 It is amazing that an island as small as Barbados is the home to so many celebrated jockeys on the Canadian horse racing circuit. But one diminutive 31-year-old rides faster and higher than them all and his name is Patrick Husbands.
Patrick has been racing in Canada for the past nine-and-a-half years, but history for this young champion began almost half his lifetime ago when he was just 16 years old. For it was in 1990 that this young upstart became the youngest rider to win the Caribbean's then premier horse race, the prestigious Cockspur (now Sandy Lane) Gold Cup. At that time Patrick was still very much an apprentice in the saddle, and his victory on the little known French colt Vandar took the country, and indeed the region by storm.
Young Patrick went on to win 32 races during that 1990 season, and though his early success may have seemed unbelievable to many, the fine art of horse racing was naturally in his genes. Born in the Harts Gap district of Christ Church, a stone's throw from The Garrison Race Track, his father Walter Husbands ran a beach-side riding school and was well known in the saddle in the 1950's and 1960's. And his older brothers Anthony and Simon also rode competitively on race days.
In 1994, having been crowned Champion Jockey of Barbados the previous year, Patrick decided to take to the saddle on the Canadian horse racing circuit. His arrival would not go unnoticed, and in 1995 - while just 21-years-old, this young Barbadian won 50 races, placed second in 56 others, and third in yet 55 more, earning over one million dollars.
In fact, it was Patrick's older brother Simon, already an outside rider at the Woodbine track, who encouraged him to ply his trade in Canada. But the early going was tough. Patrick is quoted as saying, "I enjoyed Barbados and was the talk of the town - but I came here and nobody knew me. Nobody wanted to give me a chance."
But finally one trainer did give this young Bajan a chance - Reade Baker - and today Patrick credits him for launching his Canadian career. "He gave me a chance when nobody else would, even when the owners did not want me to ride (their horses)."
But this humble jockey of immeasurable fame and success no longer has that problem. Riding from the time he was 5 years old, Patrick Husbands now dominates the Canadian tracks. Patrick was Canada's top jockey for the past 5 years, finishing the 2000 through 2003 seasons in the champion position. Also in 2003, Patrick won the Queen's Plate, North America's oldest continuously-run horse race. In 2004 he made his 7th straight Queen's Plate appearance, but this time - for the first time - his brother Simon also raced in the event. What a special moment for the Husband's family of Barbados!
Today, Patrick Husbands still returns to his "home track" at the Garrison to run in our annual Gold Cup event.
Patrick Husbands - from teenaged wonder to world-acclaimed champion - riding high in the horse racing saddle.
Article written in 2005 and compliments of "Ins and Outs of Barbados" Magazine
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