Mr D. Canney

Despite being born deaf and dumb, Mr D. Canney, from County Clare, was regarded as one of the best riders in the south of Ireland. However, he did not impress many in England on 2nd April 1864 when he rode for the only time in the National Hunt Chase, held that year at Burton Lazars, near Melton Mowbray.

Mr. Canney's mount was Lord George, an Irish-bred chestnut owned by Mr Edward Studd, whose second runner in the race was the Leicestershire horse, Cooksborough, a 17-hands light chestnut named after a town near Mullingar. The stable money was on Lord George, with which Mr Studd had declared to win.

Lord George led early, was briefly headed by The Miller, the mount of Captain Henry Coventry, but was soon back in front. As the runners neared the brow of the hill and the running flag, both Scarborough and Sir Robert had gone past him, but they were then cut up by Mr Canney, almost knocking them over. Their riders shouted and vitriolically abused Mr Canney with all their might, but to no avail as the recipient of their oaths was unable to hear them.

Lord George might well have won the race but, shortly after that incident, Mr Canney lost control and the horse bolted, overshooting a turning flag by some three hundred yards. Bystanders, trying to prevent the horse running out, yelled in vain at the deaf and dumb jockey.

Cooksborough went on to win easily, only to be later disqualified following an objection by the owner of the runner-up, Game Chicken, on the grounds that his rider, Mr F. Loton, was not entitled to ride according to the conditions of the race because he has ‘ridden for hire’ and therefore was not an amateur. Apparently, Mr Loton was seen receiving £5 towards expenses by the owner of a horse he was due to ride at Liverpool, which was deemed sufficient to warrant the disqualification. There was some scepticism in the press afterwards that the same charge could have been brought against several other riders in the race.

Sadly, Mr Canney died following a fall from a horse named Whipper-In in a steeplechase at Scariff, County Clare on 26 May 1866. His mount fell early in the first heat of the race but both horse and rider were quickly on their feet and Mr Canney remounted to complete the course and thus qualify to run in the second heat. However, in that next heat the horse fell again and rolled over Mr Canney, injuring him so severely that he died the following evening.