Successful jump jockey Lilly Pinchin opens up on the importance of racing and horses in her life in the film ‘A Racing Mind’ which has followed her over a year long period
16:23, 24 Jan 2025
A successful jump jockey has revealed she has been living with ADHD.
Lilly Pinchin, 25, has ridden 92 career winners, fulfilling her goal of riding out her conditional claim as well as riding three winners at Cheltenham. Two years ago she was described as ‘the next generation of female riders’ by legendary jockey Ruby Walsh.
Yet she has now opened up on the daily battles she has to fight as a sufferer of ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The details are disclosed in a new documentary, titled ‘A Racing Mind’. A rebellious teen, Pinchin turned her back on education at 15 to pursue a career as a jockey.
She learned the ropes at Fergal O'Brien's stable in Gloucestershire and rode her first hunter chase winner, aged 17, at Cheltenham. She now works for Charlie Longsdon, for whom she has ridden eight of her 11 successes this season.
Longsdon, as well as Pinchin’s family and friends, contribute to the film, made over the last 12 months. In a post on X, Pinchin said: “Something I’ve kept a secret for a long time, but I can’t wait to share my journey with you and what it’s like to live with ADHD. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as we did making it.”
The makers of the mini-series, the Cotswold Film Company, released an excerpt from the documentary due to be released in the spring.
In one clip, Pinchin says: “If I did not have horses, I’d hate to think where I’d be right now. Every day I wake up in the morning, my brain is a mess.
“Having ADHD in reality is a real struggle. If I didn't have horses I’d really be struggling to control my ADHD, where I’m in a different world when I’m on a horse.”
Pinchin opens up on the highs and lows of her life and the importance of taking her medication while a medical expert explains that ADHD sufferers can have a ‘low frustration tolerance’.
At one point Pinchin admits, “My ADHD has been rife. I can barely bloody concentrate. “When I get on a horse it’s completely different. I completely switch off and concentrate.”
She adds: “If I didn’t take my tablets I wouldn’t be able to do the job I do. It makes me a better person. It makes me the person that I am. It’s something that needs to be talked about and spoke about because not everyone is normal.”