Spent the afternoon typing out a list of Jockeys from NZ who went to World War I. I kept thinking about the ANZAC day ceremonies we hold throughout NZ, and this is probably the first time I thought about the jockeys who went to war. Had a long chat to my dad about it, and he told me that most of the jockeys were of such a small body frame size that they often got the job of being the ones to wriggle forward and to cut the barb wire so the rest of their battalion could pass through without delay. There was a lot of the jockeys who were put on the reserves lists, either due to health or family commitments. But what I know about the jockeys who were around at that time, they were fearless. Maybe they had a different kind of mind set because a lot of them acted like they couldn't control the future, so living for the day was the way to get through life.
I saw a couple of names of guys who died during their racing careers after the war, on the list I was typing. It was sad - compared to today, they had a tough life, and it was a struggle. But through it all, they found things to enjoy and be happy about. I could take a lesson from them. Gotta remember to laugh more!!
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