Nathan Moscrop is definitely at his happiest when he is with the horses, whether caring for them or riding them. The first time that I saw him was in the early evening quietly schooling a horse in the ring at Wynbury. He was working on his own and in a world of his own, totally focused on getting the horse into a good rhythm so that the pair of them were working in harmony. My few brief words, when he was cooling the horse down, were to introduce myself and to arrange a meeting where we could talk about his work. As we did this he was to the point, but with a sense of reserve and, as an observer of people, it raised my curiosity. Some days later we met in the canteen after his work mates had given him considerable “stick”. “Why does she want to talk to you?” and much more of the same! You wait it will be your turn next!
Nathan is from the Newcastle area. He has a younger sister called Eva who is into pony racing and made it to this year’s finals to be held at Aintree. She teases Nathan as she says that she made it to Aintree before him! Aintree has always been associated with jumping and Nathan originally wanted to be a flat jockey. However, height got the better of him and there may be more to come. He is currently 5ft.11ins but does remind me that Tom Dreaper is 6ft 2ins tall. It is quite amazing because when you see either of them on a horse they look very compact.
A childhood trauma left Nathan without speech for a number of years and possibly contributed to his dyslexia. None of this held him back as it was apparent, from an early age, that he had an affinity with animals and at school a flair for photography and art and a love of sports. Nathan’s parents have always been involved with horses and training; his mother training point-to-point horses and teaching riding and his father was an amateur jockey. Nathan’s riding really started when he rode out with his sister on his mother’s cob called Sinbad who was a brown and white pony with a walleye! He was involved with the Pony Club; did show jumping and at 14 went from school to do a work experience placement in a flat yard. He showed an ability to settle young horses and build up their confidence. It was at this point he made his mind up that he wanted to be a jockey. His mother recalls his level of commitment in that he wrote a letter to Henrietta Knight to ask her for a job. In her response, whilst she pointed out that he was too young, she did ask him to keep in touch.
He left school at 16 with very credible results in photography and art but kept to his plans for a career as a jockey and took a place at the Northern Racing College. After one week he had secured employment with Ferdy at Wynbury. He started work in the stables caring for the horses and has shown his ability to present them well in that he has won the “best turned out” award on a number of occasions. Nathan was in good company when he joined the yard as he shared digs with P.J. McDonald, with whom he still regularly plays football. He has had a great deal of support from Ferdy and his staff and the other jockeys such as Graham Lee,Tom Dreaper and PJ. This has helped to build up his confidence.
Nathan’s first rides were in point to points. He had 35 – 40 rides last season in point to points and 6 rides under rules. He had 3 seconds and a first in a hunter chase at Hexham. His mother describes his first race as a “baptism of fire”. He showed a lot of courage as he rode a horse that had never jumped a chase fence in its life before! He has had the common experience of jockeys’ of breaking a collarbone on a horse that took a relentless hold and took to the front. His mother did express concerns about the safety aspects of jump racing but would never deter him from reaching for his goal of becoming a Conditional and then a Professional jockey. This season he had his first race on the track at Carlisle. After a difficult journey to the start he rode well with the trainer, the owner of the horse and his family there to support him. Now begins the hard climb up towards reaching his goal. He is fortunate to be in a place where there is much encouragement towards bringing on young riders and finding them rides and races. He understands the notion of discipline in relation to his work; to being his own person and not succumbing to negative peer pressure; to listening and taking on board all the advice he can get and sorting out which parts are right for him and the horse he is riding; to getting the basics right – like walking the track; reading the ground; watching and watching again recordings of races and to keeping fit and following a proper eating plan.
I asked him who were his role models with regard to racing. He replied he would like to aspire to Graham Lee’s style – quiet riding; into a rhythm and a lot of energy; Tony McCoy - who can make horse’s minds up for them; The wisdom of Tom Dreaper and Keith Mercer and all those that he works with who have and are being so supportive to him. He should also credit himself with being a role model to others in that, like most young people, he can express temper but never with a horse.
As our meeting drew to a close I felt my curiosity had been valid. He is a thoughtful young man with much more depth than one would give him credit for on first meeting. He has a genuine empathy with horses. When you meet him, wish him well and encourage him to talk about his work. The more he hones his communication skills with a wide range of people the more he will develop into a young man with a promising future.