I LIVE in Milltown, Raphoe in east Co Donegal. I grew up here and the family link to horses spans back generations. The Carlin family were cattle dealers in this area and my mother Breda Gubbins-Hickie came from Oola, Co Limerick, where her brothers were avid followers with the Scarteen Hunt.

It was during my many summer holidays in Limerick as a child that I first came to love horses, attending the Limerick Show and horse racing at the “Junction”. My love for competition comes from my athletics days, where I competed for Ireland in 800 metres, culminating in a win in the 1983 World Masters in Puerto Rico.