Scudamore, Peter

On 18 August that year, Peter made his début, riding the filly Stellemon in a 7 furlong race at Leicester. He finished unplaced.The following year, Saturday, April 10, he had his first point-to-point race at Belmont, which lay within eye-shot of the Abbey. It's headmaster came along to support him.

Riding Milford Boy and over-excited, he fell at the last right in front of the headmaster and some friends, who had all made the effort to attend.

Peter's first race under National Hunt Rules came just nine days later at Chepstow. He rode Jack de Lilo, trained by his father. He finished fourth, the first time he had completed.

He had to wait until 30 April, 1977, to win his first point-to-point. Riding Monty's Point, Peter's task was made easier by Entertainment’s mistake two fences out, but he still had to beat off the attentions of top rider John Docker.

The point-to-point season over, 18-year-old Peter went to work for Willie Stephenson, who had trained both a Derby and Grand National winner. Stephenson, as a jockey, had ridden the winners of the Manchester November Handicap and the Cambridgeshire: he had also ridden for King George V – during Peter's time at The Ridings in Royston, he learnt more from Stephenson than all his years at school.

Throughout the 1978-79 season, Peter worked for David Nicholson at his Condicote yard, but it was for Toby Balding that he would ride his first winner.

Balding had seen Peter in action at the point-to-points and, when

he found himself without a rider for Rolyat at Devon & Exeter (August 31, 1978, right) he recalled the young jockey and instructed his secretary to phone Nicholson.Despite clouting the last hurdle, Rolyat strolled home by 25 lengths turning Peter's dream into reality.

The pair then went on to win again in the Horse and Hound Handicap Hurdle at Newton Abbot and, suddenly, Peter was the flavour of the month in amateur races. It seemed that everybody wanted him to ride the horses: even David Nicholson stared given him rides.

Peter's first win for him was Jacko, which won at Worcester.

His first win of any real importance came in 1979 in the race after Rubstic's National: riding Mac's Chariot he beat the New Zealand horse by eight lengths.

This was the year that Peter rode his one and only winner on the Flat, Pigeon's Nest at Galway for Jim Bolger on 31 July.

That autumn he returned from his summer stint helping out at Bolger's yard to David Nicholson's.

The question at the back of Peter's mind was should he turn professional.

On November 21, at Worcester, he did and - riding as plain P. Scudamore – landed a double.

Soon after, Peter found himself riding for two stable, Nicholson's and Fred Rimell's. Rimell had wanted Peter to ride as stable jockey, replacing the Tinkler brothers, but – on his father's advice – Peter decided to ride for both yards until the end of the season.

It was a good arrangement: by February 6, 1980, he had ridden 34 winners. Then, that afternoon at Haydock, Lady Luck changed her tune. Peter broke his right lower leg when a horse cannoned into him.

Any thoughts of riding again that season were quickly dismissed: instead, he got married on May 29 at Belmont Abbey. His bride was Marilyn: his best man was Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Peter and Marilyn took a two-month honeymoon in Norway.

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Jonjo O'Neil has been odds-on favourite to win the National Hunt jockeys' championship the following season (1980-81), but a dreadful fall at Bangor ended his chance - by the New Year only Peter and John Francome were realistically in contention.

Peter's career had taken an upward step: Broadsword was the first good horse he rode but it was Silent Valley that gave him his first chance of success in a major race, the 1980 Hennessy. Peter finished second behind Bright Highway.

Came the spring, and Peter headed towards Cheltenham to take his first professional rides at the Festival. He thought his best chance might come on Broadsword, which had been made favourite for the Triumph Hurdle. It was not to be: Broadsword was outstayed up the hill by the 66-1 outsider Baron Blakeney, giving Martin Pipe his first ever big race win.

Then, that April, it was on to Aintree and Peter's first assault on the Grand National, a race in which his father had ridden in on sixteen consecutive years. He finished twelfth on Cheers.

That season's championship went to the brilliant John Francome. John had been six ahead of Peter with five weeks of the season to go, but a fall from a horse called Salad at the notoriously difficult Taunton track (once described by Francome as 'the wall of death') put paid to Peter's chances.

His turn came the following season, albeit courtesy of John Francome.

By mid-April, Peter was twenty winners ahead of John, but a fall from Prairie Master Southwell on 26 April resulted in a broken left arm. 

