IN his popular column, ‘SILKS & SADDLES,’ published in the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, respected racing writer, TERRY BUTTS, reports on the surprise retirement of one of North Queensland’s top jockeys.

He also questions whether Racing Queensland is doing enough to overcome the lack of apprentice jockeys north of Rockhampton and whether they really care about country racing.

Here is the Butts’ column:

SUDDEN RETIREMENT OF TOP JOCKEY BLOW FOR NQ RIDING RANKS

THE north has suffered another serious impediment to its riding ranks with the sudden retirement last week of the highly rated Cairns jockey Braydn Swaffer.

He joins a growing list of top jockeys based in the north who have packed away their saddles and sought interest outside of racing. They include former top horsemen David Crossland, Ian Toward, and Shane Pawsey.

Gordonvale-bred Swaffer rode at the recent Mt Garnet May day meeting (winning one from just two rides) but pulled the pin a few days later – and will be a genuine major loss to the game.

The 21-year-old has had a losing battle with weight in recent times – a perennial problem for many if not most jockeys – and exacerbated in his case by a series of race day injuries.

His master and mentor, Trevor Rowe, said Braydn had simply “had enough” and was already working at a mining operation in the far north of Cairns.

“I don’t know if he has walked away forever. He might come back. We can only hope.’’

Swaffer not only earned a reputation for being a very good rider but will be remembered also for his gentlemanly good manners.

He rode 1147 winners for $1.3 million in prizemoney in just five years – quite an achievement.

Swaffer turned up one day at Trevor Rowe’s Cannon Park stables as a 15 year old wanting to ride work.

He had already been recommended to the astute trainer – renowned for his prowess with apprentice jockeys – by farrier and former top Darwin trainer, Terry Cant, who had seen the kid ride around the Gordonvale Pony Club and rodeo events.

“I clearly remember the day he turned up – this little kid almost hidden beneath a ten gallon hat.

“All he wanted to do was ride work – but I quickly learned he was more capable than just that.

“He came highly recommended and certainly lived right up to it”.

ROWE ‘STABLEMATES’ DOMINATED THE RIDING SCENE IN FAR NORTH

SWAFFER and last year’s leading northern jockey Sonia Wiseman were “stablemates” at Rowe’s successful operation and they literally dominated the riding scene for the past few years.

Wiseman has since graduated to senior status and the trainer has been left with a new apprentice who makes her race riding debut at Gordonvale on Saturday.

Amanda Thompson, in her mid 20s, is a late-age apprentice but has impressed her boss since her arrival from Tamworth and has been rewarded with the plum mount on stable star Chateau Dettori in Saturday’s feature.

She has huge shoes to fill but trainer Rowe is hopeful she can kick off on the right foot this weekend with the stable’s favourite horse.

ACCUTE SHORTAGE OF APPRENTICE RIDERS NORTH OF ROCKHAMPTON

THERE is an acute shortage of apprentice riders north of Rocky and, for that matter everywhere in the west.

Trainer Rowe has repeatedly asked for assistance from Racing Queensland to indenture an apprentice but with no success.

Same applies to Julia Creek trainer, Grant Wiles, who says if he had an indentured apprentice he could have twice as many in work. RQ is considered by many to be a hindrance, not a help in providing jockeys for country Queensland centres.

“I have rung Shane Scriven (RQ Apprentice master) and begged for an apprentice but he says the kids don’t want to leave Brisbane and that he can’t force them,” said Trevor Rowe.

In the case of Grant Wiles he had an English trackwork rider Sophie Norris for three years at Julia Creek and spent $18,000 of his own money trying to get her a visa so she could become an apprentice. Racing Queensland refused to licence her without a visa (though they did with Wanderson d'Avila) and the Australian Government refused her a visa – she obviously wasn’t Syrian.

Sophie was forced to return to the UK – broken hearted.

It was a sad and in fact disgraceful finale to drawn out saga. And there was no winner – except perhaps a Cairns-based immigration agent.

The current attitude of RQ and its policy regarding apprentices is simply not good enough. It provides further ammunition to those who believe the RQ hierarchy show little or no interest in the concerns of the bush where jockey numbers are at crisis level.

Or as one long time NQ licensee said: “They don’t care about anything outside the south east corner.”

COLUMN COURTESY OF TERRY BUTTS AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, one of Australia's leading rural newspapers.

TERRY BUTTS can be contacted by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..