An Evening with Jump Jockey Liam Harrison

Last night, we were delighted to welcome Liam Harrison as our guest speaker, giving us a great insight into his career as a jump jockey.

Liam’s story is a little different to many in racing – he didn’t even sit on a pony until the age of nine. His first rides were at The Meadows, of all places, on a pony called Jazz – though, by his own admission, football was still his main passion at the time!

That all changed when Liam tried pony racing at Wincanton at just 10 years old. Working his way up the ranks with a series of inexpensive ponies, he poured time and effort into one in particular – Harry. Together they went all the way to the Cheltenham Pony Racing Finals, where they claimed a memorable win.

From there, Liam began training with Neil Mulholland, spending his Fridays and weekends riding out – with his mum acting as “taxi driver” to get him there and back. By the age of 15 he had applied for his racing licence, ready for life after school. His first win came at just 16 – on the very same day he collected his GCSE results – riding Magical Thomas.

After building his experience in point-to-point racing, Liam rode an incredible 13 winners in his first season. In October 2019, he achieved another milestone with his first Cheltenham winner.

Liam is now a Freelance Jump Jockey, riding out at multiple yards across Somerset, Warwickshire, Swindon and the Cotswolds. Since his first winner back in 2018, he has gone on to ride over 100 winners, including memorable victories at Cheltenham and other top tracks. With his talent, hard work and obvious love for the sport, the future looks very bright for him.

It was a brilliant evening full of insight, humour and inspiration – a huge thank you to Liam for sharing his journey with us. 🐎💙🧡