Meet The Trainees - Jack Hogan

Hello my name is Jack Hogan. I’m 17 years old and from County Cavan.  I got interested in horses years ago when we bought a pony of a farmer down the road just to have out in the field.  Then I started getting lessons from around the age of seven and stuck at it.  We then got a pony we could ride and started pony club I did a bit of showjumping and cross-country but the pony spent more time going backwards then forwards but when he went he would go 90 and I suppose that’s where I got the feel for speed. 

A few years ago I started doing pony racing on that pony. We were not much good at the start but we got placed a good few times and I just loved it. I went on to do 3 more years of flapping, riding my own two thoroughbreds and a good few other horses and ponies for other people, which was a great introduction into racing.  

I first heard of RACE when all of the pony racing lads came up here for an open day. I got a great look into the academy and wanted to come here. When I was 12, the summer before I started secondary school I started working in a local racing yard for Shane Donohue. I used to just muck out and look after the horses for the first while because I would have been to weak to hold any of the horses. But once he got me riding, I would only ride 2 or 3 lots a day until I was fit enough to ride the harder horses, then I was riding 6 or 7 lots a day. It was Shane who got me into horseracing and he was great to me, it was here that I got the bug for racing.  Last summer before I started in RACE I went down to Tipperary to work for my cousin Denis Hogan, just to see what it was like to work in a bigger yard with more horses and get more experience. Before I started in RACE in September, the lads there really helped me as I always wanted to be able to ride as good as them and it helps to have someone to look up to as well.

The Racing Academy is a great course and I have benefitted greatly because of it. I’m not only a better rider since September but I’m fitter and stronger too. I was fortunate enough to be sent out to James Nash in the first group and it has been a great experience there.  Although the course drags on in the winter months it has been a great experience which will only help me in the future.  Thanks to Niall Byrne and Barry Walsh and everyone who helped me along the way.  For the future I hope to become Champion Jump Jockey and to ride as many winners as I can.

Jack schooling on the Curragh Training Grounds

Meet The Trainees - Emma Holden - Cahill

My name is Emma Cahill, I am 17 years old and I live in Castledermot Co.Kildare. I have always loved horses since a young age and began riding when I was 10 years old. None of my family members ride horses but my Mam got me interested in racing and watching races as she loves to watch it. 

I started off in a riding school called Pitfield Equestrian Centre, where I learned the basic skills of riding.  I rode there for 5 years before starting a summer Job with Jessica Harrington. I had never ridden a racehorse before until I went to Harrington’s.  I loved going to the yard! I got so much experience from there. Everyone in the yard helped and taught me about racing and racehorses.

What I enjoy about RACE are the people in it. It’s amazing how close you get to people who were complete strangers just a few months ago. I have met some great people and made some wonderful new friends. 
One of the highlights of RACE that I was really looking forward to doing since the start of the course was the Gaisce hike. For the hike we walked for 4 hours from Athy to Carlow and stayed overnight in Baltinglass. The next day we started our hike up the Wicklow Mountains at 9:00am and it took 3 ½hrs to complete. I really enjoyed it! It was great to get out and all spend time together and the weather was perfect for the event.

Emma (behind Supervisor, Paul Kelly( Sea the Stars cap) wearing white t-shirt) on the Gaisce Hike with her fellow trainees and (right) on Maddenstown Gallops with Instructor Paul Keating.

Emma was placed with Michael Halford in February 2016

Meet The Trainees - Stephen O'Hara

My name is Stephen O’ Hara I am 18 years of age and I am from Tallow Co. Waterford but the lads in RACE say that I am from Cork because I have a Cork accent!  I got into race horses about 4 years ago. My first job in a racing yard was for Jimmy Mangan and I learnt loads from working in his yard.  When I got better at riding horses and got fitter I then wanted to get more involved and really get going so I then started riding horses for other people and riding pieces of work to get more experience and improve in my riding skills.

Two years ago I decided to take it a step further so I traveled across to England and I worked for Tom George. I really enjoyed working for him and I learned loads and would love to go back to England some time in the future.  Then last summer I wanted to improve in my style of riding so I decided to go to a flat yard down in West Cork, where I was working for John Joseph Murphy for two months. I really enjoyed working for him and improved in my style of riding and would also love to work for him again.

One of my friends recommended coming to RACE to do a 10 month jockey course so I had a think about and did some research and asked around my local area if anyone had come to RACE in the past and one or two of them did and they also recommended RACE. They said it is a good experience and that I would learn loads and if I thought I was good enough I could go for my Jockey license after the course.

Since I came to RACE I met some really nice people and made some great friends for life and learnt a lot from Barry, Paul and Niall down in the racing barn. They were very good to all of us and thought us a lot about horses, horse care, riding horses, getting a horse ready for racing, transporting horses and loads more.

Ten weeks into the course the first group of trainees were selected to be sent out to trainer’s yards. I was sent out to Sandra Hughes yard the daughter of Dessie Hughes. Since I started working in the yard I felt very welcome by everyone and they were very good to me and taught me some things to tidy me up on a horse and gave me the chance to ride pieces of work and school horses and I do those every week.  RACE was a good decision because they teach you how to ride, present yourself to trainers and owners and how to act in a professional manner.

Stephen (far right) with Chief Instructor Barry Walsh, Trainees and Champion Jockey Davy Russell(center)