33-year-old John Dawson, from Sedgefield, has long been one of the leading riders in the country – with over 200 wins between the flags and under rules, he is comfortably the most prolific current rider in Yorkshire and the North of England.
Alongside wife - and former rider - Alice (pictured above with their children), he is increasingly turning his hand to training – he has a string of between 15 and 20 to run this campaign, split across two yards at Lingdale and Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. Like so many young handlers, he is focusing more on young horses to sell to race under rules and his Cherie D’Am, who took a Hexham Maiden last year, has since been sold to Dan Skelton. His brother Chris runs the Nunstainton Stud in County Durham and John and Alice have enjoyed breeding success themselves, courtesy of leading hurdler I Like To Move It, for which they won a Thoroughbred Breeders Association award. Jake Exelby visited the couple in advance of the new season at their Lingdale yard, where Mary Reveley once trained with such success, to learn more about them and how they plan to focus their varied racing efforts.
“I started off in pony club and hunting and have ridden in points since I was 16 – Nunstainton is the family home and my parents trained pointers,” John tells me of his background. “I had my first ride for them – and my second overall – on Spectacular View in April 2006, a week after my 16th birthday.” John’s first outing in points had come two days earlier, on Red Rose Dixie for George and Jill Sunter, who also provided his first winner – Benwell at Mordon in April 2007.
“After I did my A-levels, I went to work for John Wade,” continues John of his career progression. “I was mixing riding out with gaining experience in John’s businesses in earthworks and contracting! But the riding was going well, under rules and in points, so I made the decision to turn professional – it was now or never. I was a conditional for two seasons and it wasn’t going too badly, but I was panicking that I’d go over the threshold of 25 winners (to revert to amateur status) and I’d also met Alice by then, so I left John and started riding work for Graham Russ, Keith Reveley and Tina Jackson. I learnt a lot from all of them and had my first mount on the flat for Tina at Beverley – I’m six feet three and the other jockeys were joking that I’d bang my head coming out of the stalls!”
“I lost a few contacts when I turned pro,” admits John, “Which took a while to build up again. I’d ridden for Robin Tate and Fiona Needham before I went professional and started riding quite a lot for the Cowards – when Jacqueline retired, she asked me to ride most of theirs, which helped me get back in the fold.”
Asked to nominate the best horses he’s ridden, John reels off a list. “Young Hurricane, who won the Horse & Hound for Guy Brewer, John Wade’s Always Right, who I rode once and who was third in the Scottish National, 2023 John Corbet winner Sine Nomine, and One Conemara, on whom I won two Grimthorpe Gold Cups.” And his single career highlight? “Young Hurricane at Stratford. We’d had a difficult season – he’d buried me at Duncombe Park – and, though he won well at Kelso, we went there without any expectations. I rode him with confidence, and he put it all in – the atmosphere when we won was class.”
At the other end of the scale was another of John’s most notable wins, on maiden El Tornado at Hexham in 2022. He explains why. “The horse was mad keen and not the best jumper, so we used to drop him in. But over two-and-a-half miles that day, we let him roll away in front. Five out, I thought my stirrup leather had snapped, but the plastic iron had broken. By three out, both my feet were out of the stirrups, but we still held on to win. He wasn’t the sort of horse you’d want that to happen to!”
“It’s a balancing act,” confesses John in response to my question about how he combines riding with such success with training a growing number of horses. “I still enjoy riding and don’t want to give up, as long as I’m riding quality horses. Despite my height, I don’t struggle with weight, although it might start getting trickier and my body will probably run out before I’d like it to, but I try not to start the season with too many commitments – I’m a freelance – and most people I ride for seem happy. I’ll probably ride less for the Cowards this season, with Rosie Howarth doing so well, but I hope to keep the mount on Sine Nomine for Robin and Fiona. She’ll probably end up going for the Cheltenham or Aintree Foxhunters.”
John leading up the Lingdale AW gallop (Caroline Exelby)
When John goes to ride work on an unnamed four-year-old gelding, accompanied by Hannah Wyman on Alnwick bumper winner To Chase A Dream – “He may go for a Maiden, but we might send him under rules” (he was second under John on his rules debut for Paul Collins last month) – and Harry O'Connore on an unnamed four-year-old filly by Black Sam Bellamy out of Bracken Moss – “We’ve also got her year younger half-brother, who may run in points this season” – I speak to Alice about her time in the saddle.
John's bumper winner To Chase A Dream (Caroline Exelby)
“I’m from Great Ayton, from a farming background and, unlike John’s, my parents weren’t horsey,” Alice tells me. “But my grandad was obsessed with racing, and he got me started riding aged four. I went to ride out for Nicola Norton aged 17, which got me into pointing then, when I met John a couple of years later, he persuaded me to buy a schoolmaster, Madison de Vonnas. He was moderate but safe and got me round. As I found, It’s difficult to get into pointing,” adds Alice. “Ella Carr-Smith, who works for us, is desperate to have a go, so we’ve got her Donna’s Delight as a schoolmaster for next season.”
