It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, Zach Miller’s mother was really only trying to keep him out of trouble.

“She had a theory in raising all three [of her children] that if she kept us as busy as possible, we wouldn’t get in trouble,” said Miller with a laugh. “So
she took me to a local riding school at the age of 5, and I think she still regrets it.”

Miller, 22, originally from Charlottesville, Va., immediately took to the horses, and he competed in show hunters and eventing as a child. As a 14-year-old, he spent the summer working for race horse trainer Felix Nuesch at Braeburn Training Center in Crozier, Va. “I was just galloping race horses and learning about racing,” he said.

Miller continued to event, through the preliminary level, for another three or four years. He was headed for his first three-day event when a broken collarbone sidelined him. “By the time I’d healed from that, my interests had changed,” he said.

While watching the Foxfield (Va.) races, he decided exactly what he’d like to do, and he told Nuesch of his intentions.

“Felix said, ‘Hold that thought.’ And he called me back a week later and said he’d gotten me a job at Fair Hill.”

For his first few months at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, Miller worked for Ricky Hendriks, then he transferred to Bruce Miller’s barn in Pennsylvania.

“Bruce has been absolutely fundamental. He gave me an extraordinary opportunity, and he gave me tools and a lot of experience I needed to cut my teeth at it,” Miller said. “Robbie Walsh was working there at the time, and he gave me a lot of guidance as a rider.”

Miller rode his first race in the spring of 2003 at the Moore County Point-to-Point (N.C.). “It was a blur, mostly, and a disaster, partly,” he said, laughing. “I wasn’t sure what had happened to me [at the start], and I finished a distant fifth. I still wasn’t sure what had happened when it was over.”

Today, Miller enjoys any kind of race.

He rode in his first steeplethon last fall and also enjoys riding over timber on occasion. “Hand me a race course and a horse, and that’s what gets me up in the morning,” he said.

Miller broke his maiden in an allowance race at Strawberry Hill (Va.) in 2004.

“It was extraordinary,” he said. “I almost fell off at the last fence. The poor horse had to push me back in the tack and win the race!”

Opportunity Knocks
Miller now works for trainer Doug Fout, near The Plains, Va., and he had a stronger season than ever in 2005, winning in his first appearance at Saratoga (N.Y.) and scoring a stakes win at Far Hills (N.J.).

“He’s come a long ways,” said Fout. “He’s using his head and learning patience. He’s got a ways to go, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders. With more experience and time, he’s going to end up pretty good.”

One of Miller’s favorite races was the Colonial Cup (S.C.), where he finished third. “That’s really what the sport is about, to me,” he said. “It’s the essence of steeplechasing, the feeling of riding in this particular race. They’re all good horses, and you have to earn every inch of that race.

“They’re bigger, natural fences, and it’s an indescribable feeling to turn down the backside and see five huge fences and know you have to jump each one perfectly to win,” he added. “It’s mind-boggling but awesome.”

Erin Go Bragh, Miller’s mount for that race, is one of his favorites. “Every horse is a great teacher, and I’ve had the great fortune to sit on horses who taught me,” he said. “Erin has a lot of ability but can’t be coerced; he has to be convinced, so I’ve learned a new insight into how to be tactful.”

Fout has tried to instill patience in Miller, and he thinks the young rider has what it takes to learn. He’s grooming Miller to eventu-ally take over the stable
jockey job when top rider Matt McCarron retires.

“The difference between being a good rider and great rider is finesse, and [Miller’s] ready to make that step,” said Fout. “He’s by far the best young rider I’ve ever had, because you’ve got to be in the right mindset. I get a lot of kids with ability, but their minds didn’t grow up. As long as he keeps his head, he’ll be good.”

Lots Of Support
His fellow riders, said Miller, have helped him tremendously as he’s broken into his career.

“The other riders are your best allies,” he said. “Getting into the world of steeplechasing is not the easiest, but I can’t imagine it’s different than any other career. You behave professionally and continue to improve, and you get opportunities. There is a dearth of riders now, so if you’re motivated and ambitious and don’t mind picking yourself off the ground now and then, it’s not difficult.”

But Miller, who completed a year at the University of Virginia before going to work as a rider, said the social situation can be tough for someone his age.

“I put myself in a situation with no peer group–most of the guys are older. It was an awkward transition for me as a 19-year-old,” he said. “It changes your perspective. I grew up more quickly than if I’d followed the traditional school track. The people you interact with are 10 years older and married. It’s made me more responsible.”

When Miller isn’t riding, he is taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College–and he’s keeping one eye on the scale.

“I’m cursed with extra height, so I have to be conscious of my weight all the time,” he said. “It’s not as much of a struggle as I’ve seen with some guys, but at the beginning of each season I’ve had to lose just a little more, so I see a pattern developing.”

How much longer does Miller see himself racing? “I’ll race until I’m too fat, too old, or too scared,” he said. “Then I have to start looking for plan B.”

Miller theorizes that all riders have a certain number of falls in them. “It’s a different number for each rider, but at some point, you have a fall that makes you question your motivation,” he said. “If you continue to ride after that, you never ride as well; you lose the element of brilliance. I hope if I run across that, I’ll be objective and have the perspective to know my time is up.”

So far, Miller has broken two vertebrae, in 2004, and a thumb last year. “I’ve been very lucky,” he said.

As he sees it, it’s a small price to pay for a career he loves. “I enjoy the pure excitement of the speed of it,” he said. “It’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to flying, to jump a fence at that speed. For a split second, you can imagine what it’s like to be a bird.”

At this point, Miller doesn’t have any specific goals for his career. “I hope to live up to my potential, whatever that may be. Obviously I’d like to be a champion, but I just want to ride to the best of my ability,” he said. “You have to apply and re-apply yourself and not let the slow or hard times dishearten you.”

Meanwhile, Miller’s mother will continue to worry about her son’s career choice. “My parents weren’t too thrilled,” admitted Miller with a laugh. “It’s taken them some time to appreciate it. My mother still worries, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”