‘I wanted to follow in Dad’s footsteps, to do something that I thought he’d be proud of’

Twenty-one-year-old jockey Siobhan Rutledge is determined to make an impact in what is the tough and unforgiving environment of horseracing.

Currently signed on as an apprentice with trainer John McConnell who is based close to Bellewstown, the Meath woman got that all-important first winner on her CV last September at Navan and already has two more to her credit this year.

One big disappointment for Siobhan was that her father Ger wasn't around to savour that special moment as he passed away in March 2012.

Siobhan also highlighted the insistence by her mother Geraldine, a Mayo woman, that she should complete her education at Ashbourne Community School before embarking on her chosen career path.

"I’ve always had an interest in horses as my late dad Ger was an amateur jockey and trained point to point horses while my grandmother also bred horses,” she commented.

"My dad always encouraged me and my twin brother (also Ger), we had a little pony and a donkey that I would ride up the field in the evenings after school.

"I also took some riding lessons when I got older and that helped me get the basics, but I gave up the lessons because the horses were not fast enough!

"After saving some money I got a Connemara pony and did a few local pony races, it didn’t amount to much more than a fun day out for the family," she added.

Following completion of the junior certificate, Siobhan spent transition year at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE), a training school for aspiring young jockeys outside Kildare town.

She followed that with a work experience placement with former champion jockey and now successful trainer, and a Meath man, Johnny Murtagh.

"I used to look up to Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh, in our house we would always have watched jump racing and especially the Grand National, this would have been when I was six or seven and my dad was around then," she said.

"I was always cheering for whatever Nina and Katie were riding and I would be the one waiting for them after racing to get autographs.

"Anway, I decided I’d apply for a place at RACE, but never in a million years did I think I’d be accepted.

"I headed down for the trial (July 2014) hoping for the best, I loved my week down in RACE and knew then that it was the place to be if I could get in.

"The acceptance letter came three days before my 16th birthday, I nearly couldn't believe it," she remarked.

That was some six years ago, but in between her graduation from RACE and her current job with trainer John McConnell she had to return to complete her Leaving Certificate at Ashbourne Community School.

"That was the agreement I had with my mum, I did my junior cert and in transition year in 2014 went to RACE, that was my first real experience of the racing industry and I graduated in 2015," she said with pride.

"I learned loads when I was on my work placement with Johnny Murtagh, he was always very energetic and had so much enthusiasm

"He wasn't too long out of race riding at that stage and he used to ride out every morning, he had four apprentices at the time, Adam McNamara, Ross Coakley, Denis Linehan and his daughter Caroline.

"They were getting on well on the flat and when Caroline started doing well it gave me the confidence to think that I could make a go of this.

"I really didn't want to go back to school in Ashbourne, but my mum insisted and she was right, I'm glad I did it now, it's so important to have an education.

"I also used to work at weekends for Eddie Lynam in Dunshaughlin when I was in school and for the summer holidays.

"Last year's joint-champion apprentice Oisin Orr was there at the time, so there are opportunities for young jockeys.

"I came across Warren O'Connor when I was on my work placement, he used to ride out for Johnny Murtagh and he had started what was a new concept I suppose, coaching for jockeys, but it turned out to be fairly useful and informative from my perspective.

"Warren would tell me what I was doing right and, more importantly, areas where I could improve my technique, that sort of thing.

"Horseracing is a sport where male and female can compete on level terms, that's not too common in any other sport.

"My first target was to actually ride in a race, I set that goal for myself and I achieved that in 2018.

"I suppose I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps, I wanted to do something that I thought he would be proud of.

"Then, when I rode in the first race I wanted to get a winner, I achieved that last year, it was at Navan and that was something special.

"It was great to get that first winner on a Meath track and I was delighted to get the winner for John (McConnell) and the owners of Magi Gal.

"I suppose I left it a bit late to get up and win that day, Magi Gal can be a bit quirky and not that easy unless you know her.

"She had been unlucky on a few occasions, but she clicked that day at 33/1.

"John just told me to go out and keep her out of trouble as she is small.

"She just kept running up the home straight, it was a great day and I would have loved it if my dad had been there.

"I won on her again in January this year at Dundalk and then I got the third winner on a horse John (McConnell)purchased for €2,000 at the sales, Bellick, and that was also at Dundalk and that got my claim reduced.

"I'm always on the look out for any possible spares and one morning I contacted Katy Browne who trains on the Curragh, I noticed she had a runner in a ladies race at Tipperary.

"She put me up and I have established a good relationship with her since and also had a few rides for her in the UK.

"I got a seven day whip ban when I started out in 2018, I was brought in before the stewards for that.

"They explained that it t was due to my use of the whip when out of contention.

“It was inexperience on my part, but I have improved that aspect since, it was a bit daunting and it was an all-male interview panel, I won't say much more about that," she said.

Looking to the immediate future, Siobhan's first target is to stay healthy in the current crisis and to get a few more winners on the board when the flat racing gets going again.

"It's tough trying to make an impact, but I have great people behind me who are so helpful and so encouraging," she commented.

"Sometimes you will meet people who have this idea that females are weak and cant do this type of a job, but I wouldn't agree with that.

"The likes of Hollie Doyle, a top jockey in the UK, Nina (Carberry), Katie (Walsh), they have made a big impact in horseracing and that also makes it a bit easier for someone like me who is starting out as an apprentice.

"I'm working full-time for John, there is plenty to keep us going, we work as normal at the moment and it's only a 15-minute drive for me in the morning.

"I'm one of the lucky ones in the sense that I have a job to go to every day and I'm sure we will get back to racing in not too distant future.

"My targets for this year were to get the three winners, I achieved that, now I suppose the target is to get the claim reduced again, that would be a good achievement for 2020.

"Hopefully my agent Ruaidhri Tierney will do the needful in terms of outside rides and that sort of thing.

"I can do the lowest weight on the flat, that's a big advantage sometimes, John has given me plenty of opportunities and I'm grateful for that.

"I'm good value for the claim and hopefully I can continue to make progress," she concluded.