Excited with the new challenge – Nicky Rebuck with his wife Alaine and daughter, Megan
Former professional jockey Nicky Roebuck says he is looking forward to the challenges facing him when he takes up the position of Riding Master at the SA Jockey Academy with effect from Monday 5 January 2015.
The 34 year old Roebuck returns to the academy in Shongweni KZN, exactly twenty years after he arrived as a starry-eyed teenager on his first tentative steps into the challenging world of horseracing.
The well-spoken Nicky Roebuck spent the first three and a half years of his apprenticeship in KZN and the balance in the Cape, where he was apprenticed to Penny Bester and rode many winners for the late James Lightheart and also for Mike Bass.
He rode freelance for most of his career and going to saddle at 53kgs the fit-as-a-fiddle natural sportsman had few weight issues.
He and his wife Alaine celebrated the birth of their daughter Megan 18 months ago. The family will be relocating from their home in Waterfall and will be residing on the SAJA premises.
On what had made his mind up to take the step to hand his licence in and take up a salaried position in the industry, Roebuck said that it was a combination of factors that had led to his decision.
“I have a young family to consider and have been looking at the possibilities of alternatives to race-riding for some time within horseracing. Unless you are a jockey for one of the major stables, it is extremely tough out there. I also had the option to ride overseas, but that is also not ideal with a wife and young daughter.”
Does he feel he is geared to face the unique challenges of training prospective young jockeys from varying cultures and family backgrounds?
“I have been race-riding and riding work with many of them, so I already know a lot of the students. I will continue to be monitoring them and riding with them in work in the mornings. I am also able to go out and play a game of squash, kick a ball around and generally interact with them. I also understand the difficulties and obstacles that face jockeys, so I can relate to what they are going through. And they will know that I have been there living that life and I hope to build on that constructive platform of mutual respect.”
“It is a great challenge and I am looking so forward to it,” he said.
