EQUUS ZONE
1. a. No mention here
about a stewards inquiry taking place either at the time? Or since?
b. Assuming there was no
stewards inquiry at all at any time, why not? The reason?
c. Who were the
acting stewards that day at Uttoxeter? Their names?
d. Were they all
bloodhorse illiterate?
e. If not how many
were considered to be bloodhorse literate? Their names?
2. a. Jamie Moore what horse was he partnering, and who
trained this horse?
b. Was he
questioned at all that day by stewards? If not why not?
c. Has he been
questioned at all since by stewards, if so by whom, name?
d. If not why not?
3. a. Why did Jamie Moore allow his mount to drift ro take another competitors ground?
b. Why did he
allow this to happen at take -off time when riding into a hurdle?
c. A critical moment take- off zone for all competitors, not
just his own.
d. At that point was he riding his mount on the bridle? Or off the bridle?
Steve Dennis goes on, Derham "I
was given two options - have an operation, and I'd be back 12-14 weeks, or have
a collar on for three months and there'd be a 25 per cent chance of it healing
itself.
"The
quickest way back to the racecourse was the operation, so I had surgery two
days later. Two months after that I was back riding out, all ready to rock and
roll.."
"Yet
Derham was refused his license because all the metalwork has left him with
restricted flexibility in his neck. It was the first setback of a year-long
struggle characterised by conflicting opinions from surgeons, while Derham
rode trackwork in the US
and kept his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the light at the end of the tunnel.
"I
had all the mettle taken out last September, and though 'they can't say no now,
I got the all-clear from every surgeon, but Dr Michael Turner refused my application. He referred me
to a review panel of the licensing committee, and my doctor Philip Pritchard, who I can't praise highly enough, sent me to see Professor Steven Gill in Bristol.
"Gill
said he has never seen anyone with an injury like mine because people don't
survive it. It was a miracle, really. Breaking my neck was fine, that was the
simple part.
"I'd
fractured the lower part of my skull and it had displaced. There are two
ligaments attached to it and I snapped one - if the other one had gone as well
it would have been game over.
"Anyway,
more CT scans, and he told me the bottom
of my skull had fused with the top of my spine. In a fall, your head cushions
the initial impact but, because the bones had fused, my spine would take the
full force of any fall.
"I
said 'I don't want to end up in a wheelchair'; he said 'don't worry, you won't.
You'll be dead'. In one way it was a relief when he told me I'd never ride in
races again because it meant I could
stop hoping."
"It
is around this point that the dynamic
changes, that a straightforward if
emotional interview turns into something redolent of the confessional. A cup of
coffee sits cold and untouched at his elbow; Derham is not so much getting things off his
chest as pouring his heart out.
"What
do I do now ? I don't know. Looking
back, that 25 per cent chance of the injury healing itself seems a very good
chance, a far better chance than
'never'.
Steve
Dennis continues "Having the operation gave me no chance of ever coming
back. That's hard, it point the finger, but my issue is 'why was that the
advice in the first place?'
"When
I look back, there's a lot of things that could have been done differently, and
if this happens to someone else tomorrow I'd hate for them to suffer the same thing.
"If
it had all ended with the fall, that would be one thing, and I realise I'm
extremely lucky to still be here, to be walking around with just a bit of
restricted movement in my neck. But this will always eat away at me.
The other people involved throughout still have many questions to answer. All need to be called to account. Better late than never.
"I
was doing well, 69 winners in three seasons, I was on the way up, I was flying.
I'd worked so hard to get where I was going and it's all been snatched away
from me. It's my dreams, it's everything.
"Ex-jockeys
will always say they miss it, but a lot of them have retired, they've had their
careers. I haven't had a career. That's the hardest part. What if? What if?
"What
can I do? Everything except what I want to do. I started showjumping when I was
six, took out a jockey's license when I was 21,
riding horses is all I've done.
"I
schooled a few horses at Seamus's [Mullins] yesterday morning. People will
think I'm mad, well it's driving me mad but it's keeping me sane at the same
time, it keeps me getting up in the morning. Of course I'm worried about the
risk but it's all I know how to do. It might kill me to stay in racing but
it'll kill me to get out of it.
"I've
been offered jobs as assistant, as head lad, but I'm not ready to do that because I still begrudge
the sport for what's happened to me. I'm nearly crying watching horses I used
to ride in races, nearly crying watching the horsebox leaving the yard without
me, I can't cope with it.
"I'm
starting a business admin course with the JETS scheme, it's something to do. In
some ways if I had a job to go straight into it would be easier because I could
just bury my head in it. I have all the motivation and drive that I would have
put into riding, and I would have put into riding, and I want to put it into
something else.
"Maybe I'd like to get into the betting
industry because betting funds racing. I wouldn't know how to get into it but
I'd like to see how that side works. One day, down the line, I'd love to train
horses.
"No,
it doesn't help me to talk about it. Getting into it with you is very tough.
Being a jockey is not a job, it's a life. Kate's been wonderful and I've got
great family and good friends, but I've nothing else and I have to start all
over again.
Why do you have to start all over again? Who exactly is telling you
or expecting you to do that? Stay right where you are and when you feel
ready, start your fight back. Get the
answer's you deserve from all those
who's job it was at the time to see you right, but failed you so miserably.
"I'm
trying to be positive all the time, I've had a shit time for the last year or
so, but there's still a lot of people worse off than myself. I have to think
like that.
"I
just wish I knew what the next thing was. I wish someone would point me in the
right direction, tell me what to do and help me to do it. But it's not that
simple, is it?"
Steve
Dennis says "The words came slowly to a halt. Sure it's hard being a jump
jockey; Jimmy Derham is showing how unbearably hard it is not being one."
EQUUS
ZONE
Jimmy
Derham can be a key player in all Equus Zone issues if he wants to be, he needs
to continue on within his bloodhorse literacy career (theory) from where he is
now in his life. To take that first step
towards making sure what happened to him does not happen to anyone else. Using
his own experiences for guidance in calling all those responsible to account. Consiquences horrific damages.
BLOODHORSE
ILLITERACY KILLING OFF BRITISH HORSERACING
All true bloodhorse literate horsemen what there is left of them put the Great back into Britain every single day to include the horses.
MOST DANGEROUS AREAS IN DIRE NEED OF CHANGE
The British Political Government
Zone to include Horseracing Area
MP’s
To
highlight the dangers of having bloodhorse illiterate MP’s
To
ensure bloodhorse illiterate people are not employed in this Equus Zone
The BHA Regulation Government Zone
To
highlight the dangers of employing bloodhorse illiterate people in stewarding,
licensing, disciplinary, with the Rules of Racing to be protected from bloodhorse
illiteracy at all time
no matter what the cost. To
ensure such people are never employed within all key areas of the Equus Zone
The Racecourse Regulation Zone
To
highlight the areas needing a balanced bloodhorse literate approach, and to make
sure this is always upheld to be the case. Bloodhorse safety first, not last.
The Bookmakers Regulation Zone
To
respect at all times those who’s work allows them their business to include the horses.
The Punters Regulation Zone
To
respect at all times those who’s work allows them their gambling to include the horses.
