Ben Land, born in Norfolk, was apprenticed to a chemist, and one of his earliest winning rides was in 1836 on a horse called Predictor. Other good horses he won on included his own Lottery (not the National winner), Jim Crow, The Novice, Faith, Yellow Dwarf, Little Nell, Victoria and Wonder, all of which he taught to gallop and jump.
Ben also taught young jockeys how to rider, including Mr George Ede, who rode as Mr Edwards and won the Grand National on The Lamb, which Ben trained.
In the early days as jockey/trainer, Ben had a lot to learn. He owned a mean-looking animal called Needwood which he could not win a race with. One day in London, Ben ran into Tommy Coleman, founder of the St Alban's meeting, to whom he explained his problem. Tommy later visited Ben's stable to find the horse clothed with a heavy blanket, quarter-piece, and hood while litter was banked up to the door to keep the stable warm. The horse, Tommy discovered, was being 'slowly parboiled', as he put it. Tommy removed Needwood to his own stables to try to get him fit for the Tring Steeplechase, which was to be run in seven weeks' time. Ben, desperately hard up at the time, "rode for his very life" (Tommy's words) and won, clearing about £360. The two men later fell out when Ben didn't - or couldn't - pay Tommy his training bill.
Turning to full-time training, Ben concentrated on the Kent and Sussex Coast meetings at which his blue and yellow jockey was seen to great advantage. His own sons were the stable jockeys, and they won a number of races at the Tunbridge, Chatham and Rochester meetings.
In the late summer of 1872, Ben was once again heavily in debt and owed a considerable amount (£400) by a certain lord who, despite frequent requests, declined to pay.
At 7 a.m. Thursday, 15 August, 1872, Ben Land, aged 57, made an attempt on his life by slashing his wrists and throat in the paddock of his Kingswood residence. Somehow he managed to crawl back to the kitchen where Mrs Elizabeth Knight, his maid, was cooking. He was staggering about and she found that his hands and neck were covered in blood. She took him to his bedroom, then summoned Dr Steele. Ben said to Steele: 'This is a bad job. I was obliged to do it for I had no wish to live. I have had some heavy losses." A few moments later he asked: "Have I a chance of recovery?" These were his last words. The wound in his throat was the cause of death.
At an inquest later, the Jury returned a verdict - "That the deceased committed suicide while in a state of mental derangement."