Dominic Elsworth
Dominic Sebastian Elsworth was born in Guiseley, Yorkshire, on January 17, 1980. As a youngster, he used to show-jump ponies and go hunting before spending a decade at the High Eldwick yard of Sue and Harvey Smith. He rode his first winner on Moonshine Dancer at Catterick on February 11, 1999.
Dominic Sebastian Elsworth was born in Guiseley, Yorkshire, on January 17, 1980. As a youngster, he used to show-jump ponies and go hunting before spending a decade at the High Eldwick yard of Sue and Harvey Smith. He rode his first winner on Moonshine Dancer at Catterick on February 11, 1999.
He achieved his first big success on Ardent Scout in the 2002 Becher Chase over the Grand National fences. He won 13 races on Sue Smith’s Mister McGoldrick including Wetherby’s Grade 2 Castleford Chase in 2005 and the 2008 Racing Post Plate at the Cheltenham Festival.
He achieved his first big success on Ardent Scout in the 2002 Becher Chase over the Grand National fences. He won 13 races on Sue Smith’s Mister McGoldrick including Wetherby’s Grade 2 Castleford Chase in 2005 and the 2008 Racing Post Plate at the Cheltenham Festival.
Dominic then made the decision to move south in pursuit of further opportunities and joined Oliver Sherwood’s stable. He was taking his career to a new level when he drove to Ffos Las in August 2009 to ride Keepitsecret in a three-mile chase. The horse fell and Dominic was hurled head first into the ground. It took over 20 minutes to resuscitate him, as the fall had taken the fluid that protects the skull from the brain. On the Glasgow Coma Scale – five being alive and zero being dead – he was classed as one.
Dominic then made the decision to move south in pursuit of further opportunities and joined Oliver Sherwood’s stable. He was taking his career to a new level when he drove to Ffos Las in August 2009 to ride Keepitsecret in a three-mile chase. The horse fell and Dominic was hurled head first into the ground. It took over 20 minutes to resuscitate him, as the fall had taken the fluid that protects the skull from the brain. On the Glasgow Coma Scale – five being alive and zero being dead – he was classed as one.
Even when he was released from hospital, the effects of the bruising on his brain left him with little co-ordination. He could not walk up or down steps. He had poor speech and did not have the balance needed to ride a bicycle, never mind a horse.
Even when he was released from hospital, the effects of the bruising on his brain left him with little co-ordination. He could not walk up or down steps. He had poor speech and did not have the balance needed to ride a bicycle, never mind a horse.
He was out of action for 14 months. By then he had lost his job as stable jockey to Oliver Sherwood, but he defied the Lambourn trainer – and others who had doubted his powers of recovery – by winning on his comeback ride at Cheltenham in October 2010 aboard the Paul Webber-trained Edgbriar.
He was out of action for 14 months. By then he had lost his job as stable jockey to Oliver Sherwood, but he defied the Lambourn trainer – and others who had doubted his powers of recovery – by winning on his comeback ride at Cheltenham in October 2010 aboard the Paul Webber-trained Edgbriar.
Further success followed after he forged a successful alliance with three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight and her partner Terry Biddlecombe. Somersby’s win in the Grade One Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot in January 2012 provided Dominic with his first – and only – win at the highest level. Other wins followed on the popular steeplechaser, including Exeter’s Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup. He finished second on Somersby in the 2013 Tingle Creek Chase and in the 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase. He also rode horses of the calibre of Calgary Bay, on whom he won Doncaster’s Great Yorkshire Chase in 2012. However, when Knight stopped training to look after the ailing Biddlecombe, who subsequently died in early 2014, Dominic lost his most important ally.
Further success followed after he forged a successful alliance with three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight and her partner Terry Biddlecombe. Somersby’s win in the Grade One Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot in January 2012 provided Dominic with his first – and only – win at the highest level. Other wins followed on the popular steeplechaser, including Exeter’s Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup. He finished second on Somersby in the 2013 Tingle Creek Chase and in the 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase. He also rode horses of the calibre of Calgary Bay, on whom he won Doncaster’s Great Yorkshire Chase in 2012. However, when Knight stopped training to look after the ailing Biddlecombe, who subsequently died in early 2014, Dominic lost his most important ally.
He retired in 2015, aged 35, and started working for the Chanelle Group – headed by 20-times champion jockey Sir AP McCoy’s wife Chanelle and which supplies the veterinary industry with pharmaceutical products.
He retired in 2015, aged 35, and started working for the Chanelle Group – headed by 20-times champion jockey Sir AP McCoy’s wife Chanelle and which supplies the veterinary industry with pharmaceutical products.
He also works as a jockey coach, his protégés including former champion jockey Jonjo O’Neill’s son Jonjo junior, Flat apprentice and rising star Harry Burns and his god-daughter Louise Bannister, whose first point-to-point ride, on her 16th birthday, was a winning one.
He also works as a jockey coach, his protégés including former champion jockey Jonjo O’Neill’s son Jonjo junior, Flat apprentice and rising star Harry Burns and his god-daughter Louise Bannister, whose first point-to-point ride, on her 16th birthday, was a winning one.