Stories from the Saddle: Charlie Marshall
- pporacommittee
- Nov 27, 2025
- 6 min read
Charlie Marshall has been one of the leading riders in the South East since he rode his first winner – on his debut ride – on Kornati Kid. All his family have ridden between the flags – parents Fraser and Charlotte briefly, while sister Izzie Hill is one of the leading female jockeys in Britain and brother Alfie has a 100% record in points, albeit from just one ride, and is a top eventer.
The 28-year-old is also the only British jockey to have won the Maryland Hunt Cup and combines working on wife Hannah Clarke’s family farm with helping her train a string of 16 point-to-pointers with running his own successful portable schooling fence company, Flexichase. Jake Exelby caught up with Charlie recently – after his impressive win on Catch Me Quick at Dunsmore – to find out how he fits everything into his busy life.
How did your victory in the Maryland Hunt Cup come about?
Through Hannah. We sold The Ballybreen Fox to Joe Davies, who I knew as the Willie Mullins of timber racing. I’d tried to get rides in the race previously, and Hannah told him I was desperate to do so. Joe texted me, said he might have a horse – Blackhall – and I rode him in the Timber Grand National the week before the Maryland Hunt Cup, finishing third.
Talk me through the ride, and your emotions afterwards.
Joe’s horses are so well trained, like showjumpers – every post and rail on his farm is jumpable. So, during the race, I just left it to Blackhall and made sure I kept my weight off his shoulders.
It didn’t sink in straight away. It was only when I got home that people in the wider racing world reached out to me that I realised how much it meant.
You rode a winner last season in the famous Valentine colours (pink with red hearts). Was that linked to your American trip?
After the Maryland Hunt Cup, Joe asked Hannah to find a horse for the Pardubice, which was Jeremy Pass. He was owned by Joy Slater – a relative of the Valentines – and ran in the big race in October before winning at Milborne St Andrew in January.
What have been your other career highlights?
It’s a bitter-sweet one, but I would have said the day I had a treble and Izzie a double at Charing. However, it was marred by the death of Keagan Kirkby.
Recently, I rode a winner at the Pardubice meeting last month. I’d been riding in the Czech Republic and Poland and managed to get a ride for the legendary Josef Vana in the amateurs’ hurdle.
Which has been your favourite horse?
Conkies Lad would be up there as an all-time favourite. Mum trained him and Alfie, Izzie and I all won Opens on him. He’s the only horse I’m aware of to have done that for three siblings.
Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride? And train?
I wouldn’t want to choose one to train – Hannah’s the brains! I’ve always really liked Famous Clermont – he’d be my dream ride. Connections have never been afraid to run him in the big races and Will Biddick gave him a masterful ride to win the Aintree Foxhunters.
What are your plans for the season? Give me a couple of horses to watch out for.
13 of our horses are maidens – I’m not sure if that’s good or bad! As I said, Hannah’s the brains… and the boss, and I’m the lead rider.
We wanted to take Catch Me Quick to the sales last year but sold him to long-standing owners of ours instead, to stay in the yard, as we decided to keep a good young horse to race. He jumps and stays, so running him in the two-mile bumper at Aintree last season wasn’t ideal, and we’ll target Hunter Chases later this season, maybe even the Restricted Final at Stratford.
Two four-year-olds to note are Luther, who came from Sam Curling’s and who we hope to run before Christmas and a once-raced horse called Global Chalange, who’ll be out in the New Year.
Who else are you going to be riding for?
Tim Underwood – he’s a lovely man, totally uncomplicated and trusts his jockey 110%. I get on well with him and Hannah and I sometimes go out on his boat in the summer.
I ride out and school for Will Biddick and hope to pick up a few of his spares.
How did Flexichase start and how’s it going?
We have schooling fences at home, which I built from barrels and frames, and jockeys coming here to school would say that I should sell them. I couldn’t do that with the way I’d built them, so I started using better materials and making them adjustable, and kept marketing them, targeting bigger yards.
In this country, the likes of Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have my fences, along with the Jockey Club at Lambourn. Then there’s Colin Bowe in Ireland, (former British jockey) Tom Garner in the USA and – among pointing trainers, Chris Barber, Will Biddick and Josh Newman. I recently schooled five youngsters round Dunsmore, and they’d all learnt to jump over my fences.
You’ll hopefully start seeing them on a point-to-point course in the not-too-distant future.
Which other jockeys do you admire?
Any tall jockey – for keeping their weight down! And the way that Will and Josh produce, train and ride their own horses is impressive.
What's your favourite course?
I enjoy the West Country tracks. I’d never been to Dunsmore until I won there the other day and I really like Trebudannon, even though I’ve never had a winner there – it’s got a small, local feel.
What are your ambitions in pointing and racing?
I went back to the USA last spring and rode two winners, and I’d love to ride in some of the more obscure (to UK racegoers) races abroad, like the Crystal Cup in Poland. They’re cross-country races that test your brain and nerve.
At home, just to win with our own nice young horses.
Your sister Izzie was champion jockey in 2023/24. Do you have a family rivalry with her?
We’re both competitive, but we’re not rivals and we look out for each other. Because I’m based in Dorset and she’s in Oxfordshire, we don’t actually ride against each other that often.
What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?
I’d like to see how we could make the cost of running fixtures less expensive, by sharing facilities between courses… like fences – plug, plug! The infrastructure needed to set-up a point-to-point is massive compared to the equivalent in the USA
You’re the PPORA rider representative for the South East. What does that involve?
Any queries that jockeys might have, which I either answer through my own experience or put forward to our committee. It’s important to be a friendly face, especially to younger jockeys, bridging the gap between ‘the powers and the people’. I do it in the South West as well, and try to be positive, rather than moan and groan.
How would you increase the number of owners and riders coming into the sport?
For owners, syndicates are a big thing, and I’d create a better owner experience for them. It’s not just about looking after winning connections – what about the owners of horses who pull up? For example, at Flete Park last year, we were welcomed as soon as we arrived. It’s important to make owners feel special, with ideas like dedicated parking – without them, you wouldn’t have a point-to-point.
It's difficult to get more riders. I’m probably one of the last jockeys to grow up on the hunting field – youngsters now go to racing school and, when they leave, can find it hard to get rides. My advice to young jockeys would be to stay loyal to your trainer and not flit from yard to yard. That way, you’re more likely to be rewarded with rides.
What are your non-horsey hobbies?
I’m an adrenalin junkie. On honeymoon, we went on a riding safari in South Africa and – in the summer – I like to do water sports. I love going out on boats and jet-skiing.
Charlie Marshall is sponsored by his own company Flexichase – who also sponsor champion jockey James King – this season.
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