John Francome phoned and pledged that if he drew level with Peter, he would stop riding for the season. 

On equalling Peter's total of 121, he did just that, enabling them to share the championship.

Peter then went on to enjoy one of the most successful careers ever in which he secured 1,678 winners (688 in steeplechases & 990 over hurdles). He rode from 1978 to 1993 and became champion jockey eight times.

792 of those winners were for the Martin Pipe stable, the first of which being Hieronymous (left) at Haydock on 2 March, 1985.

Peter's biggest wins included:

1984:  Swinton Insurance Handicap Hurdle - Bajan Sunshine

1985:  Welsh Grand National - Run And Skip

1986:  Triumph Hurdle - Solar Cloud

1986:  Ritz Club National Hunt Chase - Charter Party

1987:  Queen Mother Champion Chase - Pearlyman

1988:  Welsh Grand National - Bonanza Boy

1988:  Champion Hurdle - Celtic Shot

1988:  Hennessy Gold Cup - Strands of Gold

1988:  Mackeson Gold Cup - Pegwell Bay

1989:  Welsh Grand National - Bonanza Boy

1991:  Welsh Grand National - Carvill's Hill

1991:  Sun Alliance -Rolling Ball

1991:  Hennessy Gold Cup - Strands of Gold

1992:  Sun Alliance - Minnehoma

1993:  Imperial Cup - Olympian

1993:  Sun Alliance - Young Hustler

1993:  Champion Hurdle - Celtic Shot

Peter's three unsuccessful Grand National assaults bear the telling.

In 1985, Ben de Haan was booked to ride the 1983 winner, Corbiere (named after an area of Jersey). Unluckily, he (de Haan) had been kicked by a horse in the unsaddling enclosure at Wolverhampton, and Peter, who had already won on the horse, was approached by Corbiere's trainer, Jenny Pitman, to deputise.

Having accepted the ride, his mount in the Topham Trophy, Burnt Oak, fell heavily when leading at the fence before Becher's, breaking Peter's nose and badly bruising the calf muscle of his left leg.

Two days later, despite a heavily-strapped leg, he was passed fit to ride.

Peter, later recalling the race, said: 'Corbiere was a bit frightened of the ditches. It's the width of the fences that catch them out second or third time, rather than the height. Having been round there before, they know it hurts their back legs if they drag them through, so they're a bit sensitive. Corbiere was a bit hesitant at the first ditch but after that he was brilliant.

'From three out, as we came back onto the racecourse proper, I thought he'd win from that point. He'd done all the hard work. I'd produced him at the right place in the race and it was whether he'd gallop home from there. Unfortunately, two galloped home quicker.'

Peter's second Grand National mount, in 1988, was Strands of Gold, trained by Martin Pipe.

He recalls: 'The horse had just come from Jimmy Fitzgerald. He gave me a great ride throughout the first circuit and on the run to Becher's, on the inside, jumping boldly. But at Becher's, when I asked him to quicken to jump out over the drop, no stride came and he hit the fence very hard, landed too steeply, and there I was, picking myself up off the floor. It was a gut-wrencher at the time.'

Peter had his last ride in the race in the infamous void National of 1993.

He partnered Captain Dibble and later recalled: 'I looked back after Becher's and thought "Bloody hell, there's not many left". Then you concentrate, over Valentine's, turning into the home straight and you've almost done a circuit and you're beginning to think about how well you're going and getting a position.

'I got to he Chair and there were two bollards in front of it. I thought "We haven't jumped the Chair so there can't be anybody lying on the other side of it: there can't be anything wrong". Mine knocked the bollards out of the way, still jumped the Chair, and when I landed on he other side I saw everyone flagging us down.'

Just four days later, on Wednesday, 7 April, 1993, he surprised the racing world by announcing his retirement.

He was 34 years of age. He said then: 'I thought it was time. It's a young man's game and I felt that I'd done enough.'

He added: 'Sometimes i look back at my autobiography and think "I wish I Could still go out and do it". Then I see somebody turn over at the last and I thank God that I got out in one piece.'

Peter joined forces with Nigel Twiston-Davies and shared the joy of turning out two Grand National winners, Earth Summit and Bindaree.

Peter, who stands at 5 ft 8ins., nowadays resides in Scotland.