RACING has always been a passion of mine, although I’ve made my career in digital marketing. In June of last year, I got the opportunity to marry the two, when landing my ‘dream job’ as Digital Marketing Executive at Leopardstown Racecourse. Growing up, I had always known that my grandparents owned racehorses, but it was only very recently that I discovered the full extent of that involvement.

Steps To Freedom, who was in training with Jessica Harrington, was the horse of theirs that first introduced me to racing. I can remember going to see him run at Punchestown and Leopardstown. Dad went over to Cheltenham with him but as we were too young, mam took us out of school to watch the race at home on television.

My grandparents, who had horses in training for over 40 years, were also owners with Jim Dreaper. It was only very recently that I found out that he had trained a horse named Passage Creeper to win an Irish Arkle for them. That horse was ridden by Ken Morgan. It just came up in conversation with my dad and grandfather one day.

He said that he had a photo somewhere. That picture, of my grandmother and Patricia Dreaper with the Arkle trophy, is now on our fridge at home. Everyone I tell says, ‘how did you not know that?’ Given the family connection with that race, I will definitely be keeping a close eye on this year’s race next week.

Encouraged by my grandmother, I learned how to ride at Sallows Wood Stables in Kilsallaghan. I never did any hunting or eventing, but would have done show jumping and cross-country in my riding school and spent my free time up in the yard.

Next steps

Between friends, exams and Irish dancing, I took a bit of a step back from riding. However, as I went to school in Ratoath, I was never very far from racing. It was a bit of an unwritten rule that once you reached third year, you were allowed go to the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.

After my Leaving Certificate, I went on to study Digital Marketing at TU Dublin. It was something that I really enjoyed. I had also started riding horses again. It wasn’t until my final year in college that I first realised that it could be possible to marry the two.

I had worked in a coffee shop at weekends while in college. My first full-time job after graduating was with Donnelly Fresh up beside Dublin Airport. I stayed with them right up until coming to Leopardstown last June. It was my mum that saw the advertisement for the job. She knew that it would suit perfectly, given my background in digital marketing and interest in racing. I went for an interview and was successful.

I cover all the digital side here, including social media channels, emails and newsletters. I also liaise with the marketing team in dealing with sponsorship, hospitality and operations.

Pre-promotion is where all of the groundwork happens between planning, strategy and content creation and, on race days, we get to see it all come together. That’s when it’s the most exciting, especially with live content creation and capturing the atmosphere of the day.

Audience

It is so important to me to make the experience accessible to non-racing fans, educating them, and helping them feel part of the day before they even walk through the gates. We also want to make sure that the social coverage is fun, engaging, and of a high standard, so fans at home can feel connected too even if they can’t make it to the festival.

There is a real buzz about the place after a hugely successful Christmas Festival. The upcoming Dublin Racing Festival promises to be just as exciting. The initial entries for the four feature races of the two-day festival are full of quality. We have had a few UK entrants as well, so hopefully a couple of those will stand their ground and add to the excitement.

With Leopardstown being the only racecourse in Dublin, it is important that we can showcase it to a wider audience. As well as the high-quality racing, we have something for everyone at the DRF. The entertainment line-up is sure to attract a large crowd who may not always come racing.

Ruby was in conversation with John O’Riordan