The female jockey of the year on weight-training, festive eating and getting her own back in the saddleIt is a time of year for sports enthusiasts to remember those less fortunate than themselves, which obviously includes jockeys, whose line of work means
Christmas dinner is limited to a mouthful of turkey and a brussel sprout if they are lucky.
![Jockey Hollie Doyle: ‘I never relax – you make yourself very vulnerable’ | Chris Cook](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8b61aeac87848c9d71de143bfdc70031fbdb2e6a/0_300_4500_2700/master/4500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=e7a79b0c9062900ce5befed66f7fd44c)
So runs the cliche, but it does not apply to Hollie Doyle, the newly crowned female jockey of the year, whose naturally low weight is just one of many reasons for her to be cheerful. Knowing she planned to ride on Boxing Day, it seems fair to ask Doyle if she can allow herself to indulge in any festive food when the 23-year-old spends Christmas with her parents in Herefordshire. “I’ll eat what I want,” she says, happily. “I don’t watch my weight. I eat what I want, when I want. So lucky!”