I CAN be described as somewhat of a late comer to racing, as I was in my late teens before I even sat on a horse. Mick Winters, the man who first sparked my interest, has often said it was a good thing, as I never got the chance to develop any bad habits!

Over the last 12 months, I have been making a name for myself as a conditional jockey in Britain, where I am based with Paul Nicholls.

As a young child growing up in Kanturk, it was all about football and hurling with me. My older brother was ahead of me in school, so he had paved the way with plenty success in various teams over the years. After the Junior Cert, most lads with an interest in racing either left or skipped transition year.

As I had yet to discover horses, I found myself doing the extra year. Everything became much clearer to me after I found myself at a loss one Saturday morning. For one reason or another, I had no GAA training, so my first cousin Killian Leonard, invited me to come into work with him. Just 14 at the time, he had dreams of becoming a jockey and had started riding out for local trainer, Mick Winters.

Hooked

Killian had suggested I come in, muck out a few lots and see what I thought. However, Mick had other ideas and a few minutes later, I found myself trotting up and down the road on the back of a mare called Theatre Princess! That was the beginning of the end really, as from that moment I was hooked.

Over the next year and a half, I was up in Micks’ yard at every available opportunity. To her credit, my mother was very supportive, as she dropped me in each morning and collected me in the afternoons adding to all she did for my brothers and sister also. It was a great time to be involved in the yard, as Mick won the Galway Hurdle with Missunited and Rebel Fitz was winning chases.

In my late teens, I also rode out for Louis Archdeacon, with whom my close friend Aidan O’Sullivan and I had a horse. In all, I had just 10 rides in Irish point-to-points with the unenviable record of completing in just one; one unseat and the remainder pulled up. Mick Winters always held the view that it was extremely difficult to make it in Ireland, given the lack of race meetings and opportunities. So, from quite early on in my career, I had a move to Britain in the back of my mind.

One morning I got chatting to our local postman Timmy Noonan, an uncle of jump jockey David. After learning of my intentions to move to Britain, Timmy very kindly suggested that his nephew put in a word with trainer David Pipe. I was due to go over to Pipes in September 2016 but a few days before it I got a bad fall schooling a horse at Dromahane. As a result, my departure was delayed until December.

Side-lines

I broke my collarbone for the second time in a fall in April, resulting in another spell on the side-lines. I was back in the saddle a month later, riding my first point-to-point winner on May 21st and my second just six days later.

Unfortunately the day after my second winner I then broke both my leg and collarbone again, just as things were starting to take off.

I came home to Cork for three months, although I was back and over to Oaksey House for regular treatment.

Around that time, Will Biddick, one of the leading amateurs in Britain, got in touch with me with the offer of a job. He runs his own breaking and pre-training yard and had taken interest with what he had seen of me.

Will suggested I come work for him for a year, hone my skills further, then move on to Paul Nicholls.

So, on my return to Britain, I joined up with Will and set about rebuilding my career. I rode 12 winners that first season and followed up with 25 last year[fourth in overall men’s championship].

Career first

Paul Nicholls approached me at the end of last season and I set about switching my licence from amateur to conditional jockey. I have been based in his yard since the start of the 2018/19 season although I found it slow to start with.

I suppose having done well as an amateur I just expected the winners to keep flowing. I had spoken to my jockey coach Rodi Greene and he advised that I just keep doing as I had been doing and the winners would come. Sure enough, I rode a double on December 12th and things slowed down again until the 27th where I rode another winner followed with two more before the turn of the year. On January 1st, I rode my first ever career treble at Exeter.

Unfortunately earlier this month I broke my collarbone for the fourth time after a fall at Plumpton. At this stage I am well used to that particular injury so I have have to be patient and wait for it to heal. My aim is to be back race riding within four weeks and hopefully take up from where I left off.

At the beginning of the season, I had set myself a target of 25 winners and with 20 wins to my name already I am well on course to reach that. It would also be great to pick up a ride in the Martin Pipe conditional jockeys hurdle at the festival, so that is another target in the shorter term. Next season, if I am fortunate enough to escape injury, I would hope to give the conditionals championship a good go.

Bryan Carver was in conversation with John O’Riordan