A Leg-up at Dawstown

May 9, 2026

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The man in the blue jacket has both hands on the jockey’s left boot, mid heave, and number 37 is halfway between earth and saddle. It’s neither one place nor the other. I love the awkward physics of a leg-up. It looks ungainly until you remember it’s the only sensible way to get a small, light human onto an animal that tall without a mounting block.

I have no idea how this jockey and horse did on the day. The photo is from 2024.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	320
Shutter speed	1/500s

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Comments

One response to “A Leg-up at Dawstown”

May 9, 2026

Ray McCarthy

@donncha mounting blocks, small step ladder or maybe a camel?I always found getting on and off a bit terrifying. Actual riding was fine. I like horses. Most are more friendly than many poodles?I may be biased as the only animals that ever bit me was a poodle. It jumped so high it bit me on the nose, though I was maybe 14 and small.

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