SINCE I was a child I have grown up in a life filled with horses. As kids we all had ponies and spent summers at the Ward Union Pony Camp at Fairyhouse Racecourse. We lived for those six days where we would set up camp and run riot.

As I grew up, I used to ride show ponies for my neighbour Ann Grimes; every weekend I would come home with a haul of rosettes and trophies and managed to win the 138 Show Pony class at the RDS in 1993 with Rendeen Carmen Rose.

I thought red rosettes in the RDS came easy. It took me another 19 years to win a second one!

The horse that managed to help me win that second rosette was the former Willie Mullins-trained Cooldine, winner of the RSA Chase at Cheltenham in 2009.

In August 2012 my father Peter arrived home with him. Thinking he hadn’t really thought this through, I asked what exactly the plan was for the horse.

“We’ll win the Racehorse class at the RDS," he replied. Twelve months later we did just that.

A month after his RDS win, Cooldine headed off to the UK for a career in the hunting field; as much as he enjoyed his showing, he loved his jumping more and so this was the perfect retirement plan for him.

ARKLE WINNER

In February 2014 I received a call from Charlie Chalke of the Goat Racing Syndicate to see if I would be interested in taking Forpadydeplasterer, winner of the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham in 2009. I jumped at the chance. Firstly, however, I had to pass an interview of suitability with his trainer Tom Cooper and his wife Geraldine!

We have had a couple of ex-racehorses over the years and always had great enjoyment out of them; my brother, Mike, used to ride the former Jim Dreaper-trained Harcon who I always remember being a giant. He came down the steps in Ardmulchan to the infamous water jump one day and popped it like it was merely a stream.

Most people find the best way to start an ex-racer on their new career is to give them plenty of time in the field so they can relax, be let down from a high level of fitness and to get used to a different sort of lifestyle.

‘Pady’ is a big, proud horse and remarkably laid back-you couldn’t buy his attitude which made the retraining process so much easier with him. The first thing I did was get nutritionist Declan Cullen from Pegus to put together a feeding plan for him. Pady's need to be fuelled for a three-mile chase were a thing of the past!

CHEEKY CHARACTER

I spent the first three months simply walking and trotting to get him to learn all his ‘new’ aids, he spent at least eight hours a day in the field relaxing and it wasn’t long before he came around to my way of thinking and became the King of the Yard with his cheeky character.

We entered our first show at the Northern Ireland Festival that April and brought home the first of many red rosettes. That summer we won the Down Royal League, Tattersalls RH2RH, Equifestival and Pady was named National Hunt Racehorse of the Year.

To top it off, he followed in Cooldine’s hoofprints to reign supreme at the RDS. In doing so he beat an all-star line-up including Binocular, Imperial Commander, Weapon's Amnesty, Themoonandsixspence and Mansony, to name but a few. Recalling our lap of honour in the main arena still sends shivers down my spine. With such an outstanding line-up of elite racehorses reunited in an enclosed space, it was hardly surprising that a few thought they were back on the racecourse. A new track record was certainly set that day!

After a couple of day's hunting over the winter and acting as Pat Healy’s main charge, Pady and I have now put our game-plan together for the coming season and are aiming for the RDS again this August. I really think Pady believes the crowds at the RDS are solely there to see him; he is a natural exhibitionist and laps up the attention. Let’s just hope I won’t be waiting another 19 years for that next red rosette!

THE COMPETITION

Imperial Commander, Arvika Ligeonniere, Sizing Europe and Forpadydeplasterer are just some of the big nameschasing the prize on offer tomorrow, Saturday, August 8th in the Racehorse to Riding Horse class.

Now in its sixth year, Irish thoroughbreds compete in this unique competition that Barry Geraghty will help judge and is kindly sponsored by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing.

Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander will once again be in the reckoning, will he regain the winning form he displayed back in 2010? But this Irish-bred bay faces some stiff competition not least from the Henry de Bromhead-trained Sizing Europe, though his €1.5m plus earnings will count for little in Ring 1 where judging is more than just being first past the post.

French-bred Arvika Ligeonniere will represent Carlow-based Willie Mullins’ yard and will hope to be in the chasing pack in the final stages, no doubt closely followed by the consistently popular Arkle winner Forpadydeplasterer.

But might the winner come from unexpected quarters in form of Prince Erik? The Dermot Weld trained 11 year old proved his worth over both hurdles and the flat, so maybe this versatility will stand to him?

It’s still all to play for as we look further down the field, Ruby Walsh’s former mountTheMoonAndSixPencemight fancy his chances,Time Travelwill be going places, while punters shouldn’t forget about Cork-bredGlantara, point-to-point runnerWhy Not BatimorGimli's Axewho is always sharp.

Bellewstown winnerBlue Lawwon’t be just making up the numbers,Amstecoswas once deemed the best horse out of Northern Ireland in twenty five years, whileFrench Accordionwill be hoping to squeeze in at the finish having done so successfully throughout his racing career.

Snaefell,Rassi Maguire, Beau MichaelandHeisacoolhandmake up the rest of the field for what is sure to be an attractive offering for race-goer and equine enthusiast alike, especially with the opportunity for a bit of ‘Public Judging’ on offer.

Take the chance to measure your judgement against the best and take up your position in the RDS to watch as these great horses file by almost close enough to touch. With a coveted title up for grabs you can sure that they will all be putting on their best display.