The Racing Life of Jenny Carr
‘I’m still known as Mad Jenny Carr around home.’ Racing may not have been the only crazy aspect to Jenny's life but it was a part of her...
top of page
ratings-display.rating-aria-label(1)
Jo O'Neill
Jul 12, 20226 min read
An Interview with Former Trainer Robin Dickin
Robin Dickin, a Shropshire lad born in Ludlow, rode his first winner on his first ride in August 1967 at Warwick over five furlongs. The...
1,5690
Jo O'Neill
Jul 5, 20224 min read
An Interview with Jockey Stan Sheppard
Jockey Stan Sheppard had a brilliant season. Yet, with his family pedigree, it isn’t surprising. His Grandfather, Roger Guilding, rode...
1,4800
Jo O'Neill
Jun 28, 20227 min read
June 2022 Blog
June has been a busy month, filled with sunny days and the eager anticipation of horses soon to be coming back into training. Some horses...
6811
Jo O'Neill
Jun 22, 20228 min read
The Racing Life of Britt Cowper
Britt Hounslow, nee Cowper, has lived in a few places… ‘I was born up the road from Old Trafford in Manchester in August 1965 (yes I am...
2740
Jo O'Neill
Jun 14, 20223 min read
An Interview with Top Trainer Tim Easterby
To the question, at what point growing up did you know you wished to be a trainer? Tim Easterby, 60, answered a simple but heartfelt,...
5890
Jo O'Neill
Jun 8, 202211 min read
An Interview with Racing Photographer Dominic James
Previously, Dominic James was a graphic designer as well as a former owner of a design agency, but he never strayed far from his love of...
1900
Jo O'Neill
Jun 2, 20223 min read
Deeds not Words
Emily Davison was an educated woman. She had been a literature student at Royal Holloway College and had self-funded her studies at...
640
Jo O'Neill
May 26, 20226 min read
May 2022 Blog
May hasn't been that quiet and relaxed. The yard stayed busy. Many horses went out to the fields on their holidays, but a lot of...
1310
Jo O'Neill
May 18, 20224 min read
An Interview with Champion Conditional Kevin Brogan
In winning the Conditional Jockey’s Championship, Kevin Brogan, 22, has followed in the footsteps of Sir AP McCoy, Harry Cobden and his...
4231
Jo O'Neill
May 12, 20226 min read
Michael Appleby's Top Team
Here is a selection of short interviews with a range of trainer Michael Appleby’s staff, all recorded in person by Kirsty Whitbread....
8860
Jo O'Neill
May 6, 20222 min read
An Interview with Michael Appleby, Racehorse Trainer
Michael ‘Mick’ Appleby did not have a horsey childhood. Mick’s Grandfather took him along to their local tracks of Pontefract and...
3,2050
Jo O'Neill
Apr 26, 20226 min read
April 2022 Blog
April can be summed up as winners, winners and more winners. It was a glorious end to a good season. We notched up eighty-two victories,...
4111
Jo O'Neill
Apr 19, 20228 min read
St. Paddy's Days
An Interview with Groom Paddy Trainor 'I have my real family, Sam and Shannon are my rocks, they’ve stood by me through injuries and we...
3371
Jo O'Neill
Apr 10, 202210 min read
The Racing Department of Haddon Training
Haddon Training provides qualifications within the working environment throughout England and Wales in many equestrian disciplines,...
2290
Jo O'Neill
Mar 28, 20227 min read
March 2022 Blog
March started in the best way with File Illico (Lilo) winning at Leicester for owner, the Honourable Mrs Lizzie Wills, and groom Alex...
7751
Jo O'Neill
Mar 23, 20226 min read
An Interview with Trainer Adrian Wintle
‘I love what I do,’ declares trainer Adrian Wintle. The former top amateur jockey reflects on a successful riding career in which he rode...
1,1360
Jo O'Neill
Mar 9, 20228 min read
19th March 2010
I could not believe that I was actually leading up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup - the biggest race of the National Hunt season. As a groom,...
3902
Jo O'Neill
Mar 2, 20226 min read
February 2022 Blog
I hadn’t fallen off for a couple of seasons, so I was well overdue. The string was trotting down the new path towards the bottom of the...
6191
Jo O'Neill
Feb 24, 20223 min read
An Interview with Former Owners George and Angie Malde
George and Angie Malde had a lot of fun owning several successful racehorses. These include dual Welsh National winner Bonanza Boy who,...
8420
Jo O'Neill
Feb 18, 20226 min read
The Racing Life of Karen Sharpe
An Interview with Karen Sharpe: Regional Liaison for the IJF Karen Sharpe works for the Injured Jockeys’ Fund in the role of Regional...
1,0030
Jo O'Neill
Feb 10, 20224 min read
An Interview with Jockey Richie McLernon
Richard ‘Richie’ McLernon, 35, is from Mallow in County Cork and has many family connections to racing. ‘I was born into a racing family...
2,2201
Jo O'Neill
Feb 1, 20228 min read
January 2022 Blog
We started 2022 in the best way when Judicial Law won over hurdles at Exeter. It was our fiftieth winner of the season but, the middle of...
6791
Jo O'Neill
Jan 27, 20223 min read
An Interview with Head Lad Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones describes his childhood as ‘not particularly horsey’ but that did not stop his adolescent dreams of being a jockey. He grew...
4150
Jo O'Neill
Jan 21, 20229 min read
An Interview with Eloise Quayle - Clerk of the Course at Newcastle Racecourse
Eloise Quayle enjoyed a pony-mad childhood in Morpeth, Northumberland, surrounded by a few ponies, her mum’s ex-racehorse and a horse...
