Striking a balance between innovation and tradition

Few people would have been astounded by the Ballyadam’s performance in the 2022 Cheltenham Festival’s County Hurdle – certainly not immediately after the race. The horse ran well, and sped away from the final hurdle to secure fifth place. But it wasn’t barnstorming stuff.

The favourite, State Man, had meanwhile been hugely impressive as minds eventually began pondering his next move. In time, the Willie Mullins star would jump up in class and win 10 Grade Ones, including the Champion Hurdle at this year's Festival. It was clear to even those more concerned with gargling stout in the Guinness Village that State Man was radiating with potential. But the run of Ballyadam was perhaps the most insightful on the day, particularly after JockeyCam footage emerged online after the race.

The relatively new concept sees an identified jockey fitted with a device that can pick up both audio and visuals from the jockey's perspective without obstructing them in any way. It provides viewers with a fascinating portal into a race. It’s as near as most of us will ever get to a saddle.

Footage begins with jockey Aidan Coleman heading to the start and jostling for position in the middle of the field. The riders chatter among themselves as they slot into a position that gives their ride the best chance of success. And it's a congested field – a total of 26 runners set off once the starter drops the flag.

As always, the race only becomes interesting from a few furlongs out. Sandwiched between Lucky Lyreen and Jesse Evans in midfield, Coleman decides to make his move as the field swings around the top of the hill at Prestbury Park.

"Stay Jack," he bellows as he steers Ballyadam up on the outside of Jack Kennedy's ride, Felix Desjy.

Suddenly, the hum of a distant crowd can be heard breaking through the cacophony of hooves. The race is heating up. Victory is tangible for many. It’s the furnace that makes every rider’s sacrifices worth it.

As the stands came into sight in the distance, Coleman switches to the inside, beckoning to Kennedy once again to make room and ensuring catastrophe was avoided. Over the next two furlongs, Coleman navigates the Henry De Bromhead-trained runner through gaps in the field, giving the race the Pacman treatment. And for a very brief moment coming over the last, it looks as if Ballyadam may just find enough to mount a challenge coming up the hill. State Man, alas, has too much class.

While TV cameras rightly focused on yet another Willie Mullins and Paul Townend winner at the Festival, the JockeyCam footage picked up the rest of the riders conversing with one another and congratulating Townend past the winning post.

Rachael Blackmore, who had opted against riding Ballyadam in favour of De Bromhead's other runner in the race, made her way over to the Cork rider for a quick post-race brief. Coleman, who only recently retired from the saddle last month, was bullish about his ride’s chances going forward.

Meeting Ballyadam's groom on the way back into the enclosure, he insisted: "He'll win one".

None of this was broadcast on television. Nor did it deserve to be. But such initiatives have a role in the future of sports. The rapid rise of sports reality shows on streaming services suggests a ravenous appetite for more angles, more insights, more footage. This is a new horizon, though. The JockeyCam doesn't simply provide an insight into life behind the curtain, it provides an insight into live sport from a different perspective, from the angle of the person at the centre of the action.

Fans, by their nature, can be reluctant to change and chained to tradition. Innovation is often treated as a hostile force whether it comes in the form of video assistant referees (VAR), subscription models or new rules. But tradition doesn't always have to be the enemy of innovation. Both can, in fact, exist in harmony.

"Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd," Winston Churchill once said.

"Without innovation," he added, "it is a corpse."

But innovating in a way that doesn't impede on tradition is a tricky balance to strike. The JockeyCam seems to have succeeded in doing just that.

While this is perhaps the most successful deployment of this concept, along with the installation of onboard cameras in Formula One cars back in the 1980s, there have been several examples of the trend creeping into other sports recently.

For the first time in the history of the Premier League, a referee wore a video camera to officiate a match when the technology was used during Crystal Palace's 4-0 mauling of Manchester United on May 6. The head-mounted camera, also known as the 'RefCam', provided an insightful peek into referee Jarred Gillett's point of view during the match. The footage is set to be used as part of an educational programme highlighting the role of referees, though it can surely serve another purpose for TV audiences. The benefits for referees is abundantly obvious, particularly in a landscape with increased scrutiny on every single decision made over the course of a game.

A similar initiative was also explored within Gaelic Games in 2015 when an audio device was placed on David Coldrick for the All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry. That was for an RTÉ documentary, and while it also provided great insights into the game the idea was never developed. Meanwhile, GAA referees also continue to be lambasted for inconsistencies, a matter which could surely be addressed by a "ref cam" for major games during the summer.

JockeyCam is already meeting some of the demand for alternative content in racing – even if it could be used more by broadcasters. Once other sports realise it's endless potential, it could become the defining new trend within sports broadcasting over the next decade and beyond.

And for once, everybody wins – the sportspeople, the officials and the general public.