Alice continues her story. “I then got a spare – Oaklands Robbie – for Graham Russ, who gave me my first win, then I won five on his Oaklands Bobby (no relation), including three on the bounce when he was 13. Graham was a good man to ride for. In 2016, I broke my back out hunting in 2016 but was desperate to come back, and in my last year I won three on Rumble Of Thunder for Charles Clark and two on my own Ballyvesey – I hunted him over 20 times that season with five packs! But then, a week after our last win, I was riding Sposalizio for Chris and I fell and broke my back again. It was career-ending – I spent ten weeks at Jack Berry House, and they were unbelievable. They never told me I wouldn’t ride again (she has done, of course) and I can’t thank them enough.”
Work ridden, talk turns to John and Alice’s breeding operation and, specifically, how I Like To Move It came about. “The Reveleys had a mare, who was a proven producer of winners, at Shade Oak Stud and Keith offered her to us. I’d always had a passion for breeding, and we had the stud at home, so our stallion Trans Island covered her. He was never a flash stallion and I Like To Move it was from his last crop – he saved his best to last. Chris sold him to Nigel Twiston-Davies, and we got reports that he was something different straightaway.” (Sadly, the horse suffered a fatal injury on his first run over fences last month).
John and Alice also have his half-sister, Cimetta, who won her only point for the couple. “She’d run twice in bumpers behind decent horses before we bought her from the Reveleys,” John explains. “We got her handicapped over hurdles and the plan was to send her pointing then back under rules. She won a Restricted – as a maiden – but got injured so we sent her to Schiaparelli. She’s got his foal and is now in foal to Kingston Hill so we’re continuing the line.”
Jockey, breeder, trainer – how does John manage his roles, especially with two yards a 20-minute drive apart? “I feed at Great Ayton first thing, then come in the morning, before going back there in the afternoon,” he explains. “We have different staff in each yard – Hayley Wardell is head person here and has been with us for several years. “The facilities here are great and would be hard to replicate.”
John trained his first winner – Fever Pitch for Lottie Crane – at Hutton Rudby in 2017, the first leg of a double that day. Of last season’s successes, Cherie D’Am is an obvious highlight, and he tells me how he came by the filly. “James Reveley broke her in France (where he is a leading jockey), but she was too backward to race there at three, so his dad Keith brought her back. Her win has worked out well and she has won a bumper and a hurdle on her first two runs for the Skeltons.” Other runners from last year to look out for are To Chase A Dream, Mosshouses winner Duke Account, and promising maidens Pop The Question and Wottinger.
John winning on Duke Account at Mosshouses (Grace Beresford)
Despite an increasing focus on young horses for the sales ring, John has no plans to take out a rules licence in the foreseeable future. “I love training – it’s an obsession – but I wouldn’t want to rely on it for my business yet,” he admits. I’m doing well with my breakers and pre-trainers, for the likes of Michael Dods, Mark and Charlie Johnston and Ed Bethell.”
As we boil the kettle for a second time, I put John in Peter Wright’s hot seat. What would he do if he was in charge of the sport? “I’d like to see more of a link between pony clubs and pointing,” he says. “It would bring in fresh faces and new blood and introduce people to the sport at an earlier age. We’ve had staff who’ve graduated from pony club, but – unless they have a fast pony – they don’t get exposed to our sport. We could give them yard visits and days out at a point-to-point fixture, to educate them and give them experience. You’ll get more riders, more owners and more horses.”
John returning to the yard (Caroline Exelby)
John is positive about the sport in which he’s involved. “Covid was a tricky time and we definitely lost people. Plus, the cost of everything is going up. But I think it’s working well, particularly the young horse races – if you want to sell your horse, you’ve got to run in one of them. I also like the introduction of the 5lb penalty for Restricteds – I know they’re poorly supported as we’re losing Maiden winners who are being sold, but without Restricted races, it’s a huge step up if you win a Maiden. And, even if you win a Restricted, it’s a big jump to Intermediates. It will give horses time to find their feet. I also think we should reduce the safety factor in Maidens. If you bring it down to 14, you’ll get more divisions, more maiden winners and more horses for Restricteds!”
As so many of these interviews, I close by asking John what he loves about the sport. “The fact you can take your family,” he smiles. It’s been part of my life since I was a dot – I remember running round Mordon as a kid picking up old betting slips. My children – Peggy, 4, and Walter, 2, enjoy it. People think Alice and I are crackers when we take them if we have five or six runners, but we want them to love it too and would be happy for them to become jockeys if they want, just like us.”