Michael W. Dickinson (born 3 February 1950 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a retired Champion

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer. Having been educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

, Dickinson was an amateur champion rider before becoming a professional

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 ...

for 10 years. His rides included a

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

winner, Boucher. Lester Piggot rode Boucher when it won the 1972 St Leger at Doncaster.

Training career

Dickinson got his trainer's licence in 1980, taking over his parents' stables. He trained at

Dunkeswick Dunkeswick is a hamlet in Harrogate District, North Yorkshire, just north of the River Wharfe, off the A61, around a kilometre north of Harewood and two kilometres south of Kirkby Overblow. Etymology The name of Dunkeswick comes from the Old ...

near Harewood in

and was the Champion Trainer of

National Hunt racing 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: ...

for three years in England. Two of his formative years were spent under the tutelage of

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish horse racing, race horse horse trainer, trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in ...

, the legendary Irish trainer who was master of

Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current train ...

, the training center in

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. Michael Dickinson is perhaps most famous for his extraordinary feat of training the first five in the 1983

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

. In order: Bregawn, Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck, and Ashley House. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)

before emigrating to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where he had his first runner on 30 June 1987. In 1993, he was elected to the

British Steeplechasing Hall of Fame The Steeplechasing Hall of Fame is a museum at Prestbury Park, in the village of Prestbury, Gloucestershire. Opened in 1994 at Cheltenham Racecourse, the Hall of Fame charts steeplechasing history from 1819 and showcases the sport's riders and t ...

and inducted on its opening in 1994. Dickinson's most acclaimed flat training feat came with

Da Hoss Da Hoss (January 18, 1992 – January 2, 2022) was a champion Thoroughbred gelding best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Mile two times. Background He was bred in Kentucky by Fares Farms and originally owned by Prestonwood Farm as well as Wa ...

. He trained the horse to win the 1996 and 1998

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incept ...

despite the horse only having had one race in between, owing to injury. On 13 November 2007, Michael Dickinson announced that he would not apply for a trainer's licence in 2008, in order to devote his time to his business of synthetic racetrack surfacing known as

Tapeta Footings The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

References

External links

Michael Dickinson at the NTRA

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Michael British jockeys British racehorse trainers American racehorse trainers 1950 births Living people People educated at Rossall School Sportspeople from Yorkshire