BROWNIE'S BLOG: BEING INSTRUCTED TO SEE A SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST. LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS ...

By Damian Browne | Friday, August 14, 2020

The step taking by New South Wales’ stewards to instruct Nash Rawiller to attend three sessions with sports psychologist, following a twelve-month period in which he has received numerous careless riding suspensions, has raised many eyebrows to say the least.

I certainly wouldn’t be happy about it if it happened to me during my time in the saddle. And I would imagine Rawiller is feeling the same way.

He is only the third rider to be handed this ruling and, while I know that the general idea was sanctioned by the Jockey’s Association when this option was introduced, I wonder when they agreed to it if they were thinking along the lines of it applying to the younger jockeys … perhaps from an apprentice through to a young, relatively inexperienced young jockey.

For a man of Rawiller’s experience, I don’t think he needs to told how to run his business. You have obviously got to ride within the rules or take your punishment but he is not a school-kid!

The argument that many big star players in many different sports use sports psychologist’s doesn’t really mean much here. Most of those psychologist’s are accessed on a voluntary basis and that is how I think it should be.

When I was riding … and I’m sure the same applies now … we were always made well aware that sort of help was available to you if you felt you needed it. It is there … and it is certainly good to know that it is there when you do need it.

That is all you really need to know so you can act on it in your own time, where necessary and when you are comfortable with it, and I don’t feel you should have it forced on you.

In fact, to be honest, I think it is insulting to Rawiller to force him to take the psychologist route.
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Michelle Payne likes putting out a tweet or two and one of her latest ones commented on the use of the false rail.

She referred to a race in France and tweeted, ‘No rail movements here but riders can come out to find the best part of the track. Take away the bias we create by rail movement? Keep it in the true.’

I have brought this up in the past and the responses I have got have generally been that the rail is moved to protect certain parts of the track and that is necessary simply because we are racing so much more nowadays than we were before there were moveable rails.

I can understand that.

If you have a Wednesday meeting followed by a big Saturday meeting on the same course you probably don’t want the Wednesday horses chewing up the track for the Saturday meeting.

It is an obvious point and, while I’m sure other arguments can be brought into play, I doubt if too much energy needs to be spent on this because it is not going to change and those who don’t like them will probably just have to accept that the false rail, and the movement of that rail from meeting to meeting, is here to stay.
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The news that Jimmy Byrne is going to spend an extended period of time in Sydney to keep the ride on Rothfire is of no real surprise.

Given the way the travel situation is at the moment, that has probably forced his hand a little bit. If he wants to stay with the horse he probably had to think about doing something like that.

He wouldn’t have to ‘relocate’ if these travel restrictions weren’t in place … but, look, Byrne can ride with the best anywhere in Australia … and do well … and, when he bases himself down there, I would be very surprised if he doesn’t get support from other trainers as well.

Rothfire is a horse that has obviously been very impressive. Really good horses don’t come along too often so Byrne is just doing everything he can to stay on the horse … as anybody would.
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Lastly, just a word of congratulations to the 3kg claiming apprentice Hazel Schofer, who rode six winners at Hawera on the North Island of New Zealand last Saturday.

Schofer had ten rides on the twelve-race card and her six winning rides included a sequence five winning rides in a row. She also claimed a second and a third placing.

All in all, it was quite a significant achievement.

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