Tommy Walshe
National Hunt jockey Thomas Patrick Walshe crossed the Irish Sea in 1975 to ride for Pontypridd trainer D. H. Jones. He rode his first British winner on Melody Time at Devon & Exeter on May 14, 1975.
He had enjoyed a good partnership early in his career in his native Ireland with a handicap hurdler named Ruby Goldstein. They landed the 1m 6f Milverton Handicap Hurdle at Baldoyle on September 25, 1965. Then in 1966, they won at Killarney in June, at Tralee in September, and at Punchestown in October.
Having settled in Britain, he made the perfect start to the 1975/76 campaign winning on Canna Light at Newton Abbot on the first day of the season, Saturday, August 2.
He then won a Hereford novices’ handicap hurdle on Happy God on August 23. All seemed to be going well, but on Saturday, October 5 he shattered his shoulder when Golden Litchen crashed out at the last flight in a Chepstow hurdle race.
After quitting the saddle Tommy went on to break in some of Richards’ horses.
Sadly, Tommy suffered from ill health for several years. He died in Gloucester Royal Infirmary on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at the age of 62. His funeral took place at Cheltenham Crematorium on December 16.
Alan Howard Walter, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, was born on February 10, 1958, and rode his first winner, Erra, 14-1, at Taunton on October 14, 1976,
His second & third winners came on the same day, Wedneday, December 15, 1976, at Worcester.
He bolted up on Pick Me in the first, the 25-1 shot winning by seven lengths, then - in the last - scored on Lacson at 7-2. Both winners were trained by R Hawker at Chippenham. He later nominated Lacson as the best he'd ridden.
Alan's best seasonal score came in 1977-78 when he kicked home seven winners.
He rode his 31st winner - on his 31st birthday - at Newbury, when scoring on Huntworth. Alan rode the winner for his father Bill, a former Royal veterinary surgeon.
In 1990, Huntworth, then trained by Martin Pipe, was Alan's unsuccessful ride in the Grand National. They came down at The Chair.
This fall resulted in a fractured wrist. Alan said after: 'We were on a difficult stride going into it, and I asked him to shorten, which he did. But his back-end hit the fence and fired me out. He's all right, but I've got a broken wrist.'
However, Alan and Huntworth were to return in glory.
On Saturday evening, May 12, 1990, when contesting the Veterans' Chase at Warwick, they gave trainer Martin Pipe his 209th winner of the season, thus bettering his previous highest score of 208, set the previous season.
This was Alan's first ride back since his Grand National injury. (He was not out of the wars for long: again riding for Pipe, he broke his collar-bone in a fall at Devon & Exeter the following New Year's Day.)
Alan recovered in time to partner Huntworth once more in the 1991 Grand National on 6 April: he pulled up at Valentine's when the horse got tired.
Lacson gave Alan his biggest win when, on New Year's Eve, 1977, winning the Ernest Robinson Hurdle at Cheltenham.
In 1990, Alan set up A W Horse Transport Limited, operating from Wiveliscombe in Taunton.
He then turned to training.