John Buckingham (10 July 1940 – 22 December 2016) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

, best known for riding

Foinavon Foinavon (1958–1971) was an Irish racehorse. He won the Grand National in 1967 at odds of 100/1 after the rest of the field fell, refused or were hampered or brought down in a mêlée at the 23rd fence. The fence was officially named after ...

to victory in the

1967 Grand National The 1967 Grand National was the 121st renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1967. The race is best remembered for being won by outsider Foinavon at odds ...

. Buckingham was born at Five Ways,

Hatton, Warwickshire Hatton is a village and civil parish about west-northwest of Warwick, in the Warwick District of Warwickshire in England. The parish had a population of 1,078 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 2,319 at the 2011 Census. Notable landmarks incl ...

, one of the four children of Nancy Bewley and Thomas Buckingham. He was apprenticed aged 15 to the trainer Edward Courage in Oxfordshire. His first win came at Southwell on Sahagun in 1959. Buckingham had never ridden in 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 ...

when, a few days before the race in 1967, he was offered the ride on outsider

, a ride that had already been turned down by three jockeys. Foinavon started the Grand National at odds of 100/1. Neither his trainer nor his owner were at

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

, trainer John Kempton having gone to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

to ride another of his horses. Of the 44 starters, 28 were still in the race as they approached

Becher's Brook Becher's Brook ( ) is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fence, as well as on four other occasions ...

on the second circuit, with Foinavon going well in 22nd place, just behind the favourite Honey End. Leading the field were two riderless horses, Popham Down and April Rose. As they approached the 23rd fence (the one after Becher's) Popham Down veered to his right and ran across the fence, causing a pile-up. As horses refused, crashed into each other and ran up and down the fence, Foinavon was one of only two horses to find a gap, clear the fence, and carry on. John Buckingham described how Foinavon had slowed to a canter and jumped the fence off his hocks, like a showjumper. (The other horse to clear the fence at the first attempt was Packed Home, who had been in last place and eventually finished fifth). At the next obstacle, the

Canal Turn The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds ...

, Foinavon had a lead of 30 lengths as horses that had been put again to the 23rd fence after the pile-up, some of them remounted, gave chase. At the finish he was still fifteen lengths clear of the second horse, Honey End. In the winner's enclosure, the blue sash was put on Foinavon by former jockey

Tim Brookshaw Tim Brookshaw (25 March 1929 - 8 November 1981) was a National Hunt jockey who was champion jockey in 1958/1959. Stanley James Brookshaw, always known as Tim, was born into a Shropshire farming family and started his career as a jockey with Chesh ...

and Buckingham was interviewed: "Everything seemed to stop in front of me. I managed to pull onto the outside. I nearly got stopped by two loose horses... after he jumped it, we were just on our own. I couldn’t believe it. It was wonderful." Buckingham rode in three more Nationals, finishing every time. In 1971 he retired as a jockey and set up a business as a jockeys' valet with his brother Tom. In 1966 Buckingham married Ann Chater. The couple lived in

Chipping Warden Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire, England about northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by f ...

, Northamptonshire, and had two daughters, Laura and Lucy.

References

1940 births 2016 deaths English jockeys {{England-horseracing-bio-stub