My full speed is child’s play compared to what jockeys face

Last Saturday I was one of the 29,042 punters gathered at Punchestown racecourse to watch the final day’s action of the National Hunt season. This was a record attendance at the Kildare track. Horse racing is a sport we do incredibly well in Ireland with estimates that it is worth in the region of over €1bn annually. The competitor in me loves watching horse racing, there are so many elements that make it enthralling.

A few weeks ago, I bumped into Ruby Walsh. It was after his fall in Cheltenham, he had dislocated a shoulder and fractured the top of his humerus. I enquired how he was recovering, he was very quick to point out that he could almost straighten his arm and wanted to ride in Punchestown. I thought he was nuts!