Ruby Walsh: This sport can give so much, but it isn’t always kind

Micheal O’Sullivan's background is the backbone of this sport, and whatever he learnt and saw as a boy, his dream was to ride the jockey's roller coaster 

WINNING FEELING: Michael O'Sullivan savours the moment after riding Embassy Gardens to victory at Tramore on New Year's Day. Picture: Healy Racing

Life is a roller coaster. We know it is. If you're a jump jockey, however, it’s the one at the far end of the fairground where only a few choose to line up, and the lucky ones enjoy. So, why do they take the ticket and board the carriage when they know the safety harness might not work?

Why do they want to be the ones hurtling towards a double loop with no idea if the cart will stay on the tracks? Why are they the ones who get fired into the sky, crash down to earth, yet rejoin the queue as quickly as they can? And why do they ride it to the end only to want to start again?