OLLIE Garner is enjoying being a team player at Shaun Lycett's stable in the Cotswolds.

The 22-year-old jockey hasn't looked back since first arriving at Bourton Hill Farm near Bourton-on-the-Water in December.

Described by Lycett as a "hard-working lad", he was the toast of the stable after riding his first winner under Rules aboard Shergill at Worcester.

"I love it at Shaun's," said Garner, a former Royal Agricultural College student.

"He's down to earth and he's helped me so much. He's my boss but he's a friend as well.

"You're not worried about going to see him in the office to talk to him about something and he works hard in the yard like everyone else.

"He's not just sat behind a desk in an office.

"When I've been riding point-to-points, he'll come and watch and give me tips on where I could improve.

"To honest, my confidence was shattered before I came here because I wasn't getting rides, but since I've been here it's been great.

"I think it helps being in a small yard because it's nice to feel part of a team and everyone wants the place to do well."

Originally from Macclesfield in Cheshire, the Garner family's racing connections rubbed off on him.

His father Sebastian runs a horse ambulance business, operating at major racecourses such as Cheltenham, while his brother Tom has worked for leading trainers Alan King and Donald McCain.

Naturally, it led Garner to consider a future in the sport.

"I'd done bits and pieces for Dad and gone racing with him and enjoyed it," he said.

"My brother was in racing before me, and when I was at school I thought, 'I'd like to have a crack at that'."

Garner went on to work for trainers Kim Bailey, the first of two spells during a gap year at college, Jamie Osborne and Jonjo O'Neill, before signing up with Lycett.

Along with his career under Rules, Garner also rides successfully in Arab racing, currently topping the novice riders' championship.

"I just happened to hear about it – Rhys Flint used to do it – and fancied giving it a go," he said,

"I rang a list of trainers but they weren't interested because I had no experience.

"But Paul and Helen Bona in Congleton said 'yes' and I'm attached to them this year.

"My first ride was a winner, which was a good start, but unfortunately the sport doesn't get much publicity."

Garner will decide at the end of the summer whether to carry on as an amateur, which would mean he could continue to ride in Arab races, or turn professional and apply for a conditional jockey's licence.

His current amateur licence means he cannot ride against professional jockeys, which he is keen to do, and limits his opportunities.

In the long-term, he could resume the equine management course he began at the Royal Agricultural College.

"It's a short career and when I put university on hold I knew I could go back to it in 10 years, maybe after I've got fed up with riding or I'm too heavy," he said.

"At the moment I'm just taking each day as it comes.

"The first winner was great, but you can't get too carried away and you're only as good as your last ride."