​The rhythm of the ride

The life of a jockey straight from the horse's mouth

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

For George Pineda, jockeying is a family tradition. But that legacy includes loss.

“My uncles, Alvaro and Robert Pineda — one got killed in a starting gate, the other one in Pimlico,” says Pineda. “They were the catalyst for all this.”

Originally from California, Pineda now hangs his hat in Florida. But he travels cross country to wherever the tracks take him. This July, Pineda (along with a number of other jockeys) will be spending race days in Fargo as the racing season comes into full swing at the North Dakota Horse Park on Saturdays and Sundays between July 13 and August 4.

This has been his career for decades. The fast-paced life of a jockey (and even faster horses) seemed natural for Pineda. “I didn't know anything else,” he said.

Pineda started jockeying at 16. In 1986, he won his first race at Canterbury Downs (now Canterbury Park) in Minnesota. We couldn’t help but wonder, what’s the secret to staying limber and maintaining that agility jockeys are known for — let alone keeping up that leg strength at the age of 54?

“A lot of exercise,” Pineda explained. “I run a lot. I do a lot of bike riding. Right now, I'm leaving for California and it's 112 degrees. I'll be on that bike and I'll be cutting weight left and right. So, yeah, getting fit at 54 years old…I’m riding with people that are 20 years younger than me. So fitness has to be a big, big part of this.”

Though there is time spent in the gym, it’s not as much as one would think. That’s only part of the training program.

“It's a whole different kind of fitness,” said Pineda. “You don't want to lift weights because you don't want weight — you don't want to get big. I struggle with my weight as it is. So I really am not much into the gym. I do a lot of swimming. Swimming keeps you fit.”

Maintaining one’s weight is one of the many challenges that the jockeying profession presents. According to George, the ideal weight of a jockey is 120 pounds. He weighs in at 119. One can’t help but ask, is it tougher to maintain that ideal weight as one gets older?

“It’s actually easier,” he said. “I'm not growing any more. When you're 16 years old and you're riding, you're building muscle. It's harder, you know? I'm 5 '6. I'm tall for a jockey, so now, at this point in my time, all I do is I just maintain my weight down. Now, if I let myself blow up, then it'll be hard to get it off at this time.”

In fact, George took a 23-year break because he was tired of fighting with his weight and had endured a number of broken bones throughout his career. He got back into jockeying because his mother wanted to see him race one last time. He’s been back on the horse ever since.

In the racing world all weight is considered. Including boots, tack and the jockey, the desired weight on the horse is 124 pounds. Tack is the saddle, stirrups — essentially equine accessories.

A racing saddle is very different from a typical English saddle used for dressage or the Western style saddles often used in rodeo or barrel racing events. George mentioned that his saddle weighs a pound or pound and a half at most.

When he comes to the track, the horse is only equipped with a bridle. Jockeys provide their own boots, goggles, saddles, and silks. He likened it to the wheels of a race car — you want to know they’re in good shape, because it’s a matter of your own safety.

With top speeds varying between 40-45 miles an hour on horseback, Pineda says there’s a rhythm to racing. And there’s a rhythm to the horse's stride.

“You have to be in rhythm with the horse,” Pineda said. “If you're not in rhythm with that horse coming down the lane —you can kind of see when jockeys that are…like… when they get tired and they're not in a rhythm with the horse and throwing their horse offside — the horse is all over the place. You know you want to be right in rhythm, right in stride with your horse, especially when he's giving you all he's got. Or else that can cost you a race.”