A TALL TALE
Your prototypical jockey is usually slight of frame, fairly
short, with a low body mass index (BMI). Occasionally you’ll find a variant,
someone slightly taller but even thinner, or someone short but a bit heftier,
but generally riders will fit that depiction.
And then there’s Tanner Riggs.
Tanner is taller than your normal rider, quite a bit so. In
fact, he’s often the tallest person in the winner’s circle, a place he
frequently inhabits. However, he isn’t the tallest to ever ride. That honor
probably went to 7’ 7” Manute Bol, a former basketball player, when he rode in
a charity event. Louise Moeller, from Denmark, rode professionally at 6’
1”. The six-foot Deshawn Parker is a mainstay at Tampa Bay Downs. Tanner is
shorter than they are.
“I don’t know how tall I am,” replied Riggs when queried
about his height.
Contrary to common wisdom, being far taller than most of
their competition, isn’t always a handicap. Tanner is a case in point. He
currently (through April 13th) leads the Hawthorne jockey colony in wins and is second
to Florent Geroux to money won. Tanner won his first jockey title during the
2010 Spring meet at Hawthorne
The 22-year-old, a native of Mitchell, South Dakota
got his start working on farms in his area. “My Dad always had horses. I grew
up around quarter horses on the farm. He had a couple of Thoroughbreds around
but not that many. I was on horses since I could walk. That’s pretty much what
I did. The average school kid grew up playing sports and such. I rode. I was working
on the farm and when we had time, we were on horses. I often helped to break
horses.
“I would go to the races with my father when I was young but
I never really knew about the different aspects of racing. I didn’t know what
went on on the backstretch.
“There was a local fair meet where they raced horses. Not
many jockeys went there because the purses were so low and because it was kind
of wild but, when I turned 16, I was still light and I thought I would give it
a try. I’m not going to lie, I was horrible. They were all telling me that they
didn’t know if I was going to make it.
“But, I kept at it.
“I went to Minnesota
that summer to gallop horses. I was there for about three weeks to a month but
it was tough being away from home at such a young age. So, I went home and went
back to school.
“When I could I went to the meet in Columbus, Nebraska.
That’s where I really started riding. I got on a bunch of horses and tried to
learn as much as I could. From there I went to Fonner
Park and then back to Canterbury for the summer and spent a couple
of meets.
“It’s been a work in progress.
“I’ve been riding since July of 2005, with a couple of
breaks for school. Plus, I got hurt and had to take about a month off. I came
up here for a while, hoping to ride, but I still had school and I really
couldn’t handle it. I was only 17 or 18 and I’m from a small town. There was
too much hustle and bustle for me, at that young age.
“But, I’m used to it now. I hope to stay here, riding, for a
long time.
“I struggle with my weight. I always will. There are riders taller than me that don’t have much trouble keeping their
weight down but that isn’t the case with me. I don’t go into the sauna
much. I prefer to just jog to keep my weight down. I have to limit what I eat.
I try to eat two meals a day, breakfast and another, but I often go home after
a day of riding and just have a glass of water and a granola bar.
“I always wanted to be a farmer when I was young. That’s
what I would tell people when they asked me what I wanted to do with my life.
If you would have asked me when I was 16 if I was going to be a jockey I would
have said ‘never’. But, I’m at the point
now where I don’t want this career to end.
Neither do we.
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