"I LOVE it more than ever," says Will Biddick of his career in the saddle as a point-to-point jockey, and whose most recent season culminated in an eighth men's championship title. He is Britain's winning-most point-to-point jockey, notching 560 victories between the Flags from 1,917 starts and a further 36 hunter chase winners to date. And his appetite for more is insatiable.
Previous to this year's championship victory, Will last won the title in the 2018/19 season.
"Once you win it, you don't want to lose it and it was mine to lose," says Will, 36. "Every year I want to win it, and prior to this season I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and on my home life chasing the title - it was almost obsessive and everything was getting away from me. It was tough."
Will credits a change in tactics to regaining the championship.
"I decided I would only ride in Devon, Cornwall and Wessex; I put my family first, concentrated on my business and my mindset changed," he explains. "I rode in a more relaxed way - I wasn't trying to force it. If horses made mistakes, I gave them time to gather their thoughts and go again. The horses went better, I got a better feel from them and things were a lot smoother.
"Not that I'm a big drinker, but I stopped drinking last season too. Previously I was sweating to do 11 stone, but last year 11 stone was easy and I could do 10st 7lb, which opened up another bracket of rides. I felt fitter and sharper."
Will says the same tactics will remain in place for the forthcoming season - his 20th - as he chases a ninth title. His first came in 2011 and he repeated that feat the following three years in a row, something he credits to the late Richard Barber and Jack Barber for whom he rode, until Jack took out his licence to train under Rules at the end of the 2017 season. Will found himself back at square one.
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