It's not often a hairdresser gives up their trade to become an apprentice jockey.
But for 23-year-old Ben Vassallo it was something he had to do - even though he didn't know the first thing about being a jockey.
"It has been four years in the making and when I was a hairdresser I didn't know how to ride a horse or anything," Vassallo said.
"I had the idea of becoming a jockey when I first left school, but my parents thought I would get too big.
"I decided about three and a half years ago that I wanted to do something I enjoyed and didn't want to look back in a few years and say 'I wish I had done that'."
Full Story: SHN, Wednesday, December 20.
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