There's been numerous fantastic jockeys throughout the history of jump racing, so it isn't easy to compile a bullet-proof list of the top five of all time. We've listed our top five jump jockeys of all time, with each of our selections undeniably a legend in the world of jump racing.  

Sir AP McCoy 

(4,358 career winners)

Where better to start then arguably the best and most accomplished Jumps jockey of all time, Sir Anthony McCoy. AP won everything you could possibly win in the sport of horse racing, including 4,358 winners altogether in his career and 20 consecutive Jumps Jockey Championships - he actually won the title every year he was a professional, which is an absolutely staggering thing to accomplish in the sport. 

AP claimed his first Champion Jockey title in the 1995/96 season, before going on to win it every year until his retirement in the 2015 season. Throughout those 20 Jockey Championship titles, AP rode more than 200 winners on 9 different occasions, with the most being 289 winners in a single season. That is obviously the winning-most record by any jockey and one that will probably not be touched for some time to come, as the average for a jockey championship to be won is 180 to 200 winners in a single season. 

AP has won almost every major horse race on the British and Irish jumps circuit, with his most high-profile winners include the Cheltenham Gold Cup on two occasions, the Champion Hurdle on three occasions, the Queen Mother Champion Chase once, the King George VI Chase once and the 2010 Grand National onboard Don’t Push It. AP was named Sports Personality of the year back in 2010 and at the time was the first jockey to ever receive this prize, as well as getting a knighthood back in 2016. The most accomplished and recognised jumps jockey that there has been, many in and out of the sport know the name AP McCoy. 

John Francome

(1,138 winners)

Dubbed as one of the best jumps jockeys ever, John Francome also has the nickname of “the best jockey to not win the Grand National” due to the fact he never landed the feature Aintree prize despite trying on 10 different occasions. John was a Seven-time Champion Jockey between the years of 1975/76 and 1984/85, he is just as known for his punditry and TV work after retiring than he is in the saddle, but there is no denying he was also a true great in the saddle. 

From a non-racing background, Francome grafted to get himself to the very top of the sport and managed to ride 1,138 winners along the way during his very illustrious career. One of Francome's most successful horses was Burrough Hill Lad, trained by Jenny Pitman, where the pair were victorious in the Welsh Grand National, Hennessy Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase. Whilst many top successes came in Chases, Francome had success over hurdles with Sea Pidgeon winning the 1981 Champion Hurdle. 

During the 1982 season, Francome stopped riding once he drew level with competitor at the time Peter Scudamore in the Jump Jockeys Championship as Scudamore was injured, resulting in the end both of them sharing the Jumps Jockey Championship. The John Francome Novices Chase is a race named after him, which was first run at Newbury in 2017, and is a race in the calendar still to this day, making John Francome one of just a few jockeys to have a race named after them.

Ruby Walsh

(2,756 winners)

If there has ever been a jockey for the very big moments in racing, Ruby is surely the one that first comes to most people's minds. A 12-time Irish Champion jockey, Ruby also landed the top jockey award at the Cheltenham Festival a record 11 times, meaning he rode the most winners at the Cheltenham Festival on 11 different occasions. 

Being born into the sport with his father being a former champion amateur jockey and trainer Ted Walsh, there was always going to be plenty of pressure on Ruby to become the jockey that he did, and boy did he hit the heights that his family would have wanted. A real punters favourite, Walsh's relationship with top trainers Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls provided many highlights during a stellar career. With some of the top horses being Hurricane Fly, Faugheen, Vautour, Annie Power and of course Kauto Star.

Probably one of the most infamous things to happen in Ruby’s career is not one he would like to remember, and that was a final flight fall on Annie Power in the 2015 Mares Hurdle when she was 4 lengths clear at the final Hurdle and looked to be the winner. This was labelled at the time as the "most expensive fall in National Hunt history" after millions of pounds of accumulators were brought down at the last leg causing quite a stir in the sport.

However bad that incident was, Ruby will forever be remembered as a jockey for the big moments, with many top class winners throughout his incredible career, as well as being the 3rd most prolific jumps jockey in the history of the sport and the most winning jockey of the Cheltenham Festival with 59 winners to his name. Ruby Walsh most certainly deserves to be on this list. 

Richard Dunwoody

(1,874 winners)

If you ask any current or previous jumps jockey who their idol is or who they feel is one of the best jumps jockey to do it, quite a few would say Richard Dunwoody. Richard had the perfect blend of style, drive and determination that really made him one of the best of his era, which resulted in him being a three time Champion Jockey in the years 1992/93, 1993/94 and 1994/95. 

He was the only jockey of his generation to win the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle. After his retirement in 1999, Richard held the record for most career winners of 1,874 until AP McCoy passed his total of 1874 winners in 2002.

Richard’s career was riddled with top class horses, and one of the best partnerships he engaged in during his career was with Desert Orchid. Widely considered one of the most recognised Steeplechasers of all time, he gained a real following during his career and quite a bit of that was down to Richard who was one of three regular jockeys to ride the great grey. Richard rode Dessie in the later stages of the horses career, as the pair went on to win two King George VI Chase in 1989 and 1990, and although they had great success together, he was probably unlucky to be a season late as the horse won the Gold Cup the year before in 1988. 

Richard won pretty much everything there was to win, rode some top class horses and was probably the innovator to the style of jockey that we see today, that alone means he deserves to be on this list.

Richard Johnson

(3,818 winners)

It seems a little strange to say but Richard was arguably one of the most unlucky jockeys to be riding, as he was the main rival to AP McCoy and finished runner up in the Jockey Championship on 17 different occasions. With 16 of those times being behind AP himself and the other one being behind Brian Hughes in 2020, who was a newly crowned Champion Jockey at the time, but Richard was very unlucky that season as he got a pretty bad injury mid season which meant his title charge was sidelined for the season. 

Ultimately though Richard was a four-time Champion Jockey from 2016 onwards, with him claiming the title in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, once AP McCoy retired in 2015 Richard Johnson finally got his deserved time in the sun and was no longer “living in the shadows” of AP, which is certainly not a bad thing as McCoy was a phenomenon of the sport. 

With 3,818 winners over the jumps in the UK and Ireland, Richard also rode 4 winners on the flat, which is a unique stat as there has only been a handful of jumps jockeys who tested their hand at riding on the level. Richard won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on two occasions with Looks Like Trouble in 2000 and Native River in 2018, and was the jockey of one of the best Champion Hurdle performances ever when the grey Rooster Booster won the feature Hurdle contest back in 2003, that could be argued as Richards greatest feat in his career.

There is a stat that Richard won’t like to look back on however, as he does currently boast the statistic of the jockey with the most rides in the Grand National without winning it. Richard rode in the feature steeplechase on 21 different occasions, which is a record for the most rides in the race, but the best position he finished was 2nd with Balthazar King in 2015.

It must have been difficult for Richard at times when AP McCoy was winning the championship year in year out, but you can not deny the determination from him to carry on and keep the pressure on AP season in, season out. Without AP around Richard would have potentially been a 25 time Champion Jockey, which seems far fetched, but there is no denying he truly is one of the best to do it, and probably one of the nicest guys at that.