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Richard Johnson finally achieved a lifetime ambition when he was officially crowned champion jockey at Sandown on Saturday. Satchel Paige Jersey . It is almost 22 years since the popular rider secured his first winner aboard Rusty Bridge in a Hereford hunter chase and in the subsequent two decades he has firmly established himself as one of the most successful National Hunt jockeys in history.Johnson has ridden over 3,000 career winners, including a Cheltenham Gold Cup success aboard Looks Like Trouble (2000), a Queen Mother Champion Chase triumph aboard Flagship Uberalles (2002), Champion Hurdle glory aboard Rooster Booster (2003) and the World Hurdle on Anzum (1999), the biggest four races at the Cheltenham Festival. It is fair to say Johnson has come a long way since growing up on a Herefordshire farm and getting the leg-up on his first pony, Twinkle, and yet he has had to spend most of his career in the giant shadow of the greatest of them all, the recently knighted Sir Anthony McCoy.Johnsons statistics are nothing short of staggering, but they pale into insignificance when put up against 20-times champion McCoys mind-boggling figures.Having finished runner-up to the Ulsterman on no less than 15 occasions in the jockeys title race, Johnson could be forgiven for having felt like his day at the top might never come, but it is a measure of the man that rather than becoming bitter and jealous, he saw his close friend and rival - who retired last year having ridden 4,358 winners - as an example of what can be achieved through hard work and dedication.I had years of great racing with AP (McCoy) and it was frustrating not to beat him, but I had a fantastic time. Apart from the fact that I didnt beat him, I wouldnt have changed a thing, said Johnson.You always want to be competitive and you want to win every day. Racing is very unique in that we do all get on very well, were friends and we get changed in the same room, but we are very competitive. Menorah, ridden by Johnson (left), clears the last fence on his way to beating Valseur Lido If youre not competitive, you wouldnt be doing it. I was always chasing AP which spurred me on and hopefully I pushed him.When I was growing up it was Peter Scudamore, followed by Richard Dunwoody. To ride against Richard Dunwoody was an honour for me and to this day I still think hes one of the best jockeys Ive ever seen. He was what I wanted to be.AP has been the role model for the last 20 years and he conducted himself so well. Its actually made me realise in the last two or three months the extras he did for the last 20 years.With his mother Susan still holding a training licence today and both his father Keith and grandfather Ivor successful amateur riders, Johnson was bred to be a jockey.After graduating from riding ponies, he started riding out for the brilliant trainer David Nicholson in the school holidays before becoming pupil after leaving school at 16. After initially riding as an amateur, Johnson turned professional in 1995 and the following year was crowned champion conditional for the one and only time.Married to Fiona Chance, daughter of dual Cheltenham Gold-Cup winning trainer Noel, he was at Sandown, where he had a final day win aboard Menorah, with his family, where he was presented with his champion jockey trophy by McCoy.Its hard to put into words, he said.This season has gone so well and Ive had so much support off the world and their wife. Every owner and trainer in England and Ireland have supported me, which has been amazing.A massive thanks go to Philip Hobbs and Henry Daly, who have been my two longest-serving trainers and have been with me through thick and thin.The Whateleys have been fantastic owners, but all the owners have been very supportive. There are owners that when I started out were at David Nicholsons and are now at Philips.Dave Roberts, my agent, has done a fantastic job for 22 years and particularly for the last 12 months. On a daily basis he makes my life so easy.My family have been very supportive, from mum and dad to my wife and three children. They are very understanding and they dont see me much, but they are the ones who let me do what I love doing and they are always there when it doesnt quite work out.Ive many fond memories. Rusty Bridge and Derring Bridge are two horses that helped me get going and it sounds soft, but its always special to ride a winner for mum, whether it was back then or now.The three stand-out horses though are Rooster Booster, Looks Like Trouble and Anzum, who was my first winner at the Cheltenham Festival and David Nicholsons last. Johnson with the champion jump jockey trophy at Sandown Park Again it sounds so corny but Ive been very spoilt with so many good horses.Winning the title is something that Ive always wanted and its going to be a very special day and bit surreal I think.It was a strange day at Sandown last year with AP finishing (retiring) and its probably going to be a bit strange this year.Its all Ive ever dreamed of.While there was a sense of relief for Johnson after finally being crowned champion, he has no intention of resting on his laurels, with the defence of his crown set to begin almost immediately.He told Racing UK: You cant sit back and think its going to happen, because its not. Youve got to go out there and ride the winners.Theres lots of young lads in the weighing room now - the likes of Aidan Coleman, Sam Twiston-Davies and Brian Hughes - and then the older ones like Noel Fehily, who has had a fantastic season.I want to be champion (again). I think the Thursday after Sandown is the first day back and if Im not in Punchestown, Ill be keen to go wherever and get stuck in again.The important thing for me is to get set off on the right foot again. Every day is important, every week is important.The big meetings are obviously very important, but for me I think the racing in July is just as important as the racing in March.Just like Johnson did for all those years, Coleman, Twiston-Davies and the rest might just have to wait their turn as the new champion, who turns 39 this July, is seemingly in no mood to give up the title he has craved for so long without an almighty fight. Also See: Live results service Full racecards Get Sky Sports Tyler Naquin Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Ricky Vaughn Jersey . -- Cole De Vries had a couple of key strikeouts during what could have been the inning that doomed him to defeat against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to escape further damage and keep the game tied up. http://www.authenticbaseshopindians.com/authentic-trevor-bauer-indians-jersey/ . