Richard James Hills was born in Newmarket, Suffolk on 22 January 1963, along with twin brother Michael who also became a jockey.
Hills rode his first winner, Border Dawn, at Doncaster on 26 October 1979, a couple of months after Michael has his first.
Initially apprenticed to his father, he transferred to Tom Jones, for whom he had won the Yorkshire Cup on Ilium and finished fourth in the Derby on At Talaq.
[3] On Sky Sports TV coverage, he joked that he retired twice in one day, as the inaugural Dubai Gold Cup in which he was racing had to be re-run, due to a fall by a Godolphin horse, Fox Hunt.
[citation needed] Great Britain Canada France Germany Italy United Arab Emirates