I first met Aileen with her parents Bobby and Kathleen when we were fellow students at Kill Equestrian Centre. I had at the time a super hunter called Radiman and I recall giving Aileen a few jumps on him and she was beaming for a month afterwards. Her family developed a keen interest in horses and in fact they were my first customers and we became wonderful friends. I have fond memories of cycling to Toberton House just up the road from our home in Johnstown and coaching both Aileen and her Dad before enjoying a super meal prepared by Kathleen. After dinner, Aileen would often help me type letters and do accounts. I would have been totally lost without her help.

She loved all animals, especially horses, and thoroughly enjoyed competing in the amateurs, where she had great success with several horses, most notably The Bureaucrat and Hundred Percent. She competed in Arezzo and on the Sunshine Tour in Spain, enjoying every minute of it.