It's berry hard work! Jump jockeys put their back into it down on the farm

If you buy a bottle of Pixley Berries blackcurrant cordial at Waitrose later in the year, raise a glass to the back-breaking efforts of Charlie Deutsch, Richard Patrick and Stan Sheppard this spring.

A 4m chase round Ffos Las won't seem like quite such hard work to the three jump jockeys who have turned to planting blackcurrant bushes to help make ends meet during the coronavirus shutdown.

The trio have been out of action since racing was stopped last month and turned to the Pixley Berries farm in Herefordshire, which is owned by Sheppard's great uncle.

While taking a break from his labours on Thursday, the jockey said: "We looked into going to Lambourn to go and ride out but if the first lot at a Flat yard was at 6am we'd have to leave at 4am. So this is a bit more feasible, we all live within ten minutes.

"It's been hard work and very different to what we're used to. It's literally putting a twig in the ground and it grows. You have to make sure it's the right way up and there's not a bud growing on the top, otherwise it won't grow.

"There are six of us planting. In one big box there are about 15,000 sticks and we are on to our third box and this is our second day."

Pixley Berries managing director Anna Bird paid tribute to her newest employees and said: "It's quite hard work and it's a world away from the glamour of being a jockey so I did think they were probably going to tell me to get stuffed. But bless them they've been really good. They've been really enthusiastic, they've been in really good humour and they've got on with everyone.

The three jump jockeys at workCredit: Pixley Berries farm

"They started on Wednesday and they're doing it much more quickly than we anticipated they would, they did six acres on the first day so they're well ahead of schedule.

"But because we've gone from a flood to a drought and we've now got quite hot, dry weather we might get them on watering duty. We have a planting programme in place and we're hoping to keep them on until May 7. A lot of it is mechanically harvested so we don't need lots of pickers and a labour force is more challenging to come by as we only have short periods of work, it's quite seasonal."

Reflecting on the gruelling nature of the work, Sheppard said: "It's bending over, stabbing it in the ground and walking along.

"But we're getting paid for it and it's not like we'd be doing anything else otherwise. They reckon we'll be finished in the first week in May then we're looking into getting a job somewhere else – hopefully not planting blackcurrants.

"I don't think I'll be buying much blackcurrant squash for a while."

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