Racing Ahead

Racehorse trainer Paul Robson’s life has changed gear many times, but since he was a young boy, the one constant has been horses. We spent the day at Paul Robson Racing in the Northumberland countryside to see how this chapter of his life is going.

Words by Molly Haynes 

(Above) Paul wears his Ridgeline Men's Cambrian Smock in Deep Bark. 

Every morning, Paul Robson steps outside with a cup of tea and takes in the surroundings of South Hazelrigg and the high-spec training centre he took over from trainers Rose and Tony Dobbin in 2024. “That quiet moment before I go and see the horses with my black lab Guinness is when I really appreciate what I’ve built,” he says. 

As he talks me through each of the racehorses in his care, it’s clear how well he knows their quirks and personalities, even which one he’d go for a pint with if they were human. “I’d probably end up rescuing him from a fight to be honest though,” he says.

Paul grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders where you were either into horses or rugby. “I wasn’t big enough for rugby, but I’d always loved horses and my parents bought me a pony early on.”

Then, at 13 he started training to be a jockey during the holidays with trainer Ferdy Murphy, before going full time at 16. A time he remembers as “pure, unbridled fun”. Paul’s time as a professional jockey saw him ride with a “golden generation of jockeys” like Tony Dobbin and Tony McCoy.

“Maybe I wasn’t as good as they were yet,” he admits, “but I was making a name for myself riding for the big trainers down south, and I was living my dream.”

It’s hard to hear about Paul’s last race at Stratford, when his already damaged shoulder dislocated midway through his ride. “I’d broken my shoulders several times before, but that day, my shoulder dislocated when the horse jolted, and I couldn’t get it back in.”

Another jockey had to help with Paul’s horse, and the BHA’s chief medical officer happened to be there that day. “He retired me on the spot,” explains Paul. “The experience of losing my career, handing over my licence and going through surgery left me feeling lost,” he admits. “I’d not prioritised my education as it was all about the horses, so I didn’t have a clue what was next.”

Supported by the Jockey Education & Training Scheme (JETS) – a charity that helps current and retired professional jockeys, he had access to employment advice and grants. He also had access to Jack Berry House, a rehabilitation and fitness centre for retired jockeys. Paul returned home and joined the family carpentry business, gaining carpentry and craft qualifications. When the 2009 recession hit, the business was forced to go back to its roots in undertaking.

“Since 1877, the family firm was called Robson’s Joiners and Undertakers, but we hadn’t done any undertaking for 20 years. We’re now one of the biggest undertakers in the Scottish Borders.” That success means Paul’s parents have been able to retire, something he calls “one of my greatest achievements”.

“My dad now drives an hour every day to come and work here,” he says. “I do wonder if he will ever slow down – he’s fallen off three times this week.”

It was his dad who was there when Paul had his accident in January 2025. “I was in the indoor gallop on a young, feisty horse and went to pass Dad my phone as I didn’t want it going off and scaring him,” he says.

But the horse spooked and threw Paul off. “The horse reared up and landed on me with his full weight. Lying on the ground with a broken back and pelvis, I knew it was bad but willed myself to wiggle my toes. When I realised I could, it gave me hope that I’d be OK.”

With emergency services racing to the farm, news spread fast, and on his arrival at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, Paul was greeted by a friend from his jockey days, George Skelton, who was there with a broken pelvis. “As I was wheeled in, he greeted me with his walking frame,” laughs Paul. “We ended up spending the next two weeks together in the trauma unit.”

Just a few months later, he was back on a horse through sheer determination and intense rehab. Watching Paul and one of his team, Holly, exercise on the gallops is breathtaking. The horses are flat out and focused, muscles rippling beneath their shiny coats. It’s hard to tell who’s enjoying it more. “When I’m riding it’s one of the few times I don’t feel the pain,” admits Paul.

Throughout our day at the yard, Paul wears his Ridgeline smock, “ideal for riding as it’s light but warm.” A fan of the brand for several years, he’s noticed more people wearing it in Northumberland.

Like all trainers, Paul has his list of dream wins, including the Gold Cup at Cheltenham. “You’re always looking for the horse that’s going to take you there,” he says.

“It’s important to be outrageously optimistic, because otherwise this sport would mentally destroy you.” I think back to 22-year-old Paul facing the end of his jockey career and ask him what he’d say if he could go back and chat to himself then. “I’d just say ‘You’re going to be okay,’” he says. “Because I really am.”

(Above) Paul's jockey, Holly, exercising one of the horses in her Ridgeline Women's Brumby Yard Jacket in Navy.