Outriders. You’ve seen them in the Derby post parade, leading the magnificent racehorses to the starting gate. Haven’t you wanted that job? Wouldn’t it be neat to pony a racehorse down the stretch at Churchill Downs? Being a jockey is a physical impossibility (without Jenny Craig and a tapeworm), but a person of more average size could certainly be an outrider, right? I mean, how hard can it be, riding a well-trained pony alongside a prancing racehorse with a jockey on its back?
Well, what happens if the jockey falls off? Here’s an outrider in Canada (thanks for the correction!) who goes after a racehorse who got loose at the gate:
From D. Barroby:
Loose horse from behind the gate pushes my horse into the rail. When their legs tangle I’m crushed between the rail and my collapsing pony. As the loose horse returns my Wife and I try a boxing maneuver. The loose horse then attempts to jump the outside rail forcing my Wife to back off and in so doing placing the loose horse again within my reach. Unknown to me my saddle was damaged in our collision with the rail so as I make the grab my right stirrup breaks away. The loose horse was unharmed but my horse suffered a small puncture wound on his left leg. With bute and a course of antibiotics he should be fine. I received a minor concussion, bruised ribs, and a dislocated finger.
Still want to be an outrider?
