australian monte trot weights set at 65kg minimum but no upper limit

I would love the views of everyone in regards to this.

I agree totally that from a betting and not to mention owners point of view we do need to regulate the weights in a way that is fair the light weight riders giving their mounts a distinct advantage over the heavier riders but 65kg?

As a former jockey (apprentice and amateur picnic) and a light weight at 52kg after a full feed at kfc my concern with this for those light weight riders is of course the extreme danger of saddles rolling with us being forced to carry so much dead weight and making monte racing very risky if you happen to be of a light build.
For those not in the know short of putting a heavy clumbersome stock saddle on the horse (which would only contribute to break downs and is just as likely to roll) we would have to fill our race pads with lead, saddle bags filled with lead and use heavy thick saddle cloths all making it very hard to keep the saddle sitting on the horse and not making it a rolling weight above them, which in turn can and will shift and roll with the sightest bump in running and lets just say trotters are certainly not as smooth and reliable as a thoroughbred in it's gait and they roll causing serious falls in thoroughbred racing every day.

I am in no way saying weights should be a free for all do as you want, but I am saying just because this is how its done in Sweden does not mean we have to follow it to the letter (they can use Lasix in America, does that mean we do the same here? no way) here in Australia, all im asking is a realistic minimum 58-60kg or we regulate it in another way, is it fair that there is no maximum weight (so yes if you want to give a horse a run you can just put an extra heavy rider on and no ones the wiser) but there is a minimum that rules out some of the light weight riders (if they have the knowledge to know the risk they are opening themselves up to) there was a nasty fall in the last bankstown monte due to a saddle rolling do we want that to happen in every monte??

I think more hands on experienced knowledge needs to be put into these rules before they are made official, the rules clearly lack racing under saddle knowledge by stating "breastplates must be worn to stop saddles rolling" when an experienced person knows full well a breastplate wont stop a saddle rolling it only helps to prevent it from slipping too far back and that the saddle has already slipped to the side before a breastplate takes a pull and stops it,.
Maybe as an ex jockey I am far too experienced in these risks and can see them too clearly and as such wont put myself in a situation that I can see ending in disaster but I also wont go out there and put others at risk just because I want to get back in the saddle again, we all know the risks of race riding and driving, if you go out there worrying about them honestly you should be at home on the longue watching sky, but we don't go out there taking extra risks and being put in dangerous situations that as licensed persons we shouldn't be put in, so on that I wont be riding in monte races unless weights are fair for all riders.

My one and only monte (on only 2 days notice and never sitting on a square gaiter before) was a 4th on len smith mile day (yes I was thrown right in the deep end) and I loved it, its the best of both worlds, I annoyed the crap out of a few trotting trainers I knew until one brilliant fellow sent me my own trotter to train for the montes, ive worked this mare up from scratch put all the hard work into her looking forward to the up coming montes only to now find because I happen to be of a light build I cant partner this mare myself, is this fair? some might say yes I say no its not, weights need to be regulated but the light riders shouldn't be ruled out of the sport.

I am writing to HRA first thing tomorrow and I am seeking input from well respected thoroughbred racing stewards as to their experience with shifting saddles due to light riders having to ride heavy weights by using extra dead weight and the risks to it, but I would love the input of others be it owners, drivers, trainers, punters or whoever on this subject.

thanking everyone for your time in reading this
cheers monique

Quote:

Originally Posted by broco

I would love the views of everyone in regards to this.

I agree totally that from a betting and not to mention owners point of view we do need to regulate the weights in a way that is fair the light weight riders giving their mounts a distinct advantage over the heavier riders but 65kg?

As a former jockey (apprentice and amateur picnic) and a light weight at 52kg after a full feed at kfc my concern with this for those light weight riders is of course the extreme danger of saddles rolling with us being forced to carry so much dead weight and making monte racing very risky if you happen to be of a light build.
For those not in the know short of putting a heavy clumbersome stock saddle on the horse (which would only contribute to break downs and is just as likely to roll) we would have to fill our race pads with lead, saddle bags filled with lead and use heavy thick saddle cloths all making it very hard to keep the saddle sitting on the horse and not making it a rolling weight above them, which in turn can and will shift and roll with the sightest bump in running and lets just say trotters are certainly not as smooth and reliable as a thoroughbred in it's gait and they roll causing serious falls in thoroughbred racing every day.

I am in no way saying weights should be a free for all do as you want, but I am saying just because this is how its done in Sweden does not mean we have to follow it to the letter (they can use Lasix in America, does that mean we do the same here? no way) here in Australia, all im asking is a realistic minimum 58-60kg or we regulate it in another way, is it fair that there is no maximum weight (so yes if you want to give a horse a run you can just put an extra heavy rider on and no ones the wiser) but there is a minimum that rules out some of the light weight riders (if they have the knowledge to know the risk they are opening themselves up to) there was a nasty fall in the last bankstown monte due to a saddle rolling do we want that to happen in every monte??

I think more hands on experienced knowledge needs to be put into these rules before they are made official, the rules clearly lack racing under saddle knowledge by stating "breastplates must be worn to stop saddles rolling" when an experienced person knows full well a breastplate wont stop a saddle rolling it only helps to prevent it from slipping too far back and that the saddle has already slipped to the side before a breastplate takes a pull and stops it,.
Maybe as an ex jockey I am far too experienced in these risks and can see them too clearly and as such wont put myself in a situation that I can see ending in disaster but I also wont go out there and put others at risk just because I want to get back in the saddle again, we all know the risks of race riding and driving, if you go out there worrying about them honestly you should be at home on the longue watching sky, but we don't go out there taking extra risks and being put in dangerous situations that as licensed persons we shouldn't be put in, so on that I wont be riding in monte races unless weights are fair for all riders.

My one and only monte (on only 2 days notice and never sitting on a square gaiter before) was a 4th on len smith mile day (yes I was thrown right in the deep end) and I loved it, its the best of both worlds, I annoyed the crap out of a few trotting trainers I knew until one brilliant fellow sent me my own trotter to train for the montes, ive worked this mare up from scratch put all the hard work into her looking forward to the up coming montes only to now find because I happen to be of a light build I cant partner this mare myself, is this fair? some might say yes I say no its not, weights need to be regulated but the light riders shouldn't be ruled out of the sport.

I am writing to HRA first thing tomorrow and I am seeking input from well respected thoroughbred racing stewards as to their experience with shifting saddles due to light riders having to ride heavy weights by using extra dead weight and the risks to it, but I would love the input of others be it owners, drivers, trainers, punters or whoever on this subject.

thanking everyone for your time in reading this
cheers monique

Posting to show agreeance.
Not experienced on the matter but from what I've read/heard in the gallops world about dead weight you raise quite a valid point.

Back in the dark ages ( pre 1970) the minimum DRIVING weight was "10 stone", in those days if a driver weighed less than ten stone he had to carry lead in the seat of his sulky to make up the difference, the reason I mention this is that 65kg is the metric equivalent to 10 stone i.e. 65kg = 143 pounds or 10 stone, 3 pounds. This is where the 65 kg minmum idea may have been derived.

I hear what you are saying about dead weight Monique and it ( dead weight) is a valid factor, however, I'm not convinced that 65 kg is too much, I think it needs to be more than 60kg for sure, but how much more? I think the gait also needs to be considered as I believe a horse trotting will carry the weight easier than a horse galloping, similarly I believe a horse pacing will carry the weight more easily than the other two.

If I were in your shoes and needing to carry lots of dead weight, I would be looking very closely at the type of saddle I was going to use, something that will enable you to get most of that dead weight over the horses wither.

Cheers,
Dan