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FeedRough Rider
Injuries be damned, Chester County jump jockey Jody Petty keeps on winning.
Photo by Jared Castaldi Published February 24, 2010 at 03:31 PM
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Jody Petty can’t recall how many bones he’s broken, but there’s no doubt about the three dreadful operations. One came after a terrifying spill three years ago in Tampa, Fla. Challenging eventual winner Hip Hop for the lead at the second to last fence, Petty’s mount, Capital Peak, bobbled badly on landing and pitched the jockey, resulting in four broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a ruptured spleen.
“It popped me out of the saddle and to the side, so I was trying to stay on—at least long enough to get my feet out of the irons,” recalls Petty, who lives in Unionville. “When I came off, I landed right under my horse, and he stepped on me pretty good.”
The next day, Petty’s spleen was removed. A Florida physician instructed him to stay off horses for eight weeks. A month later, he finished fourth in his first race and snatched the next race at Maryland’s Marlborough Hunt Races. It’s a familiar story in the jock’s world.
Petty has always possessed an innate empathy for horses—and that bond has translated into a sizable career total of 128 victories so far. Don’t let his easygoing manner and seemingly constant smile fool you. Three-time Maryland Hunt Cup winning rider Louis “Paddy” Neilson calls Petty a natural horseman who can ride any type of horse—seasoned vet or green youngster, calm or fractious.
“Jody is one tough hombre, absolutely fearless,” says Neilson, also a Unionville resident. “He can pick himself off the ground after some of these falls as if nothing happened.”
Despite the constant threat of injury, jockeys’ competitive instincts thrust them repeatedly back in the saddle. There are no long-term contracts. If you’re sidelined too long, your horses might vanish.
Top jockeys can earn $1 million or more each year, but a jump jockey like Petty gets by on a fraction of that—maybe $50,000. Many supplement their income by exercising racehorses each morning.
Chester County’s trio of point-to-point steeplechase races begins late this month, sometimes before the ground has had a chance to soften. They are a prelude to the National Steeplechase Association season, which runs spring through fall with 32 one-day race meets in 12 states—mostly on the East Coast.
The 2009 season concludes with Nov. 1’s $35,000 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, a 4-mile race over timber fences. Last year, Petty rode Move West to victory in the 74th edition.
Petty has been riding jumpers for 15 years. And for nearly a decade, he’s been exercising runners each morning at George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable in the blue-pocket hills of Cochranville. At 37, he’s considered a veteran in the sport. Yet he still has the desire and skills, having won champion jockey honors in 2005. He was second last year and is the current runner-up this season. Most of his competitors are five to 10 years younger.
“I’m always the oldest guy in the room,” he says with a wide smile. “Look, most good riders are naturals. They ride better. They see spots open up better. The older I get, the more it’s about patience. I leave the horse alone, sit quietly and let him do his job. Instead of making it happen, I just let it happen.”
