Mollycoddled kids need blinkers applied
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday November 13, 2009
The transition to Little Lord Fauntleroys from something often recalled as being similar to child exploitation in a Dickensian work-house has had a detrimental effect on apprentice jockeys.Perhaps in bygone days they were a means of cheap labour, at times exploited physically and financially, all under the guise of what was best for them.Lately those who know €“ try Kevin Moses and Ron Quinton €“ believe apprentices have too much freedom: time to stray and spend money, which they get far too soon for their own good. Maybe the old school, where discipline and respect were major requirements, is too tough for the rising generation. Anyway, that's the message conveyed by Ken Stone, the school prefect or stable foreman under Theo Green, Australia's greatest tutor of apprentice jockeys.Stone saw the likes of Gordon Spinks, Quinton, John Duggan, Malcolm Johnston and Darren Beadman come as raw kids to the guiding hand of Green and leave as champions earning, in most cases, as much as the prime minister."Theo would walk away from handling apprentices now because of their situation: not living on the job, having cars, phones, managers and running their own business," Stone said. "Theo did all of that: manager, boss, money controller. If he couldn't he wouldn't take them on."A former flyweight contender, Green freely admitted he wasn't much of a jockey but we who knew him remember a great communicator with the patience to explain and nurture saddle talent. Many who came under his care didn't graduate with any title but he decreed that any, such as Stone, would graduate from his stable with the skills to earn a living. "He did that with me," related Stone, always too big to be a jockey. "[He] sent me away in a good situation, [as] a horse dentist. Another young bloke he got a job as a carpenter. When Peter Stanley came out of his time he wasn't good enough for [riding races] here so he got him a job in India. He called us 'his boys'. Anyone he took under his wing he looked after. The biggest thing you could give him later was being a success, not only as a jockey but in life."In those days apprentices were generally indentured until age 21. Trainers had complete control and rarely did apprentices transfer between stables, unlike now.Still, the teachers these days are mainly Green "boys", led by Maurice Logue, with assistants including Quinton and Johnston. It's the system that irks."Racing NSW allows the apprentices to be misled," Stone explained. "In our day they lived in the stable, stayed in the stable, they weren't living with girlfriends, they didn't have cars or phones ..."Stone spits out "phones" as though they are the devil's carrier pigeons. "The boss was 100 per cent behind us and wanted us 100 per cent behind him with dedication and approach," he added. "To be a successful apprentice your mind had to be totally concentrating on what you were doing. I can understand the confusion boys now have because of the free rein they have, getting mixed up with the hangers-on, people detrimental to them. Being misled. Getting into drugs."They get their money straight away [where previously they had to wait until they came out of their time], hangers-on ring them on the mobiles. Theo wouldn't put up with that. He wanted control and respect for which he gave them knowledge and opportunities [race rides]."But the learning process was intense and Green studied newcomers early to make sure they had the application and toughness to handle the lifestyle."Boys got up at 3am like everybody else," Stone explained. "Before they rode work they mucked out three boxes, got their horses ready, changed to riding gear and then rode until 8am or when the work was finished."Ron Quinton would then go and break in horses. Depending on whether they were riding in races, they would have a rest. If not they would start at 2.30pm. Ride exercise, do the boxes and the horses. The only time off was Saturday night and even then they had to be back at a reasonable hour. Up again Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon they had off, mostly with their family, and back on Sunday night. Regimented. Outside activities were limited so they could concentrate on what they had to do."The type of tuition depended on the preliminary education of the pupil. "Darren Beadman and Ron Quinton had been riding at pony schools," Stone pointed out. "[They had] natural horsemanship, could virtually start on racehorses. But Theo worked on their style from riding long [in the irons] to short. Positioning their body and weight ..."Malcolm Johnston and John Duggan had hardly been on a horse. He started them on a pony, riding in the ring. He would spend up to an hour at a time showing them where their feet had to be, their heads, their knees, how to balance. Sometimes he would sit them in a yard for up to half an hour and the pony wouldn't move. They were taught to carry their whip in the left hand even if they were right-handed. Being in Sydney, left-handed was better. When they got more experience they could switch to the right hand because it was natural."We had our hiccups with boys. You could only teach someone if they were willing to listen. It was like a brotherhood. We lived in each other's pockets. Even now I have a brotherly feeling towards them. That's how he moulded us as a team."As with the apprentices, Stone figures racing is ailing from "too much offialdom". "Look at the whips [issue]," he said. "Anyone that was cruel to a horse [in days past] was sorted out. He wouldn't be put on any more. It's like people. Some you would lend money to and some you wouldn't. Some need a hit around the arse and some don't."Put that down to apprentices, too. The teachers have the knowledge but the controlling body won't apply the stick to get a Green-type result.But that's hardly a problem unique to racing.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
