'I didn't want it to get any worse' | Jockey Ben Bromley explains retirement for mental health reasons
After retiring from the saddle this week citing mental health reasons, 23-year-old conditional rider Ben Bromley joined Matt Chapman and Paddy Brennan on Unbridled to explain the decision and the circumstances for young jockeys in 2026.
Wednesday 7 January 2026 16:13, UK
Ben Bromley joined Matt Chapman and Paddy Brennan on Unbridled to explain the circumstances behind his recent retirement.
The 23-year-old conditional rider chose to retire from the saddle this week following ongoing issues with his mental health.
Although based at Paul Nicholls' Ditcheat headquarters, Bromley's 43 career winners since starting his career in 2019 had been obtained for a variety of trainers. Claiming 5lbs, he notably steered Park Annonciade to a £26,015 pot in Handicap company at Haydock in 2023 for Stuart Crawford.
Explaining the circumstances behind his decision, Bromley said: "It wasn't a one morning thing, it's been going on for a while where I've kind of been struggling and chipping away. I'm always thinking it's going to get better and it got to a point where I took a step back one day and thought, 'I don't know if it is going to get better and am I going to carry on for another five years and be in the same or worse position than I am now?'
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He continued: "I made an executive decision that enough was enough and I just thought 'I'm young enough to be able to go and do something else.' That's kind of what I did, I got the ball rolling from there. I looked into some other things and was more excited to apply for other things than I was racing. I think it's the best decision for me."
The rider's last visit to the winners' enclosure came on December 21st, after steering Girl Of Gold to victory in Fakenham's Sky Bet For The Fans Handicap Hurdle at odds of 5/2.
When asked on Unbridled if the decision to stop riding was results-based, Bromley replied: "It's hard to explain. It's not results - but results help! I said the other day that so much of racing is disappointment, and that's part of the game. It gets even harder when you don't have the ups to level out the downs, and then they all build up on top of each other."
Racing has been a part of the former jockey's life since childhood, being the son of reputable bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley.
"Without Dad, I wouldn't be where I am today. He's been so hopeful and has put so much into it for me. That did make it a little bit harder to say I wanted to stop because he's helped me so much and there's a lot of people who expected me to do better than I what I did maybe. That was quite a hard thing to get my head around as I didn't want to let anyone down. From what people have said to me, I don't think I have."
"Dad said to me: 'Everything I've put into it for you, I've enjoyed it so much.' Him saying that made everything alright and I didn't feel like I owed him anything."
Reflecting on his decision, Bromley said: "It wasn't that I fell out of love - I love horses and I love horse racing, it will always be a part of my life - but it was the way it made me feel.
"When you're not riding loads and not having the success you wish you could, you put so much pressure on yourself and individual rides. Everything seems to build up and up and up until it's too much, and I was getting to the point where it was too much.
"It wasn't that I wasn't enjoying the actual racing. When I was out riding, that was the bit that was OK. It was everything in between - the way it made me feel beforehand and afterwards. The criticism you get when you're always trying your best - it's a very difficult sport to maintain a level mental health. I thought it was getting to the wrong end of it, and I didn't want to get any worse."
In reply, co-host and former rider Paddy Brennan said: "It is so tough being a jockey, now more so than maybe 25 years ago. I feel for jockeys now especially, it's like throwing cushions at walls. You spoke about levelling out the disappointment by having that one win - I've been there.
"I used to think if I wasn't having a winner a week then I was failing, then if I wasn't having two winners a week that I was failing. This game is constantly trying to make you feel like a failure and don't feel like it's not normal, because that's what it does to you. I know what that feels like. I think the decision you've made is 100 per cent the right decision and if you're walking down a dark road, you don't want to walk any further."
Assessing the situation for jockeys at large, Matt Chapman added: "There's always been this belief that you're not a real man unless you keep at it. Like, if you just give up you're not macho or something. For me, that's the most important thing about this. Whatever being a real man is, I'd argue this is being more of a real man because you're actually saying 'I'm way above this…riding a racehorse is not the be all and end all of the world.' That message is so important."
Bromley surmised: "You get in such a rut. This is all I've ever done since I was born. I was riding ponies then straight out of school I went point to pointing before riding under rules. I haven't done anything else. You get in a bubble where you think 'I cant do anything else.' You're worried and it's a scary place to be because you convince yourself there's nothing else you can do until I took myself to one side and said "I'm sure there is."
"As soon as I said I wanted to stop - even to myself - there was a massive weight off my shoulders. There's a whole world outside of racing and you lock yourself in that bubble, it's a hard place to be when you feel you can't get out of it. I can't say I'm one of one feeling like this, I'm sure there are many young jockeys [that feel the same]. I want to put some perspective out there so other people know how difficult it is. It's not all glamourous, going racing and riding winners all the time. It's a real slog 90 per cent of the time."
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