THE Corinthian Challenge is a charity race series run by Irish Injured Jockeys Fund to raise awareness and much needed funds for the national charity.

Challengers are essentially volunteers who apply to participate in the three-race series, these challengers have been put through their paces as part of a thorough interview process, completed an assessment at RACE to ensure they are competent in the saddle and they each have a target of €10,000 to raise via their Just Giving page too.

This is all before they start the inevitable health and fitness regime and months of riding out, which goes hand-in-hand with partaking in the series.

In honour of their commitment and participation in this once in a lifetime charity race series together with Irish Injured Jockeys we are delighted to bring you their profiles, news and updates over the coming months.

As part of our ongoing support of Irish Injured Jockeys and their Corinthian Challenge Charity Race Series this week we caught up with Dean Ryan to give him the opportunity of a profile piece and to assist with his fundraising efforts.

Passion

Dean has been involved in racing since the age of 14, and it was around that time when his passion for horse racing took over.

Dean has been lucky enough to travel and work with racehorses in many parts of the world including the UK, USA and Australia.

It has been through these experiences that Dean had a chance to see first-hand the commitment and dedication that jockeys show on a daily basis and what goes on behind the scenes.

This led the Kildare native to sign up for the tough challenge, knowing that he could help in some way to raise vital funds for the charity and his way of supporting Irish jockeys means a great deal to him.

Dean said: “The physical and mental strength these amazing athletes possess is unmatched in any sport.

“Physical injury and psychological stress is something these athletes are sure to face throughout their career and I want to help by raising much needed funds for the Irish Injured Jockeys who do tremendous work in many areas for our jockeys.”

The awareness that Corthinian Challengers must keep in good shape and maintain their weight throughout the series should come easy to Dean, a Fitness Instructor who is passionate about all things health, nutrition and exercise.

Dean has his own business where he coaches athletes, helping them develop in their sport and build on their overall strength, condition and fitness.

To stay up to date on all things Corinthian Challenge Charity Race Series related visit corinthianchallenge.com or follow IIJ and the Corinthian Challenge on social media.

If you would like to support Dean or any of the Corinthian Challengers visit justgiving.com/campaign/corinthianchallenge2022.