What spiked your interest in bloodstock and racing?

My interest in the bloodstock and racing industry was definitely spiked from a very young age by my mam and dad. We always had horses growing up, breeding a few and racing.

Mam herself was a rider and was part of the Meath Riding Club. She did eventing, show jumping and dressage. She has also worked for the elite men and women in the industry, (Coolmore, Niarchos Family, Jessica Harrington) to name a few, and also around the world, England, France, Germany, Australia and obviously Ireland.

My cousin Robbie Colgan is a flat jockey, formerly a jump jockey, who also has been a huge part of my interest in the industry.

I started riding from as far back as I can remember and my mam and dad had bought Robert his first pony and he was then passed onto myself and my two brothers. So riding and the bloodstock was inevitable!

Who has been the biggest influence in your career so far?

I wouldn’t be able to pick out just one, My mam, Robert and brother Aron definitely have been a huge influence on me. It was never pushed upon me to be a part of the horse world. I always had an interest and it just grew. Watching Mam ride and compete definitely made me want to ride and also watching Robert on the telly race ride. Robert use to come to our house a lot when we were kids and we would ride around the fields with him on the pony and he on the thoroughbred. When I was around 11 or 12, Robert took us to a pony racing meeting in the midlands and the following year I started on the pony racing circuit. We had a 15hh thoroughbred that never grew and he was my pony to ride every weekend. Robert also got me a 14.2hh pony for it. Aron was the one to keep me motivated and to source the rides over the five seasons we pony raced. Mam and Dad drove us around the country for five summers to each meeting as well. They have all been a huge part of my growth and knowledge I have to this day!

Are there any challenges that you’ve had to overcome?

There are always challenges to overcome in this industry, but for me I would have to say my biggest challenge has probably been the decision to stop race riding.

I finished secondary school and all I ever wanted to do throughout school was ride and become an apprentice jockey. I became an apprentice for three years and slowly lost the love for riding. I stuck at it but eventually I couldn’t do it to myself anymore. I was with Mr John Oxx at the time and we had plenty of chats and we made the decision to apply for the Irish National Stud’s Thoroughbred Breeding Course. When I heard the news that I got accepted onto the course for the class of 2019 I was over the moon and felt this huge relief. I knew it was a fresh start and I was going to learn lots as I had never really worked on the stud side of the industry. Meeting new friends from all across the world and it leading me onto the path to Australia. Five years later and I’m still in Australia at the fabulous Yarraman Park Stud as the assistant yearling manager.

If you could go back in time, what would you tell yourself starting out in the industry?

To just go with the flow of how everything comes at you. Enjoy it, learn from it, and never regret anything you do it’s all a learning curve. Everything definitely happens for a reason!

What goals have you set for yourself going forward?

My goals going forward are to start pinhooking for myself and eventually for clients, while hopefully one day managing or running my own business and breeding a few or breaking in and pre-training/breeze-ups. I have always loved breaking in and watching the yearlings learn and develop into racehorses. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about. Whether it be in Australia or Ireland we will just have to see how the next few years go!