The Barbados Winter Jockeys Challenge at Garrison Savannah on Saturday was one of the tougher days in the office.

You may raise an eyebrow at that. How can riding in sunny Barbados while it’s snowing in the UK be tough you may ask?

Well, it was searing 100 degree heat, the tightest track I’ve ever ridden on, a crowd which won’t stop barking orders at you while the races themselves were fast and frantic.

To give you an idea of the heat, I needed to lose 5lb on the day of the races to make the weight. I went for a 40-minute run in the morning and ended up shedding most of it.

I have ridden in India before where it was a similar heat, but it just felt more energy-sapping out here.

I walked the track before racing and it was like no other track I’d seen before.

Two of the races were run over five and a half furlongs and given the nature of the incredibly tight track, it meant we only had half a furlong to the first turn.

The start was all important and there was a furious dash to get a position. It was like nothing I’ve experienced before.

The course is only seven furlongs round so it did take some adapting to. You are always on the turn, it seems, and getting to the pace was key.

I felt far more comfortable after the first couple of races and it was ultimately a unique but thoroughly worthwhile experience.

The different way of riding and the style in which races are run here can only help develop your all-round skills as a rider.

The crowd were something else. A few of the guys I’d met at the betting shop press conference the day before were on track and were not shy in giving me advice. They don’t seem to use first names at the track, and it was Mulrennan this and Mulrennan that, but I think or hope it was all meant in a good spirit!

Unfortunately, we didn’t fare well in the challenge. Jamie Spencer, Tom Queally and I failed to trouble the judge but due credit to Sammy Jo Bell, who finished third in two of the four races.

I’ve only been here a few days but I have to say Barbados is a fantastic, friendly island and I’d love to come back as there seems so much to do here, and a lot of tourists had combined a visit here with a trip to the races.

We’re now off to Martinique for the second and final leg of the challenge on Saturday, and then it will be back to the marginally less glamorous tracks such as Wolverhampton and Southwell…

Paul is sponsored by Racing UK will be showing a special This Racing Life feature from Barbados next week.