Wednesday, 5 June 2019

Meet The Trainees - Ada Higgins Corrigan


Hello, my name is Ada Higgins Corrigan and I’m from Kildare. I am 16 years old and I’ve been riding for 13 years. I’ve been going hunting for 4 years. I am the only person in my family who has an interest in horses. I have one pony.

My Mam told me about RACE and when she told me about it, I thought it was the perfect place for me to go, to pursue my dream of becoming a jockey. I went to an open day in RACE in first year to look around, I then came back in third year to apply for the course.

I completed a trial week in July, it was very tough. The fitness was the hardest part for me. When I got the letter to say I was accepted for this course, I was overjoyed, it was a dream come true. I stay in the blue dorm with Chloe and Jessica, it’s great craic, we would sometimes just sit in the halls and listen to music and talk.

When I started in RACE I didn’t know what to expect as I don’t come from a racing background and I hadn’t ridden racehorses before. I have settled in now and got used of the racehorses. I find it weird to go back on the weekends and ride my pony, as they are so different and have different temperaments.

I was sent out on the second week of January on work placement to Michael Halfords. He is a flat trainer and is a lovely man. I was quite nervous to go out to the yard, I was worried I would do something wrong, but everyone in the yard was very helpful including Mr. Halford.

I did a fitness test a couple of weeks ago and in the beep test I got 10.00. This was a vast improvement from my first beep test. My fitness levels have gone up as I can now run for longer and I am not getting out of breath when riding.

I still hope to improve my fitness levels and my riding skills before I graduate in June.

 Ada was placed with Michael Halford on the 14th of January 2019.



On Maddenstown Gallops

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