I HAVE been a part of the team at Noel Meade’s yard for the last nine years. My current title is travelling head girl and assistant trainer. I have attended the Cheltenham Festival each year since commencing my employment at Meade’s making the 2018 Festival my 10th year to attend and work at the famous Festival.

I look forward to the Festival each year – although it is hard work it is always a very enjoyable experience. I stay with the other staff at the Hunters Lodge which is located directly beside the racecourse in Cheltenham. Many racing people stay there and it is a great annual catch up with the different faces from the industry that I would not have an opportunity to see and catch up with at other times in the year. There is a bar in the Hunters Lodge which everyone goes to in the evenings and it is always great craic.

My duties at the Festival include a variety of different jobs. My first port of call is to drive the lorry of horses that are attending the Festival. We usually leave Ireland the Saturday before the Festival is to commence around lunch time. This allows us enough time to travel and settle the horses before the Festival starts.

Other aspects of my duties include ensuring the horses all have the correct passports and horses are ready and in the parade ring at the correct times. I must ensure that the silks for each jockey are ready. The turn-out of each horse is very important and I help with the plaiting up and grooming of the horses to ensure they are turned out in the best possible condition. I feed the horses, muck out and I also ride out while the horses are at Cheltenham.

My favourite Cheltenham memory has to be from the 2017 Festival when Road To Respect won. There is nothing more amazing than the feeling of having a winner at the Prestbury Park track. It was the coming towards the end of a long week (Thursday) at the Festival and thankfully all the horses ran well, but we were still waiting on a winner. The feeling of running up the hill after Road To Respect won the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase was one like no other and a feeling and rush of adrenaline I will never forget.

I am most looking forward to this year’s Festival. At this time of talking to The Irish Field, I am not 100% sure of what horses are definitely attending and running at the Festival, however as I have solo responsibility for Snow Falcon I know that he will be running as well as Road To Respect either in the JLT or the RSA. The dream is to bring back a winner to Irish soil and hopefully we will be returning happy and successful to the yard in Castletown, Co Meath next Friday!