Amateur jockey Lois says race riding is 'a totally different ball game' as she trains for Macmillan Ride of their Lives

Lois Teal from Malton is one of the seven Yorkshire jockeys picked for the Ernest Cooper Macmillan Ride of Their Lives in June and the 23-year-old said so far things were going really well.

“I’ve never been on a racing yard before, but I have had so much support,” she said.

More used to eventing – Lois won the Badminton grassroots championship in 2018 – she said race riding is a very different experience.

“It is a totally different ball game and felt really alien to begin with. Riding shorter means your balance is in a different place and when you want to stop it is not so easy. There is also the surge of power on a racehorse which is different to riding other horses, but I am absolutely loving it.”

Lois is training with Richard Fahey in Malton who will provide her with a horse on race day and also Richie McGarth in Middleham to get as much race riding experience as possible.

With Cheltenham swiftly approaching the months seem to be racing by - Jo FosterWe are venturing far and wide to get fast work into the racehorses without putting them at risk of injury - Jo FosterHowever, she is also picking up plenty of tips from other jockeys including her successful point to point riding brother, Jack, former Grand National winner, Graham Lee, and jockey coach, Phil Kinsella.

Having finished her degree, Lois, who plans to train as a PE teacher, was all set to spend a year in New Zealand but things changed when she was selected for the Ride of Their Lives.

“It is such a privilege to have been chosen, I have to take it seriously and that means training as hard as I can,” she said.

Inspired to apply by seeing the bravery of a little girl she used to teach at Pony Club who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of five, Lois said her strength throughout was “unreal”.

“Although she’s now cancer free she’s living with the side effects of the treatment which isn’t easy for her.”

Lois’s godfather is also currently undergoing treatment for cancer at the Sir Robert Ogden Centre in Harrogate and she said Macmillan’s work is “truly invaluable”.

“I would love nothing more than to raise a lot of money for such a worthy charity and he’d be so proud of me, riding at such a prestigious venue.”

Lois is riding out several times every day and said she is working on being more adaptable when riding different horses.

“I have electric hands and can struggle to keep a lid on it and settle them so I am practicing hard on that.”