Former Reading midfielder turned horse-rider, Jay Tabb, said his recent career change has made him "proud" as he helps prepare horses for Royal Ascot.

Tabb played almost 100 times for the Royals, as well as having strong spells with Brentford and Coventry City, but hung up his boots in 2016.

Deciding to turn his hand to horses in 2019, he now helps prepare horses for Lambourn trainer Archie Watson.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire's Sarah Walker, Tabb explained that it was only through a Sky Blues teammate that he found his love for all things equestrian.

"If someone said to me while I was playing that I’d be doing what I’m doing now, I’d have said no chance," he started. "It started with my Coventry teammate; he was into horses. He was my roommate and we used to watch racing. He got me involved in a syndicate, so we had a bit of fun with a horse there, we used to go and watch them training in the yard. It looked like a fun place to work and all the people working there looked like they enjoyed what they did. When I finished football, I was a bit lost and went to learn how to ride a horse- and here I am now."

A far cry from the hustle and bustle of professional football, the 38-year-old tried his hand at rugby before becoming a stable-worker- even jockeying on occasion.

Despite leaving the world of football behind, Tabb insists that it is an "amazing feeling" and that he gets great pride from telling people what he now does for a living.

"When you’re on the gallops it’s a great feeling," he said. "You watch it on tv and obviously the jockey’s a doing a totally different job, but you do get a sense of what they’re doing. It feels amazing. You appreciate it more when you have a day off and see someone else riding, you’re like ‘oh that looks good’ and then you realise I was doing that yesterday. It’s pretty cool. When I speak to people and explain what I’m doing now I do feel proud saying it because it’s a skill."