Johnny Murtagh and Nina Carberry visit RACE

On Wednesday October the 24th 2012 Johnny Murtagh and Nina Carberry came into RACE to talk to the trainee jockeys. They gave us some great advice on how to make it in the racing world and also shared some memorable experiences of their racing career with us. They answered numerous questions from the trainees. The topics ranged from their experiences of their first rides and wins, their bad falls and so on. Nina also shared with us how it felt to be the first Irish female jockey to win the Grand National! They also gave us some very useful advice on their diets and methods of training to keep fit and healthy.

It was very inspirational for many when Johnny Murtagh told of how he was placed in the beginners group when he first came to RACE; everyone gasped because we realised that if you just kept your head down and worked hard there was the possibility of turning into one of the greatest jockeys ever! When he added that in the beginning he didn’t even know the difference between hay and straw everybody laughed. It goes to show that everybody has to start somewhere! Nina and Johnny drove home an important point to us that day. We have to enjoy our work to be successful at it. As an old man used to say, “You must give a little to take a little”. We got a lot out of meeting Nina and Johnny and hopefully we can apply their words of wisdom to make a better future for ourselves in the racing industry too.

By Conor Mc Govern & Niall Prendergast.