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand. CALGARY -- That the decision was painful was evident, as Dan Church was in tears by the end of the conversation. His stated reason for abruptly resigning as head coach of Canadas Olympic womens hockey team was he felt there were doubts about his ability to coach the team to Olympic gold in February. "If there isnt confidence in what Im doing, I need to step aside and let the team move on," Church told The Canadian Press in a phone interview Thursday. "Im heartbroken, to be honest, about the whole situation. Im sad I cant finish this journey." Church didnt specify whether it was players or Hockey Canada who doubted his competence as a coach. "Just discussions Id had over the last few days made that apparent, in some meetings Id had with leadership," Church said. "I think it was just difference of opinion on the direction we were headed. "In the end, I just decided if Im getting in the way of where the team needs to go, I need to step aside and let them continue on in the process." That bombshell comes less than two months before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Church was expected to announce his 21-player Olympic roster before the end of December. Church left Calgary on Thursday morning without addressing the players and flew to Toronto, where he lives with his wife Regan. Canada hosted the U.S. women in Calgary at night. "I was in shock. It was unexpected," veteran forward Caroline Ouellette said. "I appreciate Dan. I always have. I have a lot of respect for him. I think hes done a lot of great things for our team since 2011 when he took over as head coach." The Canadian women will attempt to win a fourth straight gold medal in Sochi after victories in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Church coached Canada to a womens world title in April, 2012. The 40-year-old from Toronto was rewarded with a two-year contract to coach for the 2013 world champions and the Winter Olympics. When asked if Hockey Canada tried to convince him to stay or reverse his decision Thursday, Church replied, "No, they did not." "Dan has decided to resign for personal reasons," Hockey Canadas chief operating officer Scott Smith said at news conference Thursday. "Hes put a tremendous amount of work into this and we respect the decision hes made." Assistant coaches Danielle Goyette, a former national team player, and Lisa Haley will co-coach until a new coach is named, Smith said. "Time certainly is of the essence," Smith said. "This decision came upon us in the last few hours and were going to react as quickly as possible. Melody Davidson coached the Canadian women to Olympic gold in both 2006 and 2010. She became Hockey Canadas female head scout and serves in a general managers role for the national team. Davidson was adamant Thursday she would not step into the breach. "I stepped down in 2010 for a reason," Davidson said. "I left because it was time to be off that bench and Im comfortable in the role I can play off the ice." "I think theres some real good candidates there who can help us and bring a different voice than mine. Ill definitely support whatever direction we go in, but its not going to involve me as part of the coaching staff." The reality is the ppool of Canadians who have experience coaching international womens teams is shallow. Carlos Baerga Jersey. . Davidson says she could identify with Churchs feelings as she nearly quit when Canada lost the 2009 world championship final to the U.S. prior to the 2010 Olympics. "The Olympics is overwhelming at times," she said. "Sometimes you get caught up in that. Maybe Dan couldnt feel he could envision something different." Davidson didnt think Church was in over his head as head coach of the team. "Definitely not," she said. Haley says she did not question Churchs decisions. "In my opinion, Dan has done and said everything with the intention of this team winning a gold medal," Haley said. "I trusted his decisions all along when Ive gotten the chance to coach with him over the years. "Hes gotten a lot of things right. Right now, what we want to do is trust this decision that this is whats best for the team and hopefully we can win him that gold medal." Church and Davidson invited 27 women to try out for the Olympic team. Theyve been training full time in Calgary since August. Church cut forward Jenelle Kohanchuk and defenders Tessa Bonhomme and Brigette Lacquette in November. Two more forwards and a defenceman will be released when the Olympic team in named. The Canadian women lost 3-2 to the U.S. in the final of this years world championship in Ottawa, but were on a three-game winning streak against their archrivals until Thursday night. With Goyette and Haley behind the bench, Canada lost 5-1 to the U.S in the third exhibition game between the two countries this winter. In their previous meeting at the Four Nations Cup in November, Canada doubled the Americans 4-2. Canada went 4-0 to win that international tournament. The women were 10-11 against male teams in the Alberta Midget Hockey League and have played 31 games since September. "All I can say is I gave 100 per cent effort in everything I did this year," Church said. "I worked tirelessly. "I put in all the hours to be successful and I believe we were moving in the right direction as a team. We had reached all the benchmarks at the times we had wanted and winning all of our games against the U.S., winning at Four Nations. "While we had struggled a little bit with the midget results, wed played with a lot of injuries to our lineup and a really tough November schedule. "Its disappointing to not feel theres confidence in what youre doing." Hes coached the York University womens hockey team for nine seasons. His father died of cancer in January at age 70, but Church said his decision was not related to health or family issues. Church coached the Canadas under-18 womens team to a world champoinship in 2010. He was an assistant coach to Ryan Walter on the womens team that took silver at the 2011 world championship. With Church behind the bench at the 2012 world championships in Burlington, Vt., Canada suffered a worst-ever 9-2 loss to the U.S. women to open that tournament, but rebounded with a 5-4 overtime win in the final for the countrys first world title since 2007. The U.S. has won four of the last five world championships. Canada and the U.S. will meet again Dec. 20 in Grand Forks, N.D., Dec. 28 in St. Paul, Minn., and Dec. 30 in Toronto. Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap ' ' '