Learnt to live with it How jockeys conquer the punting trolls
Like many sportspeople, jockeys, from top riders right down to the youngest of apprentices, have copped their share of trolling, says Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Matt Hyland.
A lot of it comes from people who have lost money on a horse that jockey may have ridden, and there are different methods for dealing with it. One jockey, Luke Nolen, has abandoned social media. Another, Ben Allen, has a simple message for disgruntled, abusive punters.
âDonât bother â" it doesnât affect me,â says the 22-year-old, who has spent his whole professional career in an era when social media users, so often posting behind aliases or burner accounts, spew out vitriol and hate.
Young jockey Ben Allen says social media trolls donât bother him.Credit:Getty Images
âSome [people] might get a bit upset, but it all depends on how you look at it. You have a crappy day, you might get some Twitter posts that you would rather not see, but if you have had a bad or disappointing day you know it yourself anyway. You donât need to be told.â
Hyland says times have changed since he was a jockey, when the only way for a punter to share their views was to say it to a jockeyâs face.
âWe used to get it when I was riding, but they had to say it to your face or at least shout it to you as you came back to scale,â Hyland says. âWe used to go back to the rooms and say to each other, âdid you hear that bloke leaning over the fence, roaring and shouting calling you everything under the sun?â
âNow, of course, you canât see who is doing it if they have anonymous accounts. But our young riders know they canât control what is out there, but they can control their response to it.â
He says the situation has eased quite a lot in recent years, but it is still important to teach newcomers how to handle the abuse.
âIt still exists, but I would say 18 months to two years ago it was more prevalent. More than anything I think the jockeys have learnt to live with it, to not engage with it.
âI think that is happening across most sports but for new jockeys and apprentices coming into the system, it is always something that needs to be discussed.
âThey are very young, just teenagers, and for some that sort of criticism can be hard to take. So we educate them about how they handle social media, what their best approach is.â
Part of that education is available through the services of the jockey assistance program, which allows members to talk to psychologist Lisa Stevens.
Stevens, who also works for the Western Bulldogs in the AFL, did not want to comment about individual cases but acknowledged that abuse on social media could be an issue, suggesting that the abusers seemed to forget that when they backed a horse, it was gambling â" and that they could lose as well as win.
Trainers are generally older and are not the first line of attack as they are not as visible as jockeys, but they too can be in the firing line.
Andrew Nicholl, the CEO of the Australian Trainers Association, says: âAt the end of the day a lot of people talk through their pocket. Itâs probably always around the punt.
âThe odd time they [a trainer] will put it [critical comments] out on social media themselves and have a bit of a laugh with it and respond, always in a sarcastic and light-hearted manner.
âMost donât think about it, and they certainly donât pack up training because of it. There are no threats of bodily injury or death threats or things like that. And the rules of racing deal with it if it is an owner who has a go. They can be dealt with and sanctioned.â
Nolen, the man who rode Black Caviar to 22 of her 25 victories and was three times Victoriaâs premier rider earlier in his career, is from a different generation.
And while he admits that he used to be interested in what was said about him on various social media platforms, he no longer cares â" because he doesnât use them.
âI got off it two and a half years ago. I was wasting too much time. It was too distracting as I spent too much time looking at the screen.
âA wise person told me many years ago that five per cent of the world will support you no matter what, five per cent will bag you no matter what, and the other 90 per cent wonât care.â
Luke Nolen aboard Black Caviar en route to her win in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012.Credit:Getty Images
Nolen laughs when asked about the Twitter storm that ensued when he stopped riding his famous partner before the line in that infamous race at Royal Ascot eight years ago to almost cost Black Caviar the only defeat of her career.
Nolen says he didnât need to look at a screen to know the stick that was coming.
âI got enough from the English media that day at Royal Ascot, never mind social media. I didnât have to go looking. They must have been starved for something or someone to have a go at. The Australian cricket team must have been up and about or something because I copped a fair old bollocking over that.
âStill, it was warranted, and I copped it on the chin. I didnât really need it, I knew it myself.â
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Michael Lynch is The Age's chief soccer reporter and also reports on motor sport and horseracingConnect via Twitter or email.
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