God bless you, Keagan – pointing’s sense of loss

The morning of Monday 5th February dawned with a sadness so heavy it suppressed air.

This article first appeared in the Racing Post on Friday 9th February.

The name Keagan Kirkby was on the airwaves, in the news, the subject of countless heart-breaking tributes. For anyone with an interest in point-to-pointing, the cliché ‘one of our own’ felt so relevant.

Across the land, strings of horses and riders were on the move. Were they all doing so under a sense of loss? You can bet they were in Ditcheat, and at all points of the compass across Britain wherever people follow racing and love this amateur sport in which so many people strive hard to achieve. For some it is the thrill, the unbeatable thrill of race riding.

Without any apparent family associations in the sport, Kirkby had caught the bug, ridden six winners and – through his own graft and personality – was forging associations with trainers. No wonder Zoe Young Kirkby described herself on one social media platform as ‘Bristol Rovers supporter. Proud mum of Keagan Kirkby’. They’ll never take that away from her.

And the Grissells, horsemen and women of Kent and steeped in racing and point-to-pointing. How were they feeling? In April Kirkby celebrated his first ride for them by guiding Westtara to victory in a maiden race at Aldington. Long-standing fans of the sport in Kent will remember Westtara’s granddam, Nethertara, a multiple point-to-point winner and successful in two chases. She has bred winners.

Westtara was not a spare ride no one else wanted. This was a capable point-to-pointer bred to race and whose experience included four runs under rules. After their Aldington victory, they were placed on their next three starts. A week ago on Sunday, Kirkby finished second on Rob Varnham’s Ripper Roo in Charing’s penultimate race, teeing him up for another spin on Westtara… with inexplicable and fatal consequences.

The Grissell family will hurt for a long time, and so will girlfriend Emily and the paramedics who gathered around to fight for Kirkby’s life. They are professionals, but they can’t be immune from grief when a young person slips away under their care.

At Badbury Rings in Dorset three years ago, I entered the paddock and wandered over to say hello to trainer Sam Loxton who was about to give Kirkby a ride. In typically modest fashion Sam said: “You don’t want to talk to me, you want to talk to Keagan. He’s with Paul [Nicholls].”

Kirkby looked rather pensive – he hadn’t ridden a winner at that point – but, if he worked for the champion jumps trainer and was good enough to ride for Sam, he was competent. I then made a mental log to watch out for him, and hope he did something worthy of an article somewhere down the line.

It wasn’t meant be this one.

His most recent win came at Horseheath in Cambridgeshire on New Year’s Eve. A first spin under rules was on the horizon – he was building momentum.

Kirkby winning on Imperial Esprit at Horseheath (Neale Blackburn)

Ah, momentum, the adrenalin rush as the fence sucks you in and the horse pricks its ears, places itself for the take-off stride, comes up, soars and lands far out the other side, then gallops on. That is what Kirkby loved, and the camaraderie. It is why riders young and old turn out each weekend to take part in this amazing and carefully managed sport where horse and rider safety is top priority, but can never be perfected. God bless you Keagan.