Timeline of Tony McCoy's career

BBC News NI looks back at Tony McCoy's rise to success as he secures the 4,000th win of his amazing career.

The 18-time champion jockey from Moneyglass, County Antrim, has been honoured with 20 Lester Awards, more than any other jockey past or present. He has ridden over 13,000 races, equivalent of 31,000 miles or 1.25 times around the earth.

1982

Begins riding at the age of eight when his dad takes him to a local horse riding school in County Antrim. A year later, he gets his first pony, which he names Seven Up "because that was the number of times she would drop (me) in one session".

March 1992

Records his first career win with Legal Steps at the age of 17 at Thurles while serving as an apprentice at Jim Bolger's flat yard in Coolcullen, Ireland.

1994

Moves to England in order to compete nationally.

September 1994

Scores his first UK win in Exeter while riding Chickabiddy.

1994-1995

Claims the conditional jockey championship after scoring a record 74 winners.

1995/96

Becomes a champion jockey this season, riding 175 winners. He repeats this champion jockey success every year up to and including 2012/13.

1997 Cheltenham Festival

McCoy achieves a double win after riding Make a Stand to win the Champion Hurdle, and then later riding Mr Mulligan to victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

1998 Cheltenham Festival

Equals the record of five winners (record shared with Fred Winter, Jamie Osborne and Barry Geraghty).

December 1999

Records his 1,000th win in a meet at Cheltenham. By the end of the decade, McCoy has set a new National Hunt record of 253 for the number of winners in a season.

2001/02 season

McCoy wins 289 races in Britain when claiming his seventh championship, overtaking Sir Gordon Richards' record of 269 wins, for all types of racing, in a season.

McCoy celebrates his 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup win on Synchronised

August 2002

Claims 1,700th win to beat Richard Dunwoody's record.

2003

Awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours.

January 2004

Claims his 2,000th win at Wincanton,

October 2006

Becomes first jump jockey to ride 2,500 winners at Huntingdon.

February 2009

Takes his 3,000th win at the Tyser & Co Beginners Chase in Plumpton. Despite record-breaking wins, McCoy still hadn't won the coveted Grand National title.

10 April 2010

He finally seals victory in his 15th Grand National after riding Jonjo O'Neill-trained Don't Push It at Aintree.

2010

Awarded OBE in Birthday Honours for his services to horseracing.

Tony McCoy was voted the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year in 2010

December 2010

Voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year ahead of darts player Phil Taylor and heptathlete Jessica Ennis - the first jockey ever to be given the award.

December 2010

Named Sportsman of the Year at the British Sports Awards.

2012 Cheltenham Festival

Wins his second Gold Cup on Synchronised, owned by JP McManus and trained by Jonjo O'Neill - 15 years after his first win on Mr Mulligan.

April 2012

This year's Grand National is not so successful for McCoy, as his horse Synchronised falls at the notorious Becher's Brook on the circuit. Synchronised suffers a leg fracture and dies of his injuries.

April 2013

McCoy makes a delayed start to the 2013/14 season after falling from Quantitativeeasing during Cheltenham's end of season meeting. He suffers broken ribs in the fall but returns to action a month later at Ludlow.

November 2013

McCoy seals his 4,000th career win.