Gay Kindersley (2 June 1930 – 21 April 2011) was a British champion amateur jump jockey, horse trainer and a "drinker, gambler and serial womaniser".

Early life

Gay Kindersley was born on 2 June 1930, the son of the Hon. Philip Kindersley, and his wife

Oonagh Guinness Oonagh Guinness (22 February 1910 – 2 August 1995) was an Anglo-Irish socialite, society hostess and art collector, and the second wife of Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne. Early life She was born on 22 February 1910, the ...

, and grandson of

Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley (21 November 1871 – 20 July 1954) was an English businessman, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public servant who organised the National Savings movement. Background Kindersley was born ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, followed by

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he remained for only two terms.

Career

After Oxford, Kindersley joined the 7th Hussars, and served in Germany. At the age of 21, he announced that he wanted to get married, so his family sent him to Canada, where he worked as an oil rig "roughneck", and as a Calgary Stampede rodeo competitor. On his return to the UK, he continued as an amateur jockey, and in the 1959–60 season, won the amateur jockeys' championship with 22 winners from 100 rides, all but five of the 100 on his own horses. Kindersley broke his back at Stratford in 1955, and again at Hurst Park in 1962, after which his doctor told him to stop riding; he ignored the advice, and continued. He retired as a National Hunt jockey in 1965, and as a flat racing jockey in 1969. Before he retired, he started work as a trainer at

East Garston East Garston is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Lambourn, about north of Hungerford in West Berkshire. The river flows through the village, dividing many houses from the main road, so that each has a bridge ove ...

. He always wanted to win the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

, and in 1984 his horse Earthstopper came fifth but collapsed afterwards.

Personal life

Kindersley was married twice, firstly in 1956 to Margaret "Magsie" Diana, daughter of the actor

Hugh Wakefield Hugh Wakefield (10 November 1888 – 5 December 1971) was an English film actor, who played supporting roles. He was often seen wearing a monocle. Hugh Claude Wakefield was born in Wanstead, Essex. He also had a distinguished stage career, whic ...

,Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th ed., vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2170 for nearly 20 years. They had two sons and two daughters, including the novelist Tania Kindersley. He was then married to Philippa Harper, from 1976 until his death. They had two sons. His friends included

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

, and

Lord Oaksey Geoffrey Lawrence, 3rd Baron Trevethin, 1st Baron Oaksey, (2 December 1880 – 28 August 1971) was the main British judge during the Nuremberg trials after World War II, Second World War, and President of the Judicial group. Biography The Law ...

. His lovers included Ann, Marchioness of Queensberry, and

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

player

Shirley Abicair Shirley Abicair (born 26 October 1930) is an Australian-born singer, musician, television personality, actress and author. In the 1950s and 60s, she was probably best known as an exponent of the zither. Early life Shirley Abicair was born in Mel ...

. He admitted, "I've got this infidelity thing, I've always had to be chasing." His "engaging naivety" shows in an incident at London's

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

in 1985 at a lunch for the

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

, when he introduced himself and his guest

Graham Lord Graham Lord (16 February 1943 – 13 June 2015) was a British biographer and novelist. His biographies include those of Jeffrey Bernard, James Herriot, Dick Francis, Arthur Lowe, David Niven, John Mortimer and Joan Collins. He was the literar ...

with the words, "Hallo, folks, I'm Gay and this is my friend Graham". One of the cricketers said, "Jeez! Backs to the wall, mate". Recounting the story later, Kindersley was "completely bewildered when everyone roared with laughter". Kindersley died on 21 April 2011, aged 80, and was survived by four of his children from his first marriage, both from his second, and by both his wives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindersley, Gay 1930 births 2011 deaths British jockeys British racehorse trainers People educated at Eton College Guinness family Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

Gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...