My daughters think I’m a dancer..they don’t know I’m a race champion
Star’s girls don’t remember old job
FORMER champion jockey Nina Carberry has admitted her daughters see her as a dancer – and are less aware of her successful career in horse racing.
The 39-year-old blazed a trail as the second female jockey ever to win the Irish Grand National – but her little girls remember her for winning Dancing with the Stars.
Mum-of-two Nina was crowned the winner of the RTE reality show in 2022 and she said her girls Rosie, six, and four-year-old Holly see her as a dancer and not a jockey.
She told us: “They never really saw me as a jockey. Holly wasn’t even born when I retired.
“They don’t remember that at all, they just see me as a dancer and love glitter.”
She added: “I stepped into the unknown with the dancing. I gave it 100 per cent, I have no regrets.”
Nina – the first female to win at the Cheltenham Festival in 18 years in 2005 – revealed she endured multiple concussions during her career, admitting it’s a worry.
LUCKY
The Meath native said: “I’m nearly hitting 40 now and the knees are starting to give out. I broke my kneecap.
“I was very lucky, I’ve had a few concussions which you’d be very wary about now.
“I presume I will get an MRI in the future, you want to be on top of those things, you don’t want to let them fester. I’m just glad I got out lightly, compared to others.”
Ireland’s Fittest Family coach Nina admitted getting to the top of horse racing took sacrifices.
She explained: “Being a jockey is a very unique sport, you’re racing weekends. It’s unsociable hours.
“It’s very hard for people to understand what it’s like when you’re in it because you’re looking after horses that need to be fed 24/7.
“If you’re going to be at the top of your sport you have to miss out on holidays when you’re younger. It’s not for the faint-hearted.”
Growing up with five older brothers, as the daughter of Irish jump-racing champion jockey Tommy Carberry and sister to successful riders Paul and Philip, gave her an advantage.
She said: “I wasn’t treated like a girl, it was a case of, if they’re able to do it, you’re able to do it.
“It’s probably a lot of thanks to them that I felt that way, I never thought I couldn’t do it.
“Racing is a male-domisport nated but you can do it, it’s just that not many women take it on.
“You don’t get any allowances for being a woman, it’s on a level playing field with the lads.”
Growing up she was one of the boys.
She said: “I got all my brothers hand-me-downs, I was a complete tomboy, I wouldn’t wear a dress.
“Social media is massive now, but back then people weren’t taking pictures of you, nobody cared. “I didn’t get any more enjoyment out of beating men, you just want to win the races.” Nina reckons being on Ireland’s Fittest Family alongside her sporting hero Sonia O’sullivan is surreal. She said: “I love Sonia, she was one of my heroes growing up. I remember waving at her on telly, it’s surreal being beside her and getting to know her now.
“I really enjoy Fittest Family, the extra level of competitiveness, I get a massive kick out of it.”
Tonight’s final on RTE One sees Sonia’s Byrnes family from Tipperary, Donncha’s Stratford family from Cavan and Bonnar family from Waterford, and Nina’s Murphy family from Carlow battle it out.