When 19-year-old Mel Pillay steps onto the scale, she feels anxiety like any other woman. The difference is that at 38.5 kg, she’s on a special diet and exercise programme to increase her weight!

Depending on the category this diminutive apprentice jockey races in, she must weigh between 48 and 55 kg, including her saddle, colours and boots. Mel, who is the first Indian woman apprentice jockey, races with lead weighing down the saddle to prevent an unfair advantage. “It’s easier on the horse to race with human muscle than with ‘dead-weight’.”

Basics

Apprentice jockeys serve a five-year training period, during which time their earnings go into a trust fund that pays out once they have qualified. An apprentice must have a guardian who provides financially during this period.

A highly successful apprentice rider who wins 50 out of 500 races during the last year of his training, might earn a nett of R120 000. Should he continue racing and winning at that standard, he might could earn R30 000 gross per month, before tax. Earnings depend entirely on the skill of the racer and nobody will guarantee a salary.

While a few racing stables pay jockeys a monthly retainer of R3 000 to R5 000 for their services, most jockeys are essentially small businesses with costs to pay like agent fees, transportation and imported equipment. Sponsorship for racing is catching on, but it’s very slow and difficult to get.

Job description

Jockeys ride racehorses at race meetings, in trials and for exercise. They take instructions from trainers and owners before races. They assess the ability of the horse and the best tactics for winning each race. If anything might have affected the horse’s performance in a race, this must be reported to racing authorities. Jockeys keep working on improving their performance by ongoing discussions with trainers and studying videotapes of their races. They also keep their own riding equipment, saddles and boots in good condition.

Required studies or experience

Apprentice jockeys are trained by the South African Jockey Academy which has branches in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. “During the first two years of the training you learn the foundations of horsemanship, including stable management and equine studies, grooming

Personality type best suited to the job

“You have to be tough,” she says, spraying on perfume after showering. “This is still a man’s world. It’s fine to be feminine, but on the field you’re ‘one of the boys’. You also need to be dedicated, disciplined, hardworking and patient with the horses. “You don’t begin as a champion. You start at the bottom and work your way up. Good physical strength and fitness are essential.”

An average day

Mel’s day starts on the track at 5am. Breakfast is at 10am and then a couple of hours are spent in the gym. After a race, Mel watches her performance on video, analysing it with a mentor, who shows her where she went wrong, how to anticipate problems, and how to respond.

The worst thing about this job

Tex Lerena, Chairman of the South African Jockeys Association says, “It’s imperative that aspiring jockeys are realistic about this business. Jockeys are the stuntmen of the turf. A rider travels at 60 km ph in sprint races perched six foot above the ground. In an accident he is a human missile with only a helmet and a body protector between him and a pack of 400kg horses. The danger of being trampled is very real. In some unfortunate cases, spinal injuries have resulted in paralysis. No ride, no earn! This is one of the lowest paid professional sports in the world, but one of the most dangerous!”

The best thing about this job

“I love the adrenaline rush, the speed and the horses, of course,” says Mel. “It’s hard physical work but I want to do it for the rest of my life.” When Mel ended up on crutches, her parents stood by her. “They would not let me give up my dream because things weren’t going my way. They stopped me from giving up.”

Her inspiration is the American female jockey, Julianne Krone, who won 3704 races over a 23-year career. Mel’s face burns with concentration and ambition when she says, “I want to do that too. I’m not scared of hard work.”

Liesl Jobson