Stories from the Saddle: Lucy Pickford
- pporacommittee
- Mar 25
- 7 min read
Lucy Pickford, from Long Newnton near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, didn’t have her first ride in a race until her early 30s, and took over seven years to ride her first winner, but finally got off the mark at Ston Easton on Sunday when Paint The Dream – who she bought earlier in the season from David Brace – took the latest contest in the Jockey Club ‘Hands and Heels’ Series for Novice Riders.
Lucy, who helps run her family’s livery yard as well as working as a driving instructor, talked to Jake Exelby afterwards about the reasons for her late start in the saddle, what victory meant to her, and the challenges associated with being a true amateur in an increasingly professional sport.
Talk me through your career in racing so far and how you got into point-to-pointing in the first place.
Mum’s always been into horses – she used to ride in points on horses trained by my grandad. The colours I ride in were his. My uncle on my father’s side, John Pickford, also rode. He died in a fall at Didmarton in 1978.
Growing up, I always did pony club and hunting. I was into eventing, and wanted to pursue that, but – as I got older – I realised I wasn’t good enough. The showjumping caught me out! So, I stuck to hunting – I was mad keen. We had three hunters at home, and I’d go out three or four days a week, but two of them retired, so I slowed down.
I left school and went to college but walked out of my A-Level course one day. My parents didn’t put up a fight – they knew they’d lost control! I worked for various people in eventing, then set up the livery yard at home – we had a lot of hunter liveries. I thought, ‘Do I want to do horses forever?’ so did a sports remedial massage course, but that wasn’t for me.
You didn’t start race-riding until your early thirties. Why didn’t you do it earlier and what made you start when you did?
I’d always had an interest in racing but stayed away because of what happened to my uncle. Then my good friend Will Woodman started pointing, I’d go and watch him, thought it was fun, and decided I had to do it too. I rang Polly Gundry, who I’d met a few times – she’s a lovely, helpful person, and couldn’t have been kinder.
I was looking for a schoolmaster but didn’t know where to start. Within a week, Polly called and said, ‘I’ve got the perfect horse’ – Tackler, who’d been with Marie McGuinness – and it went from there. He was an absolute dream, the most special horse, and grabbed my heart. He was plagued with bad luck and injury, and never got to show his talent, but couldn’t have been a better schoolmaster. He’s the kindest horse you could ever meet.
I had my first ride at Barbury, then went to Larkhill – for the first and last time – in a huge field. The next season, just before Covid, we ran at Brocklesby Park, then he suffered a career-ending injury at Didmarton. He’s still with us now, very happy in a field we call ‘God’s Waiting Room!’
How did being a driving instructor come about?
I’m quite a random person and needed to do something that I could work around the horses. I do my own diary and quite like driving. But the livery yard is still busy – we’ve got plenty of eventers for Matt Glentworth, who rode briefly in points for the Newmans when Josh was very young! He’s a great friend and it was such a shame that he was away this weekend and missed my first win.
Tell me an anecdote from your time teaching people to drive.
One of my worst pupils was an older lady who’d been beamed down from another planet! She didn’t know anything about the car, and I had to spend the whole lesson explaining how it worked. She didn’t even know where the pedals were!
How did you come to buy Paint The Dream this season?
A friend of mine, who knew Conor Brace, mentioned that he was being advertised on Facebook. I went to see him with Matt, and it was obvious that Conor genuinely loved the horse – he’d ridden him since he was four. We’ve kept in contact since and he’s given me advice on how to ride him.
We took him to Higham, then Ampton. People laugh at me and ask, ‘Why do you travel so far?’ But if the course, ground and race fit the horse, why not? The ground was perfect in East Anglia.
Talk me through your emotions during and after the race on Sunday.
I never go out with a huge plan. I just ride how I feel and try to react quickly and decisively. So, I thought I’d stay with the field, hang on tight, enjoy it and let him do the rest. It all panned out well – I’m convinced that Paint The Dream counted the fences and said, ‘Come on, let’s go’ jumping the cross fence!
