Even people who are far from equestrian sports and who have seen horses mostly in pictures, have a rough idea of who a jockey is. But just about! The most common definition will sound somewhere like this: "the one who rides horses." However, how close is this formulation to reality? This we will understand.
No matter who rides, it is important how and where
To begin with, a tourist can go on horseback trips, and a peasant in a cart from the field, and the owner of the stable on the boardwalk. And while they all do not become jockeys. The term refers to specially trained athletes who participate in horse racing. Moreover, it is in races, and not on the run and not in a dressage demonstration - the one who drives a horse in a wagon or when showing a beautiful amble (show jumping) is called a rider. However, the person who first mounted the horse, and the one who does this regularly, will still remain a rider. Or a rider. Because the lexical meaning of the word “jockey” implies exactly an athlete participating in horse races (with or without obstacles), and for the most part this is his profession. There are, of course, amateur jockeys who have a different type of income, but they rarely participate in big jumps.
Origin of the term
Since horse racing was “invented” and made popular by the British, the word naturally has English roots. However, most linguists are inclined to believe that the basis is the French name Jacques in a diminutive form. After all, who was such a jockey at the time of the birth of equestrian sport? A teenager at the stables, who mounted a horse during a debate between horse owners and tried to prove that the one under his saddle was the fastest and most frisky. And just as a waiter is called a “garson” around the world, the diminutive Jackett (“Yashenka”) has transformed into a “jockey”. Incidentally, some countries still sometimes use teenagers as professional riders, although this has long been prohibited by the laws of all civilized states.
Jockey Requirements
From a physiological point of view, it is very simple to describe who a jockey is. This is a man up to thirty years of very thin physique (therefore they are usually low). Physical features are explained by the fact that, according to international rules, a horse must carry a strictly defined weight on horse races, which is calculated depending on the age and other parameters of the horse itself. Not a problem if the jockey weighs less - an extra load is simply hung on the horse. But if his weight exceeds the permissible, the athlete can be suspended from participating in the races. That is why the owners of the stables violate the law and put the boys on the run. And therefore, professional jockeys always go on a diet and by the age of thirty, without exception, have problems with their stomach - more often than ballerinas. By the same age, in most cases, the career of jockeys ends - they are replaced by younger, hardy and lightweight competitors.
It would seem that a significant part of the representatives of this profession should be women - they are both easier and lower than the opposite sex. However, there are only a few successful and productive women jockeys in the world. The most famous of them is Julia Crown, who participated in eighteen years of horse racing on more than 20 thousand horses and won $ 80 million on them.
Alternative profession
In the modern world, when asked about who a jockey is, most people will first remember the radio hosts and “turn on” in nightclubs. Although they are supposed to prefix "disk". It is difficult to say why they were assigned the title of jockeys. Maybe because they have to win, get ahead of their rivals in the craft? In this case, the meaning of the word "jockey" accurately conveys the spirit of horse racing, which are obsessed with real equestrians, and those who received their "title" in the alternative field.