Gallery to feature work by a legendary jockey

The eye-catching shots, including many in Northumberland, have been captured by legendary horse rider, Richard Dunwoody.

His collection will go on show at the Rocking Horse Café & Gallery, at Rock Midstead Farm, run by Emma Whittingham, with support from business partner, Andrew Byne.

The gallery will be officially opened on Wednesday, from 11am onwards, and there will be the chance to meet Dunwoody, a two-time Grand National winner.

He said: “I am looking forward to the opening. I have known Andrew for a while and he commissioned me to do some shots of Northumberland. I took the pictures from the air and it was a truly memorable trip – flying over the castles, as well as towns like Alnwick and Berwick. Northumberland is a cracking county and a really great place, with beautiful scenery.

“I think my favourite shots were over Holy Island and Dunstanburgh Castle – I really enjoyed seeing them from the air.”

The gallery will primarily feature Dunwoody’s shots of Northumberland, but it will also showcase some of his other travel work over the last few years.

And Emma and Andrew are delighted to be able to put his work on show, believing it is a real coup for the area.

Emma said: “Richard really is an accomplished photographer and it will be the only place in Northumberland that you can get Richard Dunwoody photographs.

“Rock and the surrounding areas are very horse-orientated, so it is fitting that we are exhibiting some of the work by Richard Dunwoody.”

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dunwoody became the only jockey of his generation to win the Big Three National Hunt races, following wins on West Tip (Grand National 1986), Charter Party (Gold Cup 1988) and Kribensis (Champion Hurdle 1990).

He also partnered the great Desert Orchid to seven victories. He won the Grand National again on Miinnehoma in 1994 and was Champion Jockey three times (1993–95). He was awarded the MBE for services to his sport in 1993.

Since retiring as a jockey in 1999, he has travelled extensively and undertaken expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Besides sport, adventure and travel, he has always been passionate about photography and in 2011, he signed up to a nine-month intensive photojournalism course in Paris.

In spring 2013, his work took him to Guatemala, India, Pakistan and Egypt to photograph the challenges facing The Brooke Hospital for Animals and a successful exhibition of the resulting images of working equines and their owners was held in January 2014 at St Martin in the Fields in London.

He has covered the highly popular Mongol Derby several times and recently photographed the Patient’s Journey for Channel 4’s Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick. His images have appeared in publications around the world including Tatler, Four Seasons Magazine, Outside and How to Spend It.

For more information about the café and the gallery, visit the Rocking Horse Café & Gallery Facebook page.

For details about Richard’s photographs, visit richard dunwoodyphotography.com