HORSE Racing Ireland and the further education authority SOLAS held a Careers and Racing Education Day at Naas Racecourse on Wednesday as part of College Awareness Week.

Fourth, fifth and sixth year students from surrounding secondary schools were invited to attend the free event and explore the various career opportunities in racing.

The day entailed talks from leading industry representatives and a chance to meet with various institutions offering further education programmes.

Trainer Willie McCreery told the students how he got to where he is today, the attributes he values in his team and the importance of hard work.

Jockey Kate Harrington echoed these thoughts as she spoke about the dedication that it takes to be a jockey and the importance of a passion for what you do.

Naas Racecourse manager Tom Ryan took the students on a tour of the track, explaining how his varied career to date has helped him in his role.

Students also met with representatives of RACE (Racing Academy & Centre of Education), who outlined the training that goes into becoming an apprentice jockey.

The Irish School of Farriery was also represented, they provided details to students about the apprenticeship training they offer and a number of their current apprentices performed live demonstrations.

The University of Limerick, Maynooth University, The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) and the Curragh Post-Primary School were also on hand to answer the students’ questions.

Patrick Ryan of HRI’s Careers and Racing Education Department said: “The horse racing industry is unique as it offers many different career options which appeal to many different people.

“It was fantastic to be able to showcase some of these careers.

“There was great interest from all of the students and we hope to hold more of these events in the future.”