Richard Harry Fletcher: The English jockey who became a legend of the Great Pardubice
On the second Sunday in October fans of horseracing traditionally gather in Pardubice for the event of the year – the Velká pardubická steeplechase. Here is the extraordinary story of an English jockey closely connected to the race.
One of the most successful foreign jockeys in the history of the Great Pardubice steeplechase was Richard Harry Fletcher, an Englishman who competed in the legendary race an astonishing seventeen times. He won the main prize three times, finished second another three, and became one of the best-known riders of his era. Fletcher went on to settle in Bohemia, and some of his descendants still live here today.
The Great Pardubice, sometimes called the “Czech Grand National,” was first held in the eastern Bohemian town—then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—in 1874. The race quickly gained a reputation as one of Europe’s toughest steeplechases.
Over the years, many notable jockeys have tested themselves on the course. Englishman George Williamson, for instance, was the only rider to win both Pardubice and Aintree’s Grand National. Decades later came Germany’s Peter Gehm, the first to win the race four times in a row. Yet among the foreign riders of Fletcher’s time, none matched his record.
To learn more about this remarkable Englishman, I visited his great-grandson, Petr Fletcher, who lives in the small northern Bohemian town of Stružnice. He runs a small farm and spends much of his time researching local and family history. His passion began years ago, when he set out to uncover the story of his famous ancestor, Richard Harry Fletcher.
From the British Isles to Bohemia
What we know for sure is that the legendary jockey must have left the British Isles no later than 1879. Just a year later, he was already at the starting line of the Great Pardubice. What brought him to Bohemia isn’t entirely clear, but he most likely came to Central Europe to share his expertise in horse racing, says his great-grandson, Petr Fletcher.
“There was great demand for English jockeys back then. For the nobility, having an English rider was a matter of prestige—horse racing was already hugely popular in England, while in Bohemia it was only just starting to develop. That’s why so many English jockeys, trainers, and even quality horses were brought here.”
Harry Fletcher rode for various horse owners and, thanks to his talent and good connections, became stable master to Prince Alexander Thurn-Taxis. When the prince later moved his household to nearby Loučeň in 1889, he set up new horse-breeding stables in the gamekeeper’s lodge, building no. 130.
Richard Fletcher managed the small stud there from June 1910 to June 1920, and at the time, people in the village referred to the lodge as "Flečrovna". The prince gave Fletcher full freedom both in running the stud and in taking part in races.
The redhead of Loučeň: a gentleman and a rebel
Contemporary chronicles describe the short, red-haired Englishman as a man with a strong sense of fair play, admired both by racing fans and fellow jockeys. His bright hair earned him the nickname Červenáček, or “Redhead.” At the same time, he was known for his free-spirited and rather bohemian lifestyle.
Records mention wild drinking bouts with fellow English jockeys and gardeners—at times so excessive that lives were put at risk, with people even falling out of windows, as Mr. Fletcher recalls:
“My great-grandmother was also a free spirit—she came from a family of innkeepers and liked to drink. Once, so the story goes, my great-grandfather caught her by the hair and dipped her into a cesspit until she promised to stop drinking.
“Yet despite such rough moments, he was also a true gentleman. In 1890, when his fiercest competitor fell during a muddy race, my great-grandfather stopped his horse, waited until the rival remounted, and only then continued the race—and won.”
Richard Harry Fletcher and his British wife, Margaret, had eleven children—about half boys, half girls. All of the boys became jockeys, while the girls worked at the Loučeň Château.
Richard Harry Fletcher rode his last Great Pardubice in 1905 but did not finish the race. He was supposed to take part again in 1908, but the event was cancelled due to bad weather.
He spent the end of his life in a garden cottage near Nový Ronov Château, which Prince Alexander Thurn-Taxis gave him in gratitude for his loyal service. He died on May 10, 1926, in Mcely, of cancer, and is buried with his wife Margaret at the Protestant cemetery in Bošín.
Family ties and forgotten histories
Petr Fletcher says he always knew about his famous great-grandfather—stories of his jockey career were passed down from generation to generation. But it wasn’t until the arrival of the internet that he began researching his family history in depth.
“I always knew these stories. When the internet came along, I tried searching for more, contacting various Czech-English associations, but without success. Then, in 2007, I suddenly received a big envelope from Oxford—they were looking for my ancestors!
“I was overjoyed. It was like a dream come true. That’s how I met Kamila Pecher and John Pinfold, a racing historian from Liverpool. Kamila worked as his secretary at Oxford University. Both shared a love of horses—Kamila came from a horse family too.”
Together, they began tracing the Fletcher family in both English and Czech archives. While John Pinfold and Kamila Pecherová told Fletcher’s story in their book The Great Pardubice and the Grand National: The Story of Two Horse Races, Petr Fletcher recorded his own findings in a family chronicle for his children and grandchildren.
“I started making a family tree and discovered incredible things. For example, it took me a year to find my great-grandfather’s actual signature. I also found out that my grandfather was a twin. His brother Charles died at the age of nine, reportedly choking on bread.
“My grandfather’s Czech name was Karel, which struck me deeply. When I found out, I couldn’t sleep for two nights—I kept thinking about it. It felt like some higher force had tied our lives together.”
Around the time of the First World War, most of the family returned to England. The only ones to remain in Bohemia were Ernest Roy—Petr Fletcher’s grandfather—and two of his sisters.
After World War II, when the German population was expelled from Czechoslovakia and many borderland homes stood empty, Petr’s grandfather took part in the post-war resettlement and moved to Stružnice, near the north Bohemian town of Česká Lípa.
“My grandfather married my grandmother and continued as a jockey. One story he told was that he once drove the carriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie Chotek from Loučeň to the Zákupy Château. I like to boast that my grandfather was connected to such a moment in history.
“He stopped racing around 1926. He fell during a race in Chuchle, and when remounting, his horse bit off one of his fingers. My grandmother insisted she wanted a ‘whole man,’ so she forbade him to race again.”
A family tradition that still rides on
However, as Petr Fletcher says, his grandfather continued to care about racing for the rest of his life, even when he was no longer competing.
“He always went to the races. My father told me a story: after the war, they went to a race together and met Countess Lata Brandisová, the only woman who had ever won the Great Pardubice. She jumped into my grandfather’s arms, crying, ‘Arnošte, Arnošte, I’m so glad to see you!’ They spent the whole day sitting together in the stands, deep in conversation.”
Petr Fletcher’s grandparents lived in Stružnice until their deaths and are buried in the local cemetery. Their old wooden house still stands in his garden, next to the home he built for his own family in the 1980s.
Although Petr’s father did not follow the jockey tradition, the family has always kept a strong connection to the Great Pardubice, which they continue to watch faithfully every year.
“Our tradition was that whenever the big race was on in Pardubice, the whole family would gather around the TV. We watched, celebrated, talked about our great-grandfather. It was a real celebration for us.
“I’ve always rooted for the outsiders, because my great-grandfather was also a bit of an outsider. And yet, he once managed to win a race with odds of 50 to 2,500, a record that, as far as I know, still stands in the Great Pardubice.”
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