IT is fair to say that it was the end of an era last Sunday when Jamie Codd brought a stellar 22-year career in the point-to-point fields to an end when announcing that the success of Supreme Gift at Tattersalls would be his final ride between the flags.

Since his debut aboard Tanners Cross at his home point-to-point at Lingstown in March 2000, the 39-year-old has become one of the all-time greats of the sport and left a considerable imprint in its history.

Six of the sport’s well-known figures who have seen his talent up close over the past two decades pay tribute to his achievements.

Derek O’Connor

We’ve been knocking around the same point-to-point scene for the last 20 years together and what he brought to the table was a very professional manner, an exceptional knowledge of form and he was very tactical. In truth, he is an ideal role model for any young jockey.

We had some fairly intense title battles over the years and I think we were fortunate to clash against each other because it kept both of us very focussed.

If you lost sight of your goal at any stage, Jamie would always keep you under pressure. He would never give up, so you had to have a fierce work ethic to compete with him.

He is extremely tactically aware during a race and his ability to judge pace is exceptional. He is also incredibly strong in a finish, you would never beat him in a tight finish and he would easily match up with any professional rider of any era.

It will be strange going point-to-pointing without him riding, but the good thing is that there is an exceptional bunch of riders coming through. The legacy of Jamie Codd in point-to-points will live on in these young riders who have grown up watching him ride and will now go on and stand up on their own two feet.

I just wish he had retired 15 years earlier – I would have had an easier time!

Aidan Fitzgerald

I can remember Jamie before he rode his first winner. He used to be up at 6am every morning in Mags Mullins’ yard to ride this horse called Eyze. He would be there before going to work in Willie’s. Mags then said he could ride the horse in a race and that was his first winner at Bramblestown.

He was a young lad up at 6am when others would still have been in bed.

That is the attitude he had from the very start. He was always very competitive. Even if we were playing pool in the pub, he would always want to win. That competitive attitude set him apart.

What he has achieved is unbelievable. Himself and Derek have changed the face of the game completely.

Most importantly, he is a very good person. He has always been a great friend to me and my wife Ashling and we are delighted for him, Robyn, and all his family that he has retired safe and sound.

Gordon Elliott

He has been a big part of my team since day one. Team Chaser was the first winner that he rode for me at Kirkistown back in 2006 and we have come a long way since then to win five races at the Cheltenham Festival together.

It is incredible what he has achieved in point-to-points - both himself and Derek were riding over 100 winners a season at one stage which were just phenomenal numbers, and I don’t think we will ever see that again.

As a rider he has everything. He is a good horseman obviously – he is a good judge of pace and good over a fence. He has everything. There are not many amateurs that could have made it as top professionals in our lifetime but I think he definitely could have.

He has been a very big part of my team and still is. It has been great to see him have the success that he has and hopefully we will see him for many more years riding in bumpers

Colin Motherway

Myself and Jamie have been great friends for a long time. We used to travel to the races together most weekends down through the years and, now that I’m training, he has ridden a lot of winners for me too. It has gone full circle in a way.

I had been working in Denis Murphy’s about a year or two before Jamie came back from Willie Mullins’ - it was the one time that I got to win an eastern title when Jamie wasn’t around - because when he came along that was the end of it for the rest of us!

I think it was a big help to him coming back from Willie’s, having ridden so many good bumper horses, because he had a great racing brain and knew how to read a race from flagfall.

That was a big attribute to have coming back to the point-to-points – he had the clock in his head and he really took off from there.

He is savage to get young horses jumping. He would have been brought up with horses and because of that he always had it in him to be a horseman and that is what he is, through and through.

He has had a savage career. I was joking with him on the phone the other day, how I thought that I was great getting over 200 winners, but himself and Derek just took it to a different level.

He rode the first winner that I had at my local track in Killeagh which was very special, but I’ll have to find a new jockey now!

Richard Pugh

Jamie has made an incredible mark on the sport throughout his career. I have travelled many miles with him over the years and have seen the ups and downs, so it was great to see him retire on his own terms in the way he chose on Sunday.

Riding in an era of Derek O’Connor made his achievements all the more impressive and winning his titles while battling Derek at his peak was quite the achievement, as indeed was going through the card at Tinahely, dominating the eastern circuit and recording 972 career winners.

In truth, for me his finest achievement is riding 105 winners in one season. Only six riders have ridden over 50 winners in a season and only two have cracked the 100. I think it will remain the achievement that stands out.

I am not sure that I will see many riders achieve this milestone and to do it in a year when Derek was also riding 100+ winners shows their dominance.

Watching them go head-to-head was something which will be missed, as are the great battles of any sport, but I was lucky to be able to watch many of their tussles and it shows how we have to appreciate these talents while they are around.

Denis Murphy

It was very special that Jamie finished with a winner for me. He rode his first winner for me at Ballon in 2003 and then didn’t ride for me for a few years as Colin Motherway was here and Jamie went riding in bumpers for Willie Mullins.

Then one day a few years later he rang me up asking to come in to school for me. It just clicked and we haven’t looked back since, enjoying so many great days together.

In a race he was so quick to make decisions. He very rarely made a bad decision when he made a move out the country. After watching him in a race after a while, you could pick out that moment when he made that decisive move. It could be a mile and a half from home when he would do it, and it might not look like a lot at the time, but the longer you were watching him in a race you would spot it. He would be making his move before others in the race even had the time to react.

For the last couple of years he has been a great help at the sales, and then would be with us each season from September onwards.

He has been a huge part of the operation here – brilliant not only with the young horses but also the young riders that we have coming through.