Hollie Doyle is a Flat Jockey. At just 23, she is set to break the record for annual Flat wins achieved by a female jockey in a calendar year – with 92 victories under her belt for 2019 so far.
Racing is in Hollie’s blood. It is all she has ever known. And she’s happy that old stereotypes about female jockeys are finally being put to bed.
‘I was born into racing really,’ explains Hollie. ‘Dad rode on the Flat and over jumps and my mum rode in Arab racing.
‘My Grandma bred Arabs and raced them too, so I have always been around horse racing. My Dad had point-to-point horses when I was really young. I have not looked back or been interested in anything else, ever.’
Up until recently, female jockeys were still relatively rare, but it’s changing quickly. And Hollie thinks archaic attitudes are changing too. She knows female athletes are more than capable of excelling at the elite level.
‘There may have been times where trainers have been a bit shy towards using me because I am female,’ Hollie tells us.
‘Perhaps people were quite old fashioned beforehand, which is why women had fewer opportunities – but I think the approach to female jockeys has changed massively now.
‘People are realising that, if given the opportunity, female jockeys are just as good as men.
‘You have got to have your own mindset too. If you go into the game thinking: “I am not going to do well because I am a girl and I am disadvantaged”, you won’t be helping yourself. It is the wrong way to go about it.
‘There are many successful female jockeys on the scene at the moment and this is only going to increase.’
Being a jockey is a dangerous game, and Hollie has had her fair share of falls, breaks and bruises. But she knows that’s just part of the deal and she doesn’t let fear put her off her game.
‘I have broken quite a lot of bones over the years, but the worst for me is the head injuries I’ve had.
‘You might look physically fine but mentally you are not. Even though I felt fine at the time, a head injury did effect me for quite a while and it was very frustrating that I couldn’t ride and was missing out on races.
‘I got kicked in the face and lost my teeth and, at the time, I was quite relaxed about it and remember thinking to myself; “oh whatever you can get new teeth”.
‘But I have only just got everything fixed now, it took over a year – which felt like a long drag. I was very busy racing, so I probably wasn’t the best patient for a quick fix.’
The psychological impact of injury hits Hollie harder than the physical. Racing is her life, so when she can’t do that for any period of time, she feels at a loss.
‘It is not great as a jockey getting knocked back and put on the sidelines,’ she says.
‘We are so busy day-to-day that we don’t really know what to do with ourselves when we have time off, so it’s a case of getting back as soon as you can when you have a bad fall.
‘I think after every fall I have had, I have been there the next day, no matter what has happened, to try and get back on track as quick as I can.
‘It’s great that we have the Injured Jockey Fund to help and support us as jockeys when we need it too. If we didn’t have that I think that things would be very different. There have definitely been a few occasions where I have had to pull myself up from feeling low after injury.’
But, despite the low moments, Hollie’s sheer love for the sport keeps her pushing on. When your day job produces that much adrenaline, it’s not hard to see where the appeal comes from.
‘A lot of the love for the sport that you experience as a jockey is the thrill that you get from riding in races,’ says Hollie. ‘Although a lot of it is down to lifestyle too.
‘It is not your usual nine-to-five job, it is a lifestyle, and you don’t even think of it as going to work every day, even though it is very hard.
‘I just love horses too, so it is great that I have a job where I can work with them every day.’
Looking to the future, Hollie’s dreaming big and wants to continue her successful streak.
‘I just want to keep riding as many winners as I can and keep improving,’ says Hollie. ‘I am looking forward to QIPCO British Champions Day to end the season, it is great to be surrounded by jockeys and horses at the top of their game.
‘I’m yet to ride my first group winner, so that would be a good goal to set and I am hoping to achieve that in the next year or two.’
So, what does Hollie think makes a strong woman? It’s all about the ability to bounce back and keep fighting.
‘I think that you have to be resilient,’ she says. ‘I think being a strong woman is about staying focussed and not letting setbacks bring you down, whether that is mentally or physically – resilience is key.’
Hollie is currently lying 13th in the Flat Jockey Championships. The Champion Jockey will be crowned at QIPCO British Champions Day on the 19 October at Ascot.
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