Rachael Blackmore has announced her retirement from horse racing. The champion jockey is hanging up her riding boots after spending 16 years competing in the sport professionally.
The Tipperary woman took to social media to announce the news on Monday. She explained that adjusting to life without racing is going to be a big change for her, but she feels it is time.
'My days of being a jockey have come to an end,' she wrote. 'I feel the time is right. I'm sad but I'm also incredibly grateful for what my life has been for the past 16 years. I just feel so lucky, to have been legged up on the horses I have, and to have experienced success I never even dreamt could be possible.'
'The people to thank are endless, it's not possible to mention everyone (as I don't want this to be another book) but l'm going to get a few names in here anyway and to everyone else, you know who you are, as they say,' she said.
The 35-year-old went on to thank a host of people in the lengthy paragraph she shared, starting with her parents, Eimir and Charles, for the childhood they gave her. She pointed out that they were the people who first introduced her to horse riding.
'Firstly, my parents who provided me with the best childhood, and a pony I couldn't hold! This set the seed for a life of racing.'
She went on to name-check all those who helped her get into horse racing when she was a young girl.
'Aidan Kennedy gave me my first ride in a point-to-point. I spent time riding out for Arthur Moore and Pat Doyle which I loved. Sam Curling and Liam Lennon were also big supporters, as was Denise O'Shea, John Nicholson, Ellmarie Holden, Harry Smyth and Gigginstown House Stud.'
'I rode my first winner for Shark Hanlon, who then helped me become Champion Conditional,' she recalled. 'I will be forever grateful to Shark for getting behind me, supporting me, and believing in me when it would have been just as easy to look elsewhere. He was the catalyst for what was to come.
Retirement clearly isn't a decision that Rachael came to lightly, as she admitted that 'it is daunting, not being able to say that I am a jockey anymore' jokingly asking: 'Who even am I now?!'
She went on to say: 'I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the career I've had. To have been in the right place at the right time with the right people, and to have gotten on the right horses - because it doesn't matter how good you are without them.'
'They have given me the best days of my life, and to them I am most grateful.'
Rachael's comment section was flooded by fans wishing her well in her retirement, with many dubbing her 'one of the greatest' jockeys 'of our time.'
'Happy retirement. You made history. One of the best,' one person wrote, while another said: 'Simply the best Rachael.' 'Rachael, you inspired me,' a third person said.
