Colin Tinkler, Senior, was born in a nursing home in Darlington on 26 July 1926 to Winifred and Harold. They lived at Eaumont, Darlington.
When Colin was three, the family moved to Stockton to live in one of Harold's mother's houses.
In August, 1947, Colin bought his first racehorse - Brave Boy, for £300 - and entered it for a two & a half mile novice hurdle at Stratford on Saturday, 15 November. He intended to ride it himself.
The fact that Colin had not sat on a horse before seemed inconsequential, after all, he had some three weeks to learn. And learn, after a fashion, he did.
The preceding Sunday to the race, Colin hastily knocked up a miniature chase fence and popped Brave Lad over it twice. And stayed on. And that was the extent of their preparation.
Come race day, Colin and Brave Boy faced the starter. As did twenty four other runners.
Incredibly, and against his own expectations, Colin got round.
His next acquisition was 'Misinformed', a bay gelding of uncertain age and pedigree. It was entered in a hurdle race at Southwell on March 25.
Having worked down the pits, Colin - like every other miner - had developed a problem with his knees (caused by crawling around at the coalface).
The Monday before Southwell, he booked himself into a Nottingham hospital to try to rectify the situation. He assumed he would be out on Wednesday in time to ride Misinformed the following afternoon.
No such luck - when informed that he would be in hospital for at least a fortnight, Colin, on race day, 'escaped' from his ward and, cadging a lift, duly presented himself at the course.
It was not a good plan.
Horse and jockey crashed down at the first hurdle, bringing down six others.
Colin was knocked unconscious and returned to hospital.
Colin's two sons, Colin Junior & Nigel, both became jockeys.
Colin won the 1972 Greenall Whitley Chase at Haydock on Tregarron and, in the same season, rode his greatest number of winners, 24. He suffered a career-ending fall at Newcastle on November 14, 1982, when his horse, O'er The Border, ducked out just before the ninth fence. Colin was thrown against a concrete post, badly injuring his right eye. He also sustained multiple fractures in one of his legs and never recovered sufficiently to ride again.