I never let myself think, ‘We’re going well’ but landing over the last, I felt, ‘This isn’t too bad. It was a lovely feeling, so nice to finally be able to tick that box and relax. It’s always been my dream to have a winner.
You had your first ride in 2018. Was there ever a time when you didn’t think you’d ride a winner?
God yeah, all the time! On a couple of occasions, I unseated at the second last when going well. I remember that happening at Badbury Rings on Scotchtown – that was my winner! There have always been knocks, like horses going wrong, and the pandemic.
Tell me about your other horses – Scotchtown and Write It Down.
I got Scotchtown through Carl Llewellyn, who’s helped me over the years. He was a lovely horse, but happier in the hunting field. He lost confidence with his wind and was difficult to train – we couldn’t gallop him before he went racing – but was a clever horse and so careful over his fences. We sold him and he’s having a lovely time doing dressage.
Write It Down is a very different character, a big old-fashioned type – a proper bloke! He’s horrible to school, but God does he jump. I was gutted when he went wrong at Wadebridge (which is what prompted Lucy to buy Paint The Dream) but he’s 100% sound and I’m hoping he’ll come back next year.
You’ve never had more than five rides in a season. What are the challenges of being an occasional race-rider and being a one-horse trainer on the family farm?
There are plenty of difficulties! We start them off at home, which is very flat, with not much land, and the ground gets wet early and quickly, then we take them to Aston Farm (on the Gatcombe Estate). I always work the horses on my own, and have zero concept of speed, always asking myself if I’m going quickly enough. And I have to work hard on my fitness, but nothing replicates riding in a race.
Which horse (not one of your own mounts) would you most like to ride?
I wouldn’t mind a spin on Killer Clown. I was out celebrating with my friend Daisy White (who rode her first Hunter Chase winner on the horse last week) the other night.
Which other jockeys do you admire?
Carl Llewellyn’s been great to me – he’s really helpful. I did my jockey training with him and had lessons on the Equicizer – I looked like a crane fly having a seizure! Professional sportspeople like him can give you small nuggets of information.
In pointing, Gina Andrews is a machine, isn’t she? And Lily Bradstock, who rode Write It Down at Lower Machen when I was ill. I’d never met her before, but she gave him a lovely ride. People in pointing are so kind.
What's your favourite course?
Eyebrows are always raised when I say I love Wadebridge. It’s like a rollercoaster and I like quirky tracks. Didmarton’s a wonderful course – there’s nothing more beautiful than the line of fences down the back straight.
What are your ambitions in pointing and racing? Do you intend to retire now that you’ve had your first winner?
No! Paint The Dream will probably go to Howick on Saturday. He’s as strong as an ox and always pisses off with me on the gallops. After his second at Ampton, he was so strong that he scared me. He sees his races as nothing more than a decent piece of work.
And it’s 100% that I’ll keep going next season. Write It Down was going to be my last horse, but the thought of not having that race-riding feeling was making me miserable! Because I’m older, I’m not going to go back to it in five years, so I’d be an absolute lunatic to give up now I’ve had a winner. My nerve’s better than ever!
What would you do if you were in charge of the sport?
I’m not sure there’s a huge amount I would do – racing and pointing do things better than most other equine sports. I’d like Members races to be for proper hunting folk, but don’t believe that’s realistic – this year, Didmarton opened its Members race to adjacent hunts.
You’re a keen hunter. What do you think will happen to pointing after a hunting ban?
I think it will get even more professional, with more point-to-points at rules courses. I can’t imagine every hunt will disappear and think people – like the Tucks at Didmarton – will keep pointing going. It’ll become more a grass roots stepping stone for young jockeys, and less for people like me. Hopefully that won’t happen, but I think it will.
What are your non-horsey hobbies?
Will Woodman and I go cycling in the summer – we’ve got all the gear and no idea. I always have to plan the route – Will can barely get himself out of Didmarton – and, on our last ride, I didn’t tell him how far we were going. We did 50 miles, via seven pubs, with a pint in each. We got home at 1am with no lights and no hi-vis jackets. The last section was the main road from Tetbury to Didmarton – I don’t know how we’re still alive!
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