Meet the trainees - Jack Collins

I don’t come from a horsey background. The first time I sat up on a horse was at a friend’s house at the age of 14, his mother was a horse dealer who kept a lot of show jumping ponies and horses. Once I got over the initial fear of them I started to get obsessed with horses and every chance I got I would be in the yard. I started  showjumping at shows in every corner of the country, first at the lower levels and eventually I got to jump a few big classes. It was all great and much needed mileage! During the off season I would hunt whatever horses I could get a hold of, many being young and even a bit hardy so I learnt a lot from it.

When I came to the RACE open day I wasn't interested in being a jockey but I was hoping to look at the farrier school which was where I had hoped to go. When I listened to the director talk about the trainee jockey course I was hooked straight away and by the end of the briefing I had no interest in looking at the farrier school.

It was then that I turned my attention to getting into a jump yard, so I applied to RACE and then started working in Michael Hourigans in Co. Limerick. It was there that I got my first experience with racehorses and I gained a lot of experience from riding out with good jockeys like Adrian Heskin. When I was in school doing my leaving Cert I decided it would make more sense to be in a local yard as I would be limited on the time I would have so I started riding in Declan McNamara’s yard just 5 minutes down the road from my house in Co. Clare. It was great to be in a yard where I was allowed to school and ride work and it done my confidence the world of good.

When I came to RACE I was very impressed with the facilities and all the help that was at hand. I can’t think of any other place that will help you this much with your riding. I am now out in work placement in John Oxx’s yard and I absolutely love it, it’s great to be riding good horses everyday and to be working with such helpful people.

I hope to progress my riding as much as I can before the end of the course and afterwards I’ll keep my head down and keep working and hopefully the lucky breaks will come. I hope to take what I have learned about diet, fitness and yard routine and always remember it wherever I am after the course.

RACE Gallops in September

Jack leading the string on RACE Gallops