MY dad and his brothers would have always had ponies and horses and sold a few. It kind of started from there. I was riding ponies by the age of four and it progressed into a bit of show jumping.

I did a lot of hunting with the Tipperary Foxhounds for a few years and they were great to me as well and brought me on a lot. I used to hunt up top with the huntsman and got plenty of experience.

I started pony racing when I was about 14 or 15. I had been riding out for Andy Slattery about a year before that. I did a good bit of pony racing for about two years. I probably only rode nine or 10 winners but it was a great experience.

During secondary school, I would have been riding out in Andy’s at weekends and school holidays and going pony racing most weekends. I went full-time with Andy as soon as I finished school. I signed on as an apprentice with Andy that same summer (2024).

Although it took me 60 odd rides to get my first winner on the track, I think it actually stood to me in the long run. I definitely found it frustrating at the time, especially as I was placed on plenty of occasions. I was riding a lot of horses and getting plenty of experience. Andy, William, Brian and everyone in the yard have all been great to me and continue to be a great support.

First winner

I rode my first winner on My Girl Sioux at Navan last July. While it was a small bit of a relief, I was still able to enjoy it at the same time. They say that there is nothing like your first winner and I’ll always remember that day.

I rode Sovereign Banter to win at Dundalk in November and then I lost my 10lb claim when winning at the Curragh on Staysound Susie on the last day of the flat season. Coming into this season I had no target as such. I was just going to take things as they came. At the same time, I was hoping to beat last year’s record and try and add on a couple of more winners if I could.

At the moment, I am on 13 winners for the year. I’m very pleased with how everything has been going. The month of October has been brilliant. I rode my first career double at Leopardstown last Sunday. Both of those horses, Highbury See See and Zaraahmando, were for Andy so that made it even more special. He has been my biggest supporter.

The following afternoon, I made it three winners in two days when winning on Real Petite at Gowran Park for Tom Mullins. That brought my total for the month to seven winners in 10 days.

Supportive

I’m full-time with Andy seven days a week. It’s great to be in there. They are all very good and so supportive. Andrew (jnr) is great for advice and he’ll tell you as it is.

The plan for the winter is to stay riding at Dundalk and try bang in a couple of more winners. Hopefully next year I can have a go at the apprentice title. Andy Slattery has been brilliant to me and my agent Ruaidhri Tierney does great work. However, I know that I’ll need to build further contacts and ride for a lot of outside yards as well if I am to have any chance.

Andy continues to improve the number of winners he has every season and we are getting a bigger calibre of horse. Hopefully with plenty of support next year I can give the apprentice title a good crack. At the end of the day, the more winners you ride the more contacts you are building up the whole time.

My weight is good at the moment. I am 8st 4lb, so I can do the lightweights. There’s no issue yet and the aim would be to stay on the flat long term.

Aside from my parents and the Slatterys, Colm O’Donoghue is a big influence for me. Every day I ride he rings me and goes through my races with me. He’s a great mentor. Colm would be a family friend for a number of years and he has been there and done it all himself as a jockey.

Jimmy was in conversation with John O’Riordan.