Meet the trainees - Shane Mulcahy

My name is Shane Mulcahy, I am 16 years old since September. I have grown up on the outskirts of Tipperary town.  I don’t come from a racing background but I have a cousin, Jerry O Dwyer, who came through RACE in 1998.  
I played a lot of hurling and football for my local club but I have been riding ponies at home from a very young age.  I always watched racing on TV and went to any point to points and race meeting that were on locally.  At a younger age I had a greater interest in GAA but about 4 years ago I lost interest in it and got the ‘notion’ of wanting to be a jockey.

I started riding in Seamus O' Donnnel's yard outside Tipperary Town where I began to pick up plenty of experience along the way, Many people in the racing industry told me that “riding racehorses is just like a bug, once you start you don’t get rid of it very easily”, I rode out for Seamus for the bones of a year and then went to ride hunters and sport horses for Pat Ryan, father of Michael Ryan the International Eventer for the summer.  The following December I started riding out for Con Marnane of Bansha House Stables where I dramatically improved my riding with the help of other riders in the yard especially John Halligan. 

I have gotten a lot of opportunities from Con including riding work in the yard going to breeze up sales in Newmarket and riding around Dundalk and Tipperary Racecourses a few times and I also spent the summer riding out in Maisons Lafitte France.  I still ride out for Con on Saturday mornings and any holidays I have from RACE. 

Since I started RACE in September I had still plenty room for improvement and thankfully I have improved my riding with the great help of all the riding instructors here in RACE. I have been told by many people in the Racing Industry that “there is always room for improvement when it comes to riding racehorses”. 

I was sent to Conor O’ Dwyer’s yard on work placement where I am well settled in now at this stage. The early mornings don’t bother me as I love working with horses and it is a pleasure going into the yard every morning.  There are very nice people working in Conor’s and there are a lot of nice horses there too. 

My parents give me great support and will help me in any way they can by carting me here and there and as my father always says to me when I ask him for a lift to work early in the morning “If I have to take you to the moon I will” and I am very thankful for that.   

In the future I would love to get out a licence and get as many rides as I possibly can and maybe one day I could become professional with the help of god.

Shane schooling at RACE

Shane schooling upsides

Meet the trainees - Katie Lawless

My name is Katie Lawless, from Clonaslee, Co. Laois and I am 19 years of age. 

I’d gotten the interest in horses from my Mum who used to loan a horse when I was younger and I got free rides on the riding school pony and was then taught how to ride. After moving from various riding schools and slowly learning more and more about how to ride, our family moved to Ireland and I got my first pony! He was a 12.2hh dun pony and at the age of 29, all he ever wanted to do was gallop and buck! Luckily for me, this taught me how to cling on because he was so cheeky! Even when I went to my very first show with him, before I even got to the show ring, he had a mad bucking fit and dumped me on my head! Needless to say I didn’t do my class in the end!

From then on, I got more and more horses and learnt to break and produce them myself and then sell them on.

The only time I’d ever really been in contact with racehorses is when I went on work experience in Transition Year, to Anngrove Stud in Mountmellick, Co. Laois and at that it was handling the stallions -  Robin Des Pres, Pilsudski and Rudimentary. Other than this I have never ridden a racehorse, or been to a trainer’s yard etc. 

I got the idea of coming to RACE when I was riding my own thoroughbred mare and doing fitness work for the upcoming eventing season, I loved the adrenaline and the speed!

When I had first read the letter that I had gotten into RACE, I was thrilled but nervous! I thought that I’d be the only one who didn't know anything about the Racing Industry and in actual fact – I wasn't! Everyone is different here and we have all come from different backgrounds in the horsey industry and some of us haven’t had much experience with horses at all! Its great because this means that everyone gets a chance! 

The first group of trainees were sent out in the end of November, and luckily enough I was one of them! I was sent out to Dermot Weld’s bottom yard (Rathbride) and so far I’m loving it! It is tough but that’s the industry for you, its there to test you to see if you’re strong enough to make it! 

We start work at 7:30am, go in to the tack room to see what we’re riding for the day, grab our tack and mucking out utensils and put it outside the door of our first lot, then go and get the straw & hay and put that outside the doors of our horses that we’re riding that day. 

Then we go into the stable, groom the horse, tack up and then muck out. The head lad then calls us and we all pull out and head into the barn and get legged up and ready to go! We have a quick trot around and check they’re all okay and plus to warm them up, then we head out to the gallops! So far with the yearlings/just turned 2yos, they get two laps of the gallops and then a long walk to cool them back down. 

The course is tough but if you push yourself, the it really is all worth it! I had no idea what to expect and now I'm currently loving the Racing Industry.

Katie Schooling at RACE

Meet the trainees - Scott McTiernan

My name is Scott McTiernan and I am from Co. Sligo. I will be turning 18 this month. 

Since I was very young I had a keen interest in horses. I started riding as soon as I was allowed to sit on a horse at a local riding school. I am very grateful that my parents supported me by bringing me to lessons so that I could learn to ride. My parents have no major love for horses, so I respect that they supported me so much.

I was told when we moved to the countryside that if I saved my money I could buy a pony. So from when I was told I was allowed a pony, I saved €2,500.00 so that we could head to the Cavan sales. This is when the horses really took off for me. 

My parents were kind enough to build me stables and allow me to get more horses as the years went on. The horses we had at home were mainly showjumpers and showjumping was a major thing for me. I learned a lot from showjumping and gained a lot of experience. I worked my summer holidays away from home and then got the experience to travel to England. I still keep horses at home whilst in RACE which I ride every weekend and my parents and brothers take care of them during the week.

My experience in RACE so far has been great and it will only get better! I have learnt so much under the thoughtful eye of Barry, Niall and Paul. When I started off in RACE I found it extremely difficult to make the transition from showjumpers to getting on a racehorse and looking neat and tidy. I heard about RACE when I was in 4th year whilst doing a project which involved us researching a career that we wanted to pursue and I had always wanted to be a Jockey.

After learning a lot at RACE I got sent out (for work placement) to Sandra Hughes before Christmas. I’ve been there now the last three weeks and I am getting on great with all of the staff. The yard is ‘top notch’ and deserves all the credit it gets.

It’s great to be able to ride out with some of the best National Hunt Jockeys in the Country!

Scott returning from training on the Curragh

Scott on Joncol - Parents Day 2014