Former Petworth jockey awarded an MBE for services to horse racing

Ronald Atkins, 77, known as Ron, said he was ‘very pleased’ and ‘very honoured’ to be included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

“I was surprised to receive this honour for doing something I love doing,” said the grandfather-of-four.

Ron enjoyed a 26-year career as a jockey, becoming one of the top 20 jump jockeys in the country.

He was initially interested in boxing, but started riding horses when his family moved from North London to Crawley, eventually securing an apprenticeship.

From 1968 to 1986 he was Vice President of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and also a racecourse Safety Officer.

The latter role involved significant campaigning for jockey safety helmets, body protectors and lobbying for the removal of concrete posts on racecourses.

Ron said the original jockey helmets were ‘like a basin stuck on your head, like a paper mache thing’.

Thanks to his efforts, they are now mandatory and much better quality: “You’d have to drive a bus over them to get to the skull of a jockey.”

Ron also campaigned for the introduction of back pads that protected the spine. “People used to get trodden on and kicked in the back, there was no protection at all,” he said.

He is no stranger to injury himself: in his career as a jump jockey he broke his collar bone five times, broke his toes, nose and sternum and had ‘a few bouts of concussion’, among other injuries.

Ron was the instigator and driving force in setting up the Professional Jockeys Association Pension Fund, and said this was his proudest achievement.

It took ‘a lot of work’ to secure funding but, due to these efforts, jockeys now receive a very competitive pension.

“None of that was about when I was a young lad,” he said.

Since the Fund’s inception in 1984, over £16 million has been invested for the benefit of jockeys and Ron still sits on the board of the Pension Fund.

He also remains on the board of trustees for the Professional Jockeys Association and continues to play ‘a very active and meaningful role’, sharing his knowledge and expertise freely.

On a voluntary basis, he is a regular visitor for beneficiaries of the charity The Injured Jockeys Fund.

His visits were described as ‘a significant help to injured jockeys’.

Nowadays, Ron continues to be involved in the world of racing, working at Goodwood and other racetracks.