The 22-year-old, from Lincolnshire and apprentice to Craig Lidster, was all but born on the back of horse.  Both of his parents rode and William was quick to join in the family hobby, which mainly consisted of hacking and “messing around” in the fields at home.

As far as racing goes, William was a regular visitor to Market Rasen and Hexham, which is close to where is grandmother lives, but until he started his A Levels at college, that was the closest he got to racing.  He explained how he ended up down the racing path.

“After completing my GCSE’s, I did a year of sixth form, but didn’t like it and wanted to work out how I could do something I actually enjoyed.

“I went to an open day at the National Horseracing College, signed up, spent three months riding ex-racehorses and then went straight into employment.”

William’s first job was with Ivan Furtado.

“I learnt a lot about keen horses and how to ride them at Ivan’s,” said William.

Looking to progress, William answered an advert placed by legendary Sheriff Hutton trainer, Mick Easterby, who was looking for an apprentice.  It was here that the knowledge gain continued.

“I learnt a lot about horses,” said William, emphasising the word ‘lot’, “and about people.”  He continued.

“I got my apprentice license at Mr Easterby’s, where I had about 70 rides and three winners, but in hindsight it was too soon as I wasn’t good enough.

“I took a punt and moved to Ed Bethell’s for a year, but it was a struggle.  I spent a year doing very light weights for anyone who would put me up and it was tough.

“I started to ride out for Craig Lidster, who had just move to Eboracum stables in Easingwold.  He was expanding and needed more staff.  He was close to the Sheriff Hutton area, where I had really enjoyed living when I was at Easterby’s and everything felt right so I moved there at the end of 2022.”

Unfortunately for William, it wasn’t the smoothest of starts, as two months into the job he came off a yearling and broke his back, keeping him out of work for five months.

“Fortunately, it was a straight fracture of my T6 as I landed straight on my head.  I felt quite a bit of uncertainty going back to work, but hit it off straight away with Craig and the team and I’m now into my third year with them.”

Reflecting on the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Series, William credits his agent, Wilson Renwick, for finding him some winning rides.

Scoring three points on the first day at Doncaster, William had three consecutive winners in the series at Pontefract, Wetherby and Beverley and he was also prominent on the national table, until another injury kept him out of the saddle for five weeks.

“After winning the apprentice race at Beverley, I had a fall later in the card and broke my arm.  It was the worst timing as we were in the height of the season and I was lying third in the national apprentice title.”

By this point, William already had a nearly unassailable lead in the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice series and he did add a few more points to his tally at Catterick in October.

Currently, William spends two days a week at Craig Lidster’s Malton yard and also rides out for Ivan Furtado, Gemma Tutty, Tracey Waggott, Geoff Harker, Kevin Frost and David Loughnane, among others.

But he hasn’t contained his travelling to this country.

“Last winter was tough, we were trying to protect my claim so I wasn’t riding as much as I would have liked to and the rides I was having were hardly short priced favourites.  I didn’t want to do the same again, so Craig agreed that I could go to America for six weeks.

“Kevin Darley, my jockey coach, managed to get me a position with Dan Blacker at Santa Anita.  He gave me a great introduction to American racing and I loved it!  I was quickly riding the best horses in important pieces of work and did get a ride before I came home.

“I’d been riding a horse called Victory Matters, he’d had a year and a half off and I was getting on well with him, so Dan put me up on him on the track.  We were second by a whisker!”

William’s goal for 2025 is to improve on last year and get associated with some nice horses.  2024 saw him ride 22 winners from 235 rides – a strike rate of nearly 10%.  He’s started 2025 with a roll, having three winners, from 11 rides.

We look forward to following William throughout 2025 and wish him all the best for the upcoming turf season.

Find out more about the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Series, supported by White Rose Saddlery here.