7101
Jo O'Neill
Jan 13, 20223 min read
An Interview with Hannah Dean - Head of Travelling to Ben Pauling
Hannah Dean, nee Worgan, grew up in the Welsh-English border village of Undy, Monmouthshire, alongside ponies and the Pony Club, often...
6420
Jo O'Neill
Jan 4, 202212 min read
December 2021 Blog
December had many very busy moments; some were great and others weren’t so great. The weather or traffic, to name a couple of factors,...
8420
Jo O'Neill
Dec 28, 20215 min read
An Interview with Top Trainer Lucinda Russell
Lucinda Russell was a pony-mad child, pony-clubbing and riding eventers and showjumpers. She originally grew up in Edinburgh but the...
9140
Jo O'Neill
Dec 17, 20215 min read
An Interview with Dominic Toole - Stable Manager at Epsom Downs and Sandown
Dominic Toole, in his capacity of stable manager, is an integral part of every Derby Day at Epsom Downs and all the Flat and Jump...
1960
Jo O'Neill
Dec 9, 20216 min read
The Racing Life of Ollie McPhail
Many racegoers have seen pupils let out of their classrooms for a day at the races, often brightly coloured with the old silks they wear....
7520
Jo O'Neill
Dec 2, 20217 min read
November 2021 Blog
`November largely consisted of mucking out and then going racing as I was still the temporary head of travelling. The winners always...
5451
Jo O'Neill
Nov 25, 20212 min read
An Interview with Trainer Philip Hobbs
For three decades Philip Hobbs has been a top trainer. Based near Minehead in Somerset, the yard had been associated with many Festival...
1,1000
Jo O'Neill
Nov 18, 20215 min read
An Interview with Racing Groom Gemma McQuillan
Gemma McQuillan loves working with racehorses and wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. She was born in Gloucestershire but grew up in...
4070
Jo O'Neill
Nov 9, 20215 min read
An Interview with Derek Thompson - Former Stable Manager at Aintree Racecourse
‘Racing people are wonderful,’ says Derek ‘Dec’ Thompson, the former stable manager at Aintree Racecourse. He has been retired for over...
4630
Jo O'Neill
Oct 31, 20218 min read
October 2021 Diary
On 25th September, seven of us sweated our way over, under and through the Inflatable 5K round Cheltenham racecourse. AJ O’Neill, Nick...
4820
Jo O'Neill
Oct 25, 202110 min read
An Interview with Top Owner Miss Jayne Brace
There is no lovelier owner then Jayne Brace, who got into racehorse ownership through her family’s involvement in racing over the years....
1,2870
Jo O'Neill
Oct 15, 20213 min read
An Interview with Top Owner Mrs Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones grew up amongst horseracing, her parents having had studs at Cokethorpe and later Chaddleworth. Cherry has continued to...
7070
Jo O'Neill
Oct 5, 20216 min read
An Interview with Top Owners Geoff and Donna Keeys
‘So many of the memories we’ve got and the stories we can tell are due to racing,' says owners Geoff and Donna Keeys. They discovered...
2720
Jo O'Neill
Sep 29, 20217 min read
September 2021 Diary
September is a peculiar month, sitting at the backend of summer but often too warm to be classed properly as autumnal. The yard was busy...
4960
Jo O'Neill
Sep 23, 202110 min read
An Interview with George McGrath - Chief Executive of NARS
George McGrath may not have been the most committed jockey, prioritising socialising and partying but was always proactive and forward...
6150
Jo O'Neill
Sep 15, 20213 min read
An Interview with Johnson White, Assistant Trainer to Philip Hobbs
Racing might be in Johnson White’s blood but he still carved his own way in National Hunt. He was a decent amateur jockey and...
2,9550
Jo O'Neill
Sep 10, 20215 min read
An Interview with Ex-jockey Liam Cooper
At the beginning, Liam Cooper only had a loose connection to racing through his uncles, John and David Goulding, who were both good...
4,7760
Jo O'Neill
Sep 3, 20217 min read
An Interview with Monica Wakefield - Sea Pigeon's Groom
I met Monica Wakefield, nee Jones, when she visited Jackdaws Castle. Years had passed since she worked as a groom but she clearly...
6900
Jo O'Neill
Aug 28, 20216 min read
August 2021 Diary
The annual fortnight without any jump racing meant that August had been quiet for runners, but the yard had still been hectic due to many...
4600
Jo O'Neill
Aug 16, 20219 min read
An Interview with Anthea Leigh - Clerk of the Course
An Interview with Anthea Leigh – Clerk of the Course at Cartmel and Raceday Manager at York Anthea Leigh is the daughter of the late Gold...
1,1090
Jo O'Neill
Aug 10, 20217 min read
An Interview with Champion Gentleman Amateur Tommie O'Brien
Despite the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, amateur jockey Tommie O’Brien had a wonderful season, ending in winning the...
7090
Jo O'Neill
Aug 3, 20214 min read
An Interview with ex-jockey Conor Shoemark
It didn’t start with horses and racing for former jump jockey Conor Shoemark. In fact, it was pretty much every sport but riding. ‘I was...
8870
Jo O'Neill
Jul 27, 20218 min read
July Diary 2021
June ended with a double at Southwell with Knight Destroyer (K-Dog) and The Composer (Comp) both winning over fences. K-Dog is a yard...
3630
Jo O'Neill
Jul 20, 20215 min read
The Racing Life of Helen Donnelly
Helen Donnelly spent over twenty-five years working as a head of travelling for a number of trainers, including Jonjo O’Neill and Ferdy...
9550
Jo O'Neill
Jul 7, 20214 min read
An Interview with Racecourse Photographer John Grossick
There is a lot more to Grossick Racing Photography than racing photos. However, racing is a specialist part of the business that started...
3,0230
bottom of page