Ireland Launches New Jockey Coaching Program with Five Former Riders as Mentors

Equuip, the education and training department of Horse Racing Ireland, has launched a coaching program for jockeys. This includes the appointment of coaches for different regions, with Carberry coaching the Meath and north regions and O’Connor coaching the west. Former champion jockey Barry Geraghty will support the new coaches and serve as a liaison coach on the jockey pathway.

The jockey coaches will be a central part of the pathway scheme, working closely with sports psychologists, dietitians, strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists, and career transition coaches.

Every claiming professional, conditional, and apprentice jockey will need to have at least five sessions with their jockey coach each year. Carol Nolan, director of people and Equuip at HRI, emphasized the importance of the coaching program for the welfare and progression of professional athletes in horse racing.

The five appointed coaches completed a six-month course overseen by Liam Moggan, which included high-performance sessions and on-the-job training with conditional and apprentice riders.

Emma McDonald, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s licensing, education, and training manager, expressed the board’s support for the new jockey coaching program.