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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.117 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Sandy Hawley Interview |
Scope & Content |
Sandy Hawley interview, 13 November 2006. Digitized MP4 from Sony 40 Advanced ME DVCAM. Viewing time 00:31:49. 00:03Introduction to Hall 00:30Childhood: smallest in class, played baseball and hockey, enjoyed all sports, didn't let his size stop him, in high school tried for football team, made the wrestling team in the 98 lb class 01:47Sports idols: huge hockey fan, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Dave Keon 02:31Was wrestling the first sport you took seriously: first serious sport, enjoyed it, made the semi-finals in the all-Ontario, first test of being nervous in a sport 03:20never thought about becoming a jockey until 16 when his uncle suggested it, went to Winfield Farms/National Stud Farm in Oshawa, owned by E.P. Taylor, met trained Duke Campbell who taught him the fundamentals of riding, looked at his hands and feet, if they had been too large it meant he would grow more 05:15First time on a horse: no horse racing background, very green when went to the track for the first time, brought along slowly, groomed horses for a year, then exercised them for another year before got to ride in his first race 06:04First race: rode horse called Happy Victory, 7/8 mile on turf at Woodbine, realized had to be fit mentally and physically to ride a race 06:52At what point start to think about becoming a jockey seriously: first time at Woodbine thought it would be great to become a jockey, first week there loved it, enjoyed being outdoors and around animals, knew it was something he wanted to do, worked hard at it, talks about riding his first horse, realized you don't ride a horse by brute strength, you have to outsmart it, talks about riding a horse bareback when the girth on the saddle broke 10:17Comparing a jockey to other athletes: did a physical stress test against other athletes such as football players and the jockeys were the fittest athletes, do have to be fit to ride a horse in a race, his exercise consisted of riding 5-6 horses in the morning and 7-8 horses in the afternoon 5 days a week 11:48When did you officially become a jockey: first race in 1968, got his agent Cline Wick at that time, job of agent is to get the jockey on the best individual horse for a race, was his agent for over 20 years 13:02First win: on horse called Fly Alone, for Dick Campbell, in 1968, amazing race, won by 3 lengths, first time he carried a whip 13:49On outthinking the horse: smart animal, can sense your control and confidence, need to get respect from the horse, let them know who the boss is and get along with the horse 16:00On going from 1 win to 500 wins in one season: idol when he first started riding was Avelino Gomez, opportunity to ride with him was an honour and pleasure; talks about winning over 400 in his second year, agent said let's go for 500 and he agreed without thinking about the work involved; 500th win was horse called Charley Jr. & reached the goal; had 515 wins and beat the record of Bill Shoemaker who was his other idol 18:00How did you get to 500: on as many horses as possible; was riding 8-9 races every day for 5-6 days, agent suggested he ride 7 day a week, did that for 2 months, had about 50 days off that year 19:40On moving from Woodbine to Santa Anita: was riding in Arkansas for the winter, was 'scouted' by 2 agents for Santa Anita, he and his agent liked what they learned about the track, names the owners he rode for at the track 21:06On injuries: averaged about 2 spills per year; most serious was when a horse landed on him 22:10Favourite track: always loved Woodbine, as a Canadian proud of Woodbine where he started and Santa Anita was also close to his heart, made friends there, had success, thrill to be riding there 22:38Europe: had opportunity to ride internationally, rode in France, England, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Trinidad, Puerto Rico and the Barbados 23:16Favourite horse: Sankite, from California, he was so cool, calm and collected, was a sprinter and set 2 track records 24:26Queen's Plate: won it 4 times, every time a thrill, talks about riding a horse owned by E.P. Taylor who owned Winfield Farms where he started out 25:18Talks about his skin cancer: was a scary time, been clear for 20 years 27:42Last race: July 1, 1998; first race and last race at Woodbine, he was almost 50 at the time and had been riding for 30 years, got position at Woodbine in media department, learned new job; family was there that day, very emotional, fans saying so many nice things 30:41State of racing today: at one point thought Canadian racing was in trouble, today in good shape with purses now as good as Santa Anita |
Date |
2006/11/13 |
People |
Hawley, Sandy |
Search Terms |
Sandy Hawley Interview Jockey racing Lou marsh award Order of Canada Equestrian Sovereign Award Eclipse Award George Woolf Memorial Award Avelino Gomez Award |