Richard Dunwoody MBE

Three times Champion jockey Richard Dunwoody is one of Britain's most successful jockeys ever. He was at the forefront of English National Hunt racing in the 80's / 90s, winning the Big Three races – the Grand National (twice on Miinnehoma and West Tip), the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

When he hung up his boots at the age of 35 due to injury in 1999, he had won a record 1,699 races. He is best known for his partnership with the legendary Desert Orchid on whom he won seven races. Richard was awarded an MBE in 1993 for services to his sport. In December 2008 he was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of the University of Ulster in recognition of his contribution to equine sport.

A racing pundit for the BBC and sports columnist, in January 2008 Richard also completed a gruelling 680-mile, 48-day trek to the South Pole un-resupplied and on a new route, one that Shackleton intended to take back in 1915.

From May to July 2009 Richard undertook the '1000 Mile in 1000 hours' Barclay Challenge which involved walking one mile in every hour for 42 days with minimal sleep throughout this period.

2009 also saw Richard's (albeit brief!) appearance on the BBC hit show 'Strictly Come Dancing', an experience which he describes in his second recently published autobiography, 'Method in My Madness' as far more daunting than riding around the Aintree Grand National fences!

In 2017 Richard completed a 2000 mile charity hike through Japan, a country that he describes as one of the most fascinating places he has ever visited.

Richard Dunwoody is an extremely competent motivational and after dinner speaker sharing his experiences as a top sportsman in a highly competitive environment with business audiences. He describes his style as anecdotal, sports related and business orientated.

Audiences will learn about the driving ambition which led him to become a household favourite in racing circles at only 21 and the focus and determination which kept him at the forefront of National Hunt racing for 15 years and helped him complete his greatest ever achievement reaching the South Pole. Richard also considers how he focused his mind to overcome the extreme sleep deprivation of walking 1000 miles in 1000 hours, and confronting the fear that he suffered when taking to the Strictly Come Dancing floor with Lilia Kopylova in front of 10 million viewers!

Richard Dunwoody’s motivational themes include:
Learning From Mistakes
Overcoming the Fear of Failure
Controlling the Controllable
Breaking the Performance Barrier
The Making of a Champion
Building a High Performance Team

Richard’s talks give audiences a flavour of life in the weighing room, racing in the Aintree Grand National, and partnering one of the greatest horses of all time, Desert Orchid. Not only focussing on tales from the racecourse, Richard delivers anecdotes from travels all over the world in the past 18 years, such as what it is like to come face to face with a polar bear in the Arctic, dicing with cavernous crevasses in Antarctica, and even holidaying in Kabul, and his journey through Japan.

Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Richard Dunwoody MBE. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.