Meet the Trainees - Robert Meehan

Hi, my name is Robert Meehan. I’m 16 and I am from county Galway. I’m not from a horseracing background but we first got ponies when I was about 4 or 5 years old, so I’ve been riding for quite some time. I started watching racing from a young age as my brother started riding out in a local yard, I never did any show jumping but I did small bit of hunting.

I have wanted to be a jockey since I started working weekends and during school holidays for trainer Iggy Madden. I was 13 years old when I started there and that’s where I first rode a racehorse.  When I was 14 years old, I went to Newmarket in England. My father had been working in Newmarket at the time and my brother was riding out there. I spent that summer with Denis Quinn who taught me loads and took me racing all the time. I also did a bit of pony racing the following summer, but I didn’t have any luck.

I then went to Johnny Murtagh’s on my Easter holidays the following year and spent the summer with Johnny. Johnny was great and like Denis he also taught me loads. I always looked up to Johnny from when I started watching racing as a young lad.

 I was happy to be excepted into RACE and thankful for all my parents have done to get me here. I have learnt a lot since I have started here in RACE, the instructors and other staff have been very helpful. I was sent out on work placement to James Nash on the 19th of November. James is great for giving me opportunities and I am enjoying my time there. I hope to take out my conditional license when I leave RACE, if all’s going well.

Robert was placed with James Nash on the 19^th of November 2018.

The long straight on Maddenstown Gallops

Meet the Trainees - Roisin Hennessy

My name is Roisin Hennessy, I’m 16 years old and I’m from Tinahely in Co. Wicklow. No one in my family is interested in horses but I took a keen interest in them from a young age. I started riding lessons at the age of six and after years of begging I finally got my own horse at the age of twelve. Over the last few years I’ve done a good bit of show jumping with my horse. I always liked looking at the races and going to race meetings, but it wasn’t until later that I wanted to become a jockey. 

I found out about RACE and I loved the idea of the course. I applied for the trial week and I came up for a week in July. The trial week was very tough, you’re competing with some very fit people, so you want to be as fit as you can. We all helped each other get through it.  I waited patiently during the rest of the summer holidays to get a letter from RACE to say if I had got accepted into the Trainee Jockey Course. The morning the letter came in the post saying I was accepted onto the course, I was over the moon. I was delighted that all the hard work paid off and I couldn’t wait to start at the end of August. 

At the start of the course everything was very new to me, from riding the horses and working in the barn to going to the gym every night. I had never ridden a race horse before I came to RACE, so it was a bit challenging for me to start with. I was very nervous riding out on the gallop. I am still trying to improve my confidence and to be more assertive.

Fitness is a very big factor of the course. My fitness has improved a lot since the start of the course, but I am still aiming to increase my fitness levels and push myself to beat my personal bests.  We have fitness classes two days a week with Wayne and we have fitness tests regularly to see how much we are improving.

I got sent out to Ross O’ Sullivan’s yard in the second week of January. I had never worked in a racing yard before, so I was very nervous on my first day.  I absolutely love working in Ross’s and I look forward to going into work every morning. Everyone in the yard helped me settle in so well and I feel like I’ve been there forever. There’re also two RACE graduates working for Ross.

We do several different modules in school in the afternoons such as IT, communications, business calculations and stable and yard routine. At the end of the year we have a QQI Level 4 qualification in Horsemanship.

RACE has been a great experience for me, I’ve learned so much and I’ve made great friends. When I graduate in June I hope to be taken on and remain working in my yard.

Roisin was placed with Ross O’Sullivan on the 14^th of January 2019.

The long straight on Maddenstown Gallops

Meet the Trainees - Sophia Jones

Hi, my name is Sophia Jones, I am from Wicklow and I am 16 years old. I started riding on my 8th birthday and that birthday present lasted much longer than my parents expected. Before coming to RACE, I competed in Show jumping, Dressage and Eventing. I spent a few months working in a showjumping yard in Kilkenny, doing this proved to me that I wanted to work in the Equine Industry. I have always loved horses for as long as I can remember, and I couldn’t imagine life without them.

I found out about RACE through a few different graduates. It sounded like it was exactly what I wanted, so I decided to apply for RACE and I did a week trial. I must admit it was tough but well worth it. I was shocked when I got my letter saying that I was accepted into RACE. At first it was hard being away from home but in no time, you are settled in, months have flown by and my time here has been amazing.  I have two favourite horses down in the barn, Bold Thady Quill and Eye of the Tiger.  My favourite part of being in the barn is schooling over the hurdles and the fences, it’s the best feeling!

In my 7th week at RACE I fractured my foot whilst running and 6 weeks later I fractured my other foot. During this time, I worked hard on my strength in the gym. Even though I was injured I still went down in the morning to watch everyone riding out.

I got back riding in January and I am now in John Oxx’s. A typical morning for me is to get up and have breakfast. My bus is at 6:05a.m., I finish around 1p.m. and I usually have 5 lots. Everyone in the yard are so helpful and give you different tips, my riding has come on a lot since I’ve been there. I love being out in the yard, no day is ever the same. I have had such great opportunities already riding on different gallops on the Curragh such as the Old Vic. 

It’s like a family up here, I share my dorm with 5 other girls, and it feels like I have known them forever. We are very close and get each other through everything. Our evenings are usually filled, on Mondays and Wednesdays we have gym with Wayne, he puts us through our paces, but you always feel the better of it.  We have had Pilates with John the chef as well as cooking classes. We also have lessons on the simulator with Paddy Flood. Fitness is a large part of the course, we have a number of fitness tests throughout the year and the targets get higher each time, it is great to see that all the sessions with the coach have paid off.

I think RACE is a great place for anyone who wants to be a jockey or who wants to work in industry.  If you work hard it will all pay off. 

Sophia was placed with John Oxx on the 14^th of January 2019.

The long straight on Maddenstown Gallops