Carberry on 'This Sporting Life'

High-profile Meath jockey Paul Carberry is the subject of the fifth programme in RTE's 'This Sporting Life' series, to be aired on Thursday 26th August. Carberry, who has made headlines both on and off the track, was born in Ratoath to a family with a long tradition in all things to do with the horse industry, and now lives in Skryne. His grandfather, Arthur Moore, trained horses, and his father, Tommy, rode and trains horses, riding L'Escargot to win the English Grand National at Aintree in 1975. The young Paul began riding when he was three years-old. He rode his first winner in a point-to-point for his father and had his first Leopardstown win on Petronelli at the age of 16. In 1993, he had his first win in Cheltenham on the Homer Scott-trained Rhythm Section. In 1999, Carberry reached the pinnacle of his career when he rode Bobbyjo to victory in the Aintree Grand National, a horse trained by his father. He also made headlines off the racecourse. In 2005, he was arrested and charged as a result of an incident on an Aer Lingus plane from Malaga to Dublin. The subsequent jail sentence was reduced to community service. Carberry has twice failed alcohol breath tests and suffered consequent racing bans. He is now a non-drinker. The National Hunt champion jockey of 2000 and 2001 is an avid supporter of the Ward Union Hunt and has actively campaigned against the recent stag hunting ban. 'This Sporting Life' will be aired on Thursday 19th August on RTE One at 7pm.