IN a recent interview with the Irish Sunday Independent, Trevor Hogan, a provincial talent coach for Leinster Rugby, talked about the pathway from the kid who plays rugby for the first time to the fully professional player.

“A large part of what we concentrate on is getting people to play the game,” Hogan explained. “It’s very hard to project beyond two years where a player will be so the big focus for us is getting more and more people playing rugby and appreciating the values of what Leinster are about. Then using that to drive the game and drive enjoyment, the knock-on consequence of all that will hopefully help the senior team.”

I am down at a RACE (racing academy and centre of education) Junior Academy day and I can’t help but feel something similar is being adopted by the training academy. It is one of four days set up by RACE and sponsored by CARE (careers and racing education) to give kids of varying levels of experience and their parents a look into the world of racing.

Paul Keane, sales and marketing manager at RACE, has organised the day and tells me about the initiative:

“The aim of the Junior Academy Days is to offer training and insight for under 16s with aspirations of working in racing and perhaps becoming a professional jockey one day,” Keane explains.

“Young riders get a chance to learn about all elements that make a good work-rider, a good team member in a racing yard and what makes a good jockey.”

Keane has divided up four groups according to their experience level and he tells me that today’s group is of intermediate experience. There are nine boys and three girls. Maybe four or five have experience pony racing while the remainder have ridden horses at home or at pony school.

When I join, the group is getting a chance to have a go on the equine simulator, an amazing piece of technology. Connected to the mechanical horse is a separate machine that contains three rows, two horizontal and one vertical, in a plug shape.

The rows contain lights, which flash red if the rider leans too much on that side of the horse. The more lights go on the more off balance you are.

Over the hindlegs of the horse is a padded area which is sensitive to the whip. You get a green light if you whip in the right place and a red light and a beep if you whip in the wrong place.

rEAL SKILL

To the kids, the machine may as well be a Ferrari. They are dying to have a go. The horse demands real skill. The balance to have your weight in the exact right place on the horse’s back. The ability to change hands on the reins. The switching of the whip from one hand to the other. You don’t really appreciate how technically sound a jockey has to be until you see up front.

Ex-jockey Paddy Flood is a riding instructor at the academy and he is all the time encouraging: “Head up. Look between the horse’s ears. Arse down. Change hands. Hit him two on the left. Go further back… Good work.”

The modern day jockey has developed and changed. “For generations past the racehorse was the athlete and a jockey was someone who rode it in races,” Keane tells me.

“Today the top jockeys have adopted a very professional approach to all aspects of their lifestyle.

“Fitness training outside of riding out or in races has become a real factor. A lot of jockeys are working with jockey coaches on a regular basis and also using a Sports Dietician seven days a week.”

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

Wayne Middleton, a certified strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer to a number of jockeys, takes the group for the next segment of the day.

He talks about the three main things a jockey needs fitness wise… “A, B and C - Agility, balance and co-ordination.”

Middleton sets up drills to show the group how they can practise each aspect. The drills look range from something you would see in ITV’s The Cube to a good old fashioned game of stuck in the mud.

“It’s just to give them a taster really,” Middleton explains, “The drills are good practice for what a jockey needs to be effective. Our aim at RACE has always been to help people become stronger, fitter and healthier.”

Gillian O’Loughlin, a sports dietician, reinforces that message to the group. O’Loughlin works with many professional jockeys with regard to their diet and emphasises the need to eat healthier outlining more effective foods to eat instead of the one bar of chocolate a day some jockeys use to get by on.

It is noticeable that, even though it is only a half-day, the kids have developed a bond with each other.

Keane explains: “For many young riders aspirations of a career in racing is not shared amongst their school classmates or in their community, so naturally, when you bring them together with other like-minded rivals, it is really positive experience for them.

“The goal is to make them and their parents aware that the industry can offer training and support to help them realise their goals.

“You look at all the major participation sports like GAA, rugby and soccer, and they have developed academy structures as means of identifying and nurturing talent. This is something we need to invest in if we are to attract and retain riders for the industry.”

SHANE FOLEY

The day finishes with a talk from classic-winning jockey and RACE graduate Shane Foley.

The 29-year old, now stable jockey to Mick Halford, never rode a horse until he was 16 when he came to RACE and a full 12 years down the line, he is now an established professional. A leg break when he was 19 was the “best thing that ever happened,” as it allowed the Kildare man another year to mature and improve his communication skills.

“When I first came to RACE, I was learning from scratch and while I was miles behind everyone else on the course, it meant that I picked up the right habits straight away and that was huge for me,” Foley explains to the group.

“Being a jockey is a huge package. The riding part is only a small section. I’m always watching my diet, I have a personal trainer, I ran a marathon in Dubai, which will tell you how fit I am, and I still have a jockey coach that I see once a week.

“I am basically trying to be the best I can be and at the same time, prolong my career for as long as I can.”

While some of the kids in the group will now have accelerated dreams of becoming a jockey, a couple of others may well decide it isn’t for them. What’s important here is that they got a chance to have a look and decide for themselves.