Warriors on Horseback: bravery in the saddle from the champions to the also-rans
HORSE RACING BOOK New book looks at the lure of a life in racing Why jockeys willingly risk life and limb How most riders make only a modest income Jon Culley As the horse racing world decamps to Cheltenham for the intensely competitive yet spectacularly beautiful National Hunt Festival, with the richest prizes of the year on offer for the stars of the saddle to pursue, John Carter's latest book considers the life of the majority of Britain's 450 professional riders, those who chase the dream of kicking home the winner of a Gold Cup or a Champion Hurdle but for whom the day-to-day realities are a long way from glamorous face of jump racing on view this week. Warriors on Horseback: The Inside Story of the Professional Jockey is unashamed in its admiration for all of those men and women who, in the author's words, place themselves "in mortal danger every day". A P McCoy, riding at his final Festival before retiring next month, is reckoned to