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At the start of the jumps season, 1976, Steve Charlton - who had already spent four years with Arthur Stephenson - struck up a great relationship with Cliff Watt's small Bridlington stable. Steve, then attached to D. H. (Taffy) Williams's York stable, had eight rides for Watts and won on six of them.
Steve stayed with Taffy for two years.
On Monday, April 21, 1986, then aged 31, he came down at the last fence on Seal Moon at Carlisle. He broke his right leg and missed the rest of the season. He was to retire that year.
His biggest win came on Kelso Chant in the 1978 long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. Kelso Chant - an anagram of its sire's name, Shackleton - was owned by pub-owners Mr & Mrs Richardson from County Durham.
It was trained by Jumbo Wilkinson for whom Steve rode quite a few winners.
Steve also won won the Joan Mackay at Ayr.
Steve's first winner, Aquamanda, had come on June 29 at Newcastle in 1972 and, on retiring, he'd amassed 180 winners.
He then ran a valet business and tended all the Scottish courses plus more southerly ones like Market Rasen & Southwell.
Steve had been involved in the car accident which claimed the lives of Grand National winning jockey Ridley Lamb & Alan Merrigan.
The car had plunged into the harbour at Seahouses after the jockeys had left a pub where they had been enjoying drinks outside normal pub hours.
Stephen Foster Charlton was born on August 18, 1954.
He lived at 'Low Wood', 37, South Road, High Etherley, Bishop Auckland.
The most winners he ever rode in a season was 17.
His recreations were fishing and gardening.
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