2nd April 2026
Baker’s story has a way of looping back on itself. Once the man the Injured Jockeys Fund helped piece back together after that fall on the ice in St Moritz, he now stands on the other side of the rail — a jockey coach and a trustee of the very charity that carried him through his darkest days. Few riders know better what can be lost in a moment, or how much can be rebuilt with the right support. This year, as he leads and mentors others as Head of Coaching in the Rider Development Pathway, guiding young riders across the country, we caught up with him to talk about the work, the riders, and the road that brought him here.
“A lot of people aren’t aware of how much the IJF do until they need the services themselves. Your accident was a while ago now, but had you had much to do with them before that?”
“A little bit. When I broke my shoulder — I had to have the top of my humerus wired back together — they told me I’d be off for nine months to a year, but I was back in just over three months. So I already knew how good the team at Oaksey House were”.
“And now I imagine it’s hard to picture life without them?”
“Definitely. I had massive support — firstly for my family, and especially my wife Nicola. When I had my accident, we had a young family and no idea how, or if, I would recover. The IJF gave her confidence that I could come home, and they helped us through the whole rehab process. Their support was huge, from helping me learn to walk again to getting me back to work.
I was very lucky to become a trustee eight years ago. I love being involved. It makes you realise the depth of people they help, and how fortunate anyone who has held a licence is to have that support. They help so many people at all levels, and most of it goes unseen. When you hear a jockey say, “Thanks to the Injured Jockeys Fund,” that barely scratches the surface of the life‑changing work they do behind the scenes. You only understand the scale of it once you’re involved. The footfall through the centres every day is amazing — and it’s all charity‑funded. We’re so lucky people are so generous, and I’ve seen first‑hand how far those donations go”.
“Was becoming a jockey coach always on your radar?”
“Not at all. It wasn’t something I’d ever thought about. I was a bit lost. I wasn’t driving because it took two and a half years to get my licence back after my head injury. It was actually Lisa Delany from JETS, who has massively helped me since I retired, who first mentioned the idea”.
“I knew Jamie Osborne — I was riding his horse Boomerang Bob in Switzerland when the accident happened — and he wanted me to help Saffie when she was starting out. I didn’t have any qualifications, so I shadowed other coaches, worked my way up to Level 3, and Saffie was my guinea pig. She’s a great person and had already been coached to a high level in eventing. Through all of that, Oaksey House became my base. I did most of my coaching there, and I still do”.
“Do many riders get in touch with you after they’ve had a fall? A lot of athletes struggle with being on the sidelines in such a fast‑moving sport”.
“Yes. I was speaking to Tom Eaves the other day — he’s been off injured this winter — and we were talking about how different life feels when you stop or have forced time off. When I stopped, everyone focused on getting me walking and back on my feet, and I actually found the physical side the easiest because I could push myself.
But the mental side — knowing I wasn’t going back to a job and a way of life I loved — that was the real challenge. It’s a complete rebuild of your mental capacity. The support racing has put in place is huge. I mentioned it in my book, but Ben Papps, a neuropsychologist, was instrumental for me. I saw him weekly. Without his help, I honestly don’t think I’d have gone back to work. He remapped my brain. It was incredible. I wasn’t dealing with addiction or anything like that — I was just a damaged human being who needed resetting.
People see the physical improvements, but the mental side was the most important thing for me. When people say “stop race riding,” they forget how hard it is to come out of a routine that’s been hard‑wired into your nervous system. Letting go is the hardest part. You always think — even if you can’t — that you could still be race riding. That feeling never leaves you.
I remember speaking to Adam Kirby when he did the Legends Race. He’d done all the prep, and you think you’ll be as good as you were — but you won’t. You can’t replace it. When you finish riding, you have to say, “Right, that’s done,” and move on. If you don’t, you never let go and you’re never happy. You just end up talking about the good old days. When your time is done, it’s done”.
“Where did the Rider Development Pathway come from?”
“It’s always existed in some form, but it’s been rebranded. The People and Industry Board — Eleanor Boden and her team — reorganised the funding so everything sits in one pot. Before, different parties were doing different bits. It’s only been running in its current form for just over three months.
I never thought I’d get more fulfilment from coaching stable staff than jockeys, but I absolutely love it. Seeing people progress — whatever level they’re at — is brilliant. That jump from racing school to full‑time yard work is huge, and this gives them a bridge. Whether it’s becoming more effective on a certain type of horse or wanting to ride more work, it covers everything and gives them the chance to keep upskilling. It’s incredibly satisfying.
I’m doing yard visits three or four days a week at the moment. What’s fascinating — and something I knew when I was riding — is how many different ways there are to train racehorses, and how many different ways trainers want them ridden at home. There’s no single right way”.
“What’s the long‑term goal for the RDP?”
“The British Racing School and Eleanor’s team, with Andrea O’Keefe playing a huge role, put together a rider matrix. A group of us sat down and created a system to grade riders and identify what they need to progress to the next level.
The aim is simple: in most yards, you have a handful of riders who can ride every horse, and another handful who can ride maybe 75%. We want to upskill people so they can confidently ride a bigger pool of horses and be more effective. Ultimately, it makes the trainer’s job easier when matching riders to horses with different characters and needs.
It gives riders a clear gauge of where they are and a supported pathway forward. And one thing that’s the same in every yard is that stable staff take huge pride in nurturing their horses; they want to improve, do the best for their horses, and be the most competent riders they can be.
We log everything on the jockey coaching app to track progress so riders get visual feedback. All lessons are written up — just like the jockey coaching programme. Each yard has a rider coach who feeds back daily, which I think is the most important part. You can’t really see yourself riding out — it’s all based on feel. It’s like my golf swing: what I think is effective probably isn’t. So that feedback is vital”.
“Jockeys often struggle with stepping away from the saddle — the other side isn’t too bad, is it?”
“I’ve been in an industry I absolutely adore, and I know nothing lasts forever. I was extremely lucky in my career. I got wonderful opportunities, worked with lovely people, and I was an overachiever — I feel like I milked the game dry. I don’t have regrets.
I’m one of the luckiest people around. I don’t like thinking about how bad things were after the accident, but I’m reminded often — including recently by someone who was close to Nicola at the time — just how bad it was. I don’t like to think about it. I’m just grateful I can live a normal life, work in the industry I love, and still have an impact. Coaching has been massive for me, and I love my trustee work with the IJF.
You learn to appreciate the sport differently. All I know is we are incredibly lucky to have the Injured Jockeys Fund, and God knows where I’d be without them”.
Georgia Cox writing for the Injured Jockeys Fund