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Richard was born on July 21, 1977, and his
story begins at the Larkhill point-to-point meeting, 27 April, 1994.
Then sixteen, he was to make his riding debut in public, and the vehicle chosen to share this auspicious occasion was the seven year old Rusty Bridge who, having already won a couple of point-to-points, knew a bit more about the game than his rookie rider.
Richard and Rusty came fifth.
It was a different story next time out: in the prophetically named 'the Next Generation Hunters Chase', the pair, starting at 25/1, held on by a neck to beat The Malakarma.Richard had jumped the last some five lengths to the good, but Rusty Bridge drifted alarmingly across the course, eventually just holding on.
Richard, now riding for the David Nicholson Jackdaw Stables, turned professional in mid-November. He had wanted to turn professional earlier that year but Nicholson insisted that he remained an amateur so that he could ride in the amateur races on the Flat during the summer.
That insistence saw a dramatic improvement in Richard's riding.
He hired top agent Dave Roberts to look after him and quickly clicked into gear. The winners came readily - Maggotts Green won several times for him - and his weight allowance quickly vanished.
Earlier that summer, Richard had been approached by Noel Chance, a private trainer, who was looking for a 7lb claimer to take some weight off his runners. The partnership got off to a perfect start when Monty Royale won for Richard at 10/1.
Three months after that, Michael Worcester - for whom Noel Chance trained - sent Chance another horse, Mr Mulligan. Richard first rode him in September, 1995, winning a long-distance novice hurdle at Uttoxeter. Mr Mulligan would go on to greater glory, but without Richard.
Missing the three-day meeting at Cheltenham (broken collarbone), Richard recovered in time to steer Mr Mulligan to an effortless victory in Wetherby's Townton Chase. In mid-February, Mr Mulligan scored again in the Reynoldstown Novice Chase at Ascot, again by 15 lengths, to become the favourite for the Arkle.
For the next couple of seasons Richard and Chance shared a fair number of winners.
In the autumn of 1994, then in his second year at Jackdaws, he sat on Aznum for the first time for schooling purposes. Two months later, Nicholson decided that the horse was ready to.
Richard's best friend, Warren Marston, was given the ride, and duly won by nine lengths.
Aznum, winning its first six races and installed as that year's Triumph Hurdle favourite, was proving rather special.
Anzum, in 1999, went on to provide 21-year-old Richard with his first ever Cheltenham Festival winner.
For this excellent ride, Richard received the Ride of the Year Award.
After riding Flying Instructor to victory in the 1996 City Index Spread Betting Hurdle, Richard received this glowing report from David Nicholson:
'That was the ride of the season for kicking & pushing. You don't often see anyone - Maguire, Dunwoody or anybody - kick and push a horse for three miles. I think he only hit him twice behind the saddle. He was never on the bridele, even going to the first flight of hurdles. He was beaten all the ay. It was brilliant.'
Cheltenham was to prove a happy hunting ground for him.
The following season he won the greatest prize of all, the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Looks Like Trouble.
In 2002 he took the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Flagship Uberalles and the next season he won the Champion Hurdle on the ill-fated grey, Rooster Booster.
Richard hit another milestone in 2003 when he became only the eighth NH jockey to ride 1,000 in Britain.
On 16 December, 2009, he doubled this figure on board Fighting Chance at Newbury.
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