rider; horseman; jockey
Refers to a person who rides a horse, especially in contexts like horse racing or equestrianism. 騎手 is the most common term for a professional jockey.
彼は有名な騎手です。
He is a famous jockey.
He dreamed of becoming a jockey since he was a child.
The jockey checked the horse's condition before the race.
She keeps up rigorous training aiming to become a jockey.
The jockey mounted the horse looking tense.
ジョッキー is the katakana loanword for jockey used casually or in media, while 騎手 is the standard Japanese term used in official racing contexts.
騎手 specifically means a jockey in horse racing or equestrian contexts, a much narrower and more technical term than the general ライダー.
旗手 (a flag-bearer) and 騎手 (a jockey) are pronounced identically as きしゅ but refer to completely different roles.
counter for people
Compound of 騎 (ki, 'riding') and 手 (shu, 'person' or 'practitioner'), literally meaning 'riding person'. The reading is on'yomi.