As I look back on 2003, I can't think of a greater loss to horse racing than the passing of Bill Shoemaker at the age of 72.

I once asked Bill what he would do if he were not a jockey. The question took him a bit by surprise, but he quickly responded, "Well, I think I would be a gardener!" After a quick laugh, he explained, "I like to use my hands, and I like to see things grow. I think I would have been a good one."

Oh, those hands! Racing experts credit Bill's success with his special ability of communicating with the horse through his hands. Those hands were tiny, as was he. But they spoke loudly to the thoroughbred, making the horse his friend, and often, a winning teammate.

But besides the enormous talent as a rider, the character, warmth, and generosity of the 4-foot-11-inch Shoemaker were all large, indeed.

Most fans of the sport know of Bill's extraordinary record as a jockey. Most also know how a tragic car accident in 1991 left him paralyzed from the neck down. But his courageous fight to re-enter the game as a trainer, despite being confined to a wheelchair, was more private.

But that is what memory is for. And I can't help but think back to a certain afternoon back in 1981.

At the time, I was working on a documentary about jockeys based at Santa Anita called "Tall in the Saddle." The show won an Eclipse Award the following year and Shoe was a huge part of the success, because in it, we told much of his story.

In 1968, Shoe was in a three-horse spill at Santa Anita that was so bad, he was sidelined for 13 months. A broken right leg was just one of the injuries he received. An injury that caused a visible limp when he went to visit the troops in South Vietnam in the fall of that year.

Bill returned to riding in 1969, but then just a few months after he came back, he was involved in another accident, this time at Hollywood Park, where he fractured his pelvis and damaged his bladder. It was another four months before he attempted another comeback.

Sitting with him in the jocks room at Santa Anita more than 20 years ago I asked Shoe why he returned after the accidents. His answer: "I realized how much I missed it when I was away. I wasn't ready to quit, and I couldn't wait to spend my days back riding horses at the track, and being with my friends here in the room."

When I asked him what it took to be a top jockey, Bill acknowledged his gift of a light touch, but also the importance of the other skills that made him the world's best rider. "You have to have good hands, good balance," he said, "and be able to switch your stick from right to left hand in the heat of battle. To be a successful rider, you have to be in sync with the timing of the stride of the horse. That could make all the difference when an inch is all the separates two racehorses at the wire."

Whenever Shoe was in the saddle, it was easy to see that he had God-given talent. But he was the one who honed it to a fine edge. "You acquire these skills over a period of time," he explained, "riding day in and day out against the best riders around."

The talented younger jockeys of today who did not know Bill Shoemaker could learn a great deal from watching the films and tapes of his greatest rides. They should also try to emulate him as a gentleman. Even late in his career, when many in the California press called him over the hill and were betting on when he would retire, Shoe was all class, choosing actions over words to answer the critics. His win in the Kentucky Derby with Ferdinand at age 54 silenced the doubters forever.

No sport has ever seen an athlete like Bill Shoemaker, a man who competed at the top-echelon of the game for over 41 years.

Those of us in the stands will never stop applauding.