The theme that Jack built
SOME people will argue that part of the whole thrill of life is not knowing what lies just around the corner. Jump jockeys, who are a breed apart anyway, adhere to this creed. The six-letter word 'thrill' is one of the most often used in their vocabulary and while riding a tonne of horseflesh over eight flights of hurdles or 15 fences may be an unusual career choice for many, most jumps jockeys riding at Punchestown this afternoon will tell you that they do it purely for one thing: the thrill.
But, as racehorses are four-legged animals and not machines, accidents will occur.
The tragic deaths of jump jockey Kieran Kelly and his flat counterpart Sean Cleary last year bears bleak testament to this very fact.
Jimmy Mansell might well have been another sad statistic in a tragic season for the sport as a whole.
One Sunday morning in August '02 August 25th to be precise Mansell, the champion claiming national hunt jockey of the 2001/02 season, ventured west to Ballinrobe for two rides.
As it turned out, Mansell only got to partner one of his two mounts at the popular Co Mayo track. His first ride, Showboat Melody, trained by Tallow permit-holder John Morrison, suffered a horrific fourth-flight tumble in the Connacht Gold Handicap Hurdle.
Showboat Melody was killed and the incident ended Mansell's race-riding career at the tender age of 19. The jockey suffered a serious brain injury at Ballinrobe and was on a life-support machine in the immediate aftermath of his accident. He was initially treated in Castlebar General Hospital for two months before being transferred to the National Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire. Mansell was without the use of his voice for 10 months as he had to have a tracheotomy.
That was removed in June '03 and he can now speak perfectly and has recovered the majority of use in his right hand following extensive physiotherapy sessions at the Rehab Centre otherwise known as Cedars.
His recovery continuing, Mansell subsequently enrolled on the widely-acclaimed Irish National Stud course last January. This course will run through until the beginning of July and he presently lives on site at the Irish National Stud just outside Kildare town.
But the racing fraternity has not forgotten Jimmy and a star-studded fund-raising ball took place for Mansell in Limerick last February, with over 400 in attendance and a sum in excess of e100,000 raised. In addition, the Jimmy Mansell Benefit Maiden Hurdle was also run at the course that same afternoon to coincide with the ball.
Now 21, Jimmy is mature enough to count his blessings and also recall the highlights of his all-too-short time in the saddle.
He partnered some 41 winners all told, the most prestigious of which was aboard Keeponthesunnyside in the '02 Elan Midlands Grand National at Kilbeggan.
However, all these achievements quickly paled as Mansell battled for survival after Ballinrobe.
"Obviously, I can't remember anything of the fall," says the Ballylanders native.
"Shortly after I got to Dun Laoghaire, I had to be rushed to St Vincents' Hospital to have the tracheotomy operated on.
"I couldn't get out of bed while I was in Castlebar, and I was a few months in Dun Laoghaire before I could walk properly. I was going around in a wheelchair for a lot of that time and, believe me, that wasn't any fun at all. I used to say to myself every day that I would walk again; I wasn't able to get my mind focused on anything else.
"When I went to Dun Laoghaire first of all, I had no use in my right arm and my right leg was also very weak. The amount of physiotherapy I got there was unreal and although the arm still isn't totally perfect, I am very happy with it.
"The Rehab Centre is very tough, but the staff there are unbelievable. I am thrilled to have made as much progress as I have and, I am just delighted to walk and drive again."
The National Stud course is regarded as one of the premier educational programmes of it's kind in Ireland. A total of 26 students were accepted onto this year's course, coming from as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Kentucky.
"It was Gerry Pettigrew, who works with the Injured Jockey's Fund and Dr Walter Halley, the Turf Club's medical officer, who first of all told me about the course," says Mansell who, incidentally, has been instructed to refrain from consuming alcohol.
"I am enjoying it and we have every third weekend off. We spend time in the various units here at the National Stud. An average day entails mucking out in the morning, perhaps putting the stallions on the horse walker, teasing the mares and so on. We also have a fair few lectures to attend. We will have to sit our exams at the end of June."
Mansell still keeps in contact with former weigh-room colleagues Garrett Cotter and Danny Howard, but this world, his new world, is still poles apart from the one that he was separated from.
"I'll be honest. Of course I miss the race-riding," he discloses. "All I ever wanted was to become a jockey. I thought that I would keep going until I was about 35.
"At the races I was meeting new people all the time, be they owners or trainers or whatever. It was a superb way of life and that is why most jockeys keep going at it for so long. I would always have been dashing here or there and before I got injured, I was riding out half-days before going off to the races. I could maybe go off to ride three yaks, but still I would be happy.
"But, I am lucky to be alive. Just compare me with Kieran Kelly, whom I knew very well. Shane Broderick has also been a great support, but again his plight makes me realise just how fortunate I am."
The softly-spoken Mansell wasn't born into a horse background. The third in a family of four two boys and two girls he initiated his involvement in all things equine through Co Limerick trainer John Gleeson.
"When I was 15 and-a-half, I went off to Willie Mullins. I had a bit of a battle though on my plate as my parents Jim and Breda and various other family members were advising me to stay in school, but I knew what I wanted. I spent about a year at Willie's, but I didn't ride a winner for him. My first winner was Raconteur for John Gleeson at Tralee in June 2000."
SOON afterwards, Mansell joined Thurles trainer Tim Doyle, but he still maintained some contact with his former guv'nor Mullins. He was delighted to win the 2001/02 conditional jockeys award with 25 winners, seven clear of his closest pursuer Danny Howard.
"Keeponthesunnyside ran a respectable race to finish seventh to Rockholm Boy in the '02 Galway Plate and just a few days later, I was off to Australia. I had eight rides there and I won a hurdle race at Morphettville near Adelaide on a horse called Exceptional Chance."
That was to be Mansell's final winner and it was appropriate in a way that it was on Exceptional Chance.
Jimmy Mansell was an exceptional riding talent and now he is drawing on exceptional strengths to cope with his future.
