Gihan Arnolda

Of Spanish descent, Gihan Nicholas Arnolda served his apprenticeship with Lady Anne Herries at Angmering Park, Littlehampton. 

He rode his first winner on Knave's Ash in the Levy Board Apprentice Handicap at Thirsk on July 24, 1998. 

He had over 200 rides on the Flat from 1998 to 2009 and rode six winners, the last of them on Efidium, trained by Neville Bycroft, in a one-mile handicap at Redcar on June 22, 2007, before his riding career was ended by a broken pelvis in a race at Yarmouth.

Gihan turned to JETS (Jockeys Employment & Training Scheme) for guidance on how to become a chef (his second choice of career) and a JETS grant helped him to gain his Diploma in Professional Cookery at York College. He gained Distinction marks for all three years, progressing from Level 1 to Level 3.

Gihan combined his training with work experience in a number of restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Reads, in Kent and as Chef de Partie for the Royal York Hotel. He is now a professional chef at ‘Meltons Too’ restaurant in York. 

Gihan’s career development efforts won him the Richard Davis Injured Jockeys Fund Progress Award in 2011.