17 February 2010 Former Riders: Rory Lawther
by Carolyn Tanner
RORY LAWTHER: Pictured riding Another Coral at Cheltenham
The focus of our Former Riders series turns to Rory Lawther, winner of 62 Point-to-Points.
Rory Lawther was South Midlands Area champion on two occasions, sharing the title with Jon Trice-Rolph in 1997 and winning outright in 2000, the same year in which he also took the Sandhurst Area award. His final ride was on Seabrook Lad in an Amateur Riders Chase at Ludlow in 2001. His interest in racing was kindled at an early age, his father having been the racecourse vet for United Racecourses at Kempton and Sandown, while his grandfather trained, on a small scale, in Ireland.
Where are you based? Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
For how many years did you ride, & how many winners did you partner? I rode for 29 seasons and partnered 70 winners - 62 in Point-to-Points and eight under Rules.
Why did you retire from race-riding? I stopped bouncing!
What is your job or profession? I've been a registered farrier for over 30 years.
First winner - name the horse, Owner & Trainer, the date & the course: It was a walkover in the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt race on Well Refined, owned and trained by my mother Janet, on 12 May 1976 at Kingston Blount. My first competitive success was the following season at Kimble, also in the Hunt race, on Lady Carinya. She landed on her nose over the last, but luckily her head came up and we just held on to win.
Apart from the first winner, what was your most memorable ride? There were several memorable ones, but I will never forget Gildrom, trained by Ginny Elliot, winning a Confined at Dunthrop by a street in 2001. I literally only had to steer him round the bends. Also when I rode four horses at the final Area meeting of the season at Kingston Blount in 2000. They all won, which secured me the Area championship for the second time.
Of which horses do you have particularly fond memories? Causeway Cruiser helped put me on the map. The best horses I have sat on, in addition to Gildrom, include Wild Illusion, winner of 15 Points and 11 Hunter Chases, Another Coral, who won the Mackeson and the Tripleprint Gold Cups when trained by David Nicholson, as well as the 1985 Cheltenham Foxhunter winner Elmboy - I partnered him in his first race as a five-year-old.
I've also got great memories of riding against some of the best jockeys in the business, David Turner and Julian Pritchard to name just two.
What do you miss about no longer riding? Not much!
Which were your favourite courses? Towcester, Kimble and Kingston Blount were lucky courses for me. I won the 1991 Land Rover final on Granny's Prayer and the 1992 Times Championship final on Astoar, both at Towcester.
I was twice leading rider at Kimble in the days when George Schneiders, who owned Marlyn Menswear, was course Chairman and donated a made-to-measure suit to the leading Rider on the day. My wardrobe was significantly enhanced by those successes!
Which particular horse would you like to ride in a race now? Denman - he's just the complete racehorse.
What car do you drive? A Ford Transit for work and a convertible Renault Megane (my wife Karen's) for socialising.
Name your perfect night in & perfect night out: In is a supper party with friends. Out is any good party with friends! We're always the last to leave!
Where do you like to go on holiday? For the last six years we have holidayed with friends who had winning Pointers with us. They used to live in the same village, but moved to a lovely old unspoilt part of Southern Spain, near Granada.
What's your favourite kind of music? It varies from Elvis Presley to the Rolling Stones; any rock music really and I love going to concerts. Karen prefers Classic FM, which I find really depressing, so she listens to it when I'm not around!
What are your favourite films and TV programmes? I like a good Western and any televised jump racing.
Are you still involved with Point-to-Pointing in any way? Yes, I act as a starter in the South Midlands and Karen and I train Pointers. I can't imagine not being involved in some way, as it's been a huge part of my life.
What has been your own funniest incident, or the most amusing thing you have seen or heard at the races? The most amusing thing I see at the races has got to be Tim Underwood!
My own funniest incident was when Spring Sabre (a notoriously unruly Pointer) dumped me on top of a blackthorn hedge after a circuit at Ashorne, disappeared down a six foot ditch, and came up the other side without a scratch on him. I hated him, but we had him here for a while and he and Karen really clicked, to the extent that she ended up buying him. He turned out to be a superb hunter.
Who were (or still are) your biggest heroes in racing? Lester Piggott and Terry Biddlecombe.
Who do you consider to be the most promising young riders in Pointing today? Phillip York and David Mansell!!
Years ago we used to ride anything and everything and although there are some good young riders about today, a lot of them won't get on a difficult horse. Of course you need to be aware of the risks, but race-riding isn't all about steering jobs!
What are the biggest changes you have seen in the sport over the years, & are there any others you would like to see brought in? The biggest changes are improved safety features such as plastic wings and running rails and better skull caps and body protectors. Weight allowances for young horses have been a good thing, as has Sunday racing.
Also, the advent of pony racing gives excellent opportunities to the young riders who will be the future of Point-to-Pointing.
The sport is as good as ever, I feel, with no further drastic changes necessary.
