I AM originally from Portlaw in Co Waterford. I am a proud Portlaw man and Waterford man! And hurling is a religion! No family member was ever involved with horses or racing. My dad did ride a pony bareback when he was a child, but other than that, there was nothing. My uncle, who was a priest in Dublin, was very good friends with a jockey named Sean Barker.

He used to ride for Tom Dreaper before later becoming head lad to Michael Kauntze. We would go up to my uncle for weekends when we were around seven or eight. It was through him and Sean (Barker) that the interest in horses began. After a short time going in to Michael Kauntze’s yard, I was bitten by the bug. I used to get riding lessons down in Waterford of a Saturday and just got going from there.