03 March 2010 Pilots in Profile - Dave Mansell
by Carolyn Tanner
photo: Alex Harris
The focus of 'Pilots in Profile' turns to the season's busiest Rider so far, Dave Mansell.
Despite being a fairly late starter to the sport, Dave Mansell has been making up for lost time since. He has ridden over 100 winners between the flags, and has the reputation of being well able to cope with difficult horses. Last season he was runner-up in the national championship behind Thomas Greenall.
Date of birth: February 8th 1964
Marital status: My partner is successful Point-to-Point trainer Julie Houldey.
Job or profession: Self-employed landscape gardener.
Are you from a racing background? If not, how did you get started in Point-to-Pointing? An ex-girlfriend's parents had Pointers, and I thought "I could do that." Still haven't mastered it, but give it time.
What was your first ride in public? I rode into Bethlehem with Joseph and Mary!!
First winner - name the horse, Owner & Trainer, the date & the course: A mare I trained myself, Mis-E-Fishant, owned by a chap named Howard Turberfield, at Upton-on-Severn in March 1997. No-one was more amazed than I was. We were left clear at the last when Mark Rimell fell in front of us, and up the run-in I kept looking around thinking I must have taken a wrong turn - why else would I be in front??
Apart from the first winner, what has been your most memorable ride? That would be on a fantastic horse called Eskleybrook. After he lost his way a little under Rules, Nigel Twiston-Davies sent him back to his owner-breeder Vic Gethin, saying have a go Pointing with him. My partner at the time, Rachel Reynolds, did most of the work with him when Vic got him back, and Vic thought that there was still something a bit better than Pointing left in him, so he took out a permit, I did my Cat ‘B' course to ride against the pros, and in 2003 off we went to Sandown for a Grade B two-mile Chase. All week the papers were full of reports about Tiutchev, trained by Martin Pipe and to be ridden by Tony McCoy, who, after running at Sandown, was off to the Grand Jump (I think it was called) in Japan. We were 50-1, and I was 10lbs heavier than I should have been, even though I'd wasted my socks off. Well, we won, and the article the next day in a newspaper read "TUBBY GARDENER BEATS CHAMPION JOCKEY." It doesn't get any better than that!!
Is there a ride you look back on and think "could have done better?" All of them.
For which trainers to you mainly ride? Julie Houldey, Zoe Hammond, Lindsay White, and my good friend Steve Flook, who normally finds me something.
Who has been most influential on your riding career so far? My father. He was a factory worker who loved horses, and he taught me to ride. And Ken White, who rode for Fred Rimell and won the 1975 Champion Hurdle on Comedy Of Errors. He became a trainer and was my first boss - he taught me a great deal, although at the time I was too foolish to realise it.
Which are your favourite courses? And for what reasons? I've always enjoyed Upton-on-Severn because a lot of people I grew up with are there, and that's where I rode my first winner, but I could weep at the way the ground has been produced over the last few years. It's very sad.
What car do you drive? A Mitsubishi L200.
Name your perfect night in and perfect night out: In is wine, salmon and a dvd, followed by bread and butter pudding with vanilla custard (but not during the season!), and if we're out, good food and good company, followed by a club.
Where do you like to go on holiday? Mountain biking in the Alps.
Who would be your ideal travelling companions to the races? My lurcher Jack.
What's currently on your iPod? Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Gorillas, and Robbie Williams's "Swing When You're Winning."
What are your favourite films and TV programmes? Films are Avatar and Madagascar, and on TV, Ice Age.
What has been either your own funniest incident, or the most amusing thing you have seen or heard at the races? A group of us jockeys were in the men's changing tent at the Monmouthshire Point-to-Point, and we heard a commotion out the back of the tent. We went and had a look, and some poor chap had gone into the Portaloo and a bunch of his mates had pushed it over door side down, leaving the poor lad trapped. A couple of us, on hearing him (he could have been talking Russian, because I'd never heard language of that calibre before - or since, I hasten to add), rolled the loo over allowing him to make his exit. He then wanted to fight all of us, and it took some time to convince him that Adrian Wintle (who was at the front of our group) would never do such a foul deed, and that it was in fact his so-called mates who had played this merry little prank on him. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so blue, and he smelt a bit too!!
Who are your biggest heroes in racing? Point-to-Point secretaries. They have the patience of a saint. We all phone at the last minute - "If this splits could you?" and "If that splits would you?" Unsung heroes, the lot of them.
Which particular horse (in any discipline) would you like to ride? Pegasus - what a ride that would be!
Apart from race-riding, in what other sports do you participate? Cross-country and downhill mountain biking.
Do you have any regrets in your riding career to date? I wish I hadn't started so late, but I'm truly grateful for the chances I've been given. I love the job.
What ambitions do you have in racing? To keep going as long as possible, and hopefully stay in one piece.
What is your opinion on December racing? Anything that gives us a longer window for racing should be supported 100%.
What are your opinions on the changes in Point-to-Pointing in recent years, and what changes do you think would benefit the sport in the future? I'm a big fan of allowing more races to be open to four-year-olds, and maybe we should try to do more to attract series sponsors like the Brightwells Order of Excellence. Anything that puts a few more shillings back to our owners is good. After all, without their support there would be no horses to race, and many of the true enthusiasts do it on a shoestring budget purely because of their passion for our pastime. Long may it continue!!!
