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 part-taking 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.

Second rider

The second rider to get the leg up is Darren Harrison, from Monasterevin in Co. Kildare. Darren grew up riding hunting ponies before moving on to racehorses. Back in his school going days, Darren got an after-school, weekend and holiday job working for horse trainer Peter Fahey.

As the years went by Darren got to work with some wonderful people while pre-training and breaking for Kevin O’Ryan and Ian McCarthy.

Now coming full circle, the man in question is currently back where it all began in Peter Fahey’s yard in the mornings and also hard at it working with Ian McCarthy in the evenings.

Darren commented: “Years ago I had been lucky enough to ride a few winners pony racing, for which I still owe my dad and uncle petrol money for, as they spent their weekends driving me all around the country in those days. I just hope I have some luck this time around.

“I have been through the Racing Academy Centre of Education (RACE) which is an amazing place to learn more about the ins and outs of the racing game and I have met some amazing people along the way. I became an apprentice after graduating from RACE and unfortunately had no luck on the track.

Learning day

“Every day is a learning day for me, with the copious amount of knowledge the people I work with have, the list goes on for days. This summer we get to do what our Irish jockeys love doing and see it from their perspective, which is very exciting and I am very much looking forward to the challenge!”

Darren is eager to help the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund raise funds as he has been around these amazing athletes through their highs and lows over the last number of years and understands what a worthwhile cause it really is.

As we all know, injuries in any sport can be devastating both mental and physical. For our Irish jockeys it is a vital fund to have in place to support them when the going gets tough.

Darren is thrilled to be able to assist and play his part to help raise money and awareness which will in turn help our injured riders get through any injury they may face during the lifetime of their careers.