Pete Burnham, a well-known figure on northern racecourses for many years, was Mick Easterby’s long-serving travelling head lad and box driver.
Born in 1942, Pete held a National Hunt jockey’s licence between 1964 and 1970 and rode some of Easterby’s hurdlers. He rode just two winners, the first of which came on Cap Spartel, the easy six-length victor of a Doncaster selling hurdle on March 23, 1965.
In stark contrast, Pete’s other winner was gained with a gritty short-head success aboard Hawcroft in a 26-runner Sedgefield novices’ hurdle on January 29, 1966.
Pete spent a total of 26 years working for Mick Easterby. He married one of Easterby’s stable girls in 1988.
Sadly, in November that same year he collapsed and died of a heart attack. He was 46. He left a son from his previous marriage.
The funeral took place at St Helen and the Holy Cross Parish Church, Sheriff Hutton. Paying tribute, Mick Easterby said of his long-serving employee: “Pete never let me down in all that time. He took horses all over the country and never made a mistake. He was priceless to me and is irreplaceable.”
