FORMER jump jockey Eamonn (P.E.) Corbett is now a fully qualified electrician, thanks in part to support from the Irish Jockeys’ Trust.

Corbett retired from race-riding at the end of 2021 and was not sure what direction his career would take next.

Despite his dedication and passion for racing, the opportunities simply weren’t coming, and he knew the time had come to make a change. “It’s a brutal thing to accept,” he says. “Racing is all you’ve ever known, and when the phone stops ringing, it hits you hard.”

It was at that crossroads that Eamonn reached out to the Irish Jockeys’ Trust. Through career coaching sessions, he began to think about what else he could do – and what he actually wanted. He’d always been handy and practical, and the idea of an electrical apprenticeship sparked something in him. With an education grant from the Trust covering his course fees, he took the plunge.

“I won’t lie – walking into a classroom at my age, sitting beside lads fresh out of school, was one of the most daunting things I’ve ever done. More nerve-wracking than any parade ring,” he said. But the same focus and discipline that had carried him through years of early mornings and tough races served him just as well in his studies. He kept his head down and got on with it. Corbett has now completed his apprenticeship and is a fully qualified electrician. “I’m genuinely happy – proper happy. I have a trade, a future, and I enjoy going to work every day. The Trust believed in me when I wasn’t sure I believed in myself. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”

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