had the talent or bravery to be a jockey.
My father would write the same note for me to get off school for racing every time, saying I was on an educational visit. I recall the headmaster
