I hope my girls choose foxtrot over the track
Daughters can follow my fancy footsteps says Nina Carberry
SHE paved the way for last year’s Grand National winner Rachel Blackmore, but it appears trailblazing Irish jockey Nina Carberry would prefer her daughters follow her lead onto the dancefloor than the racecourse.
Ms Carberry said although her two young girls, turning five and three in a few months, have a pony at home, their heads have been turned by their mother’s exploits on Dancing with the Stars. told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I won’t be pushing them away [from horse racing], but I would love them to join a dance school. They’re mad into it now, so it’s the right time to let them explore what they want to do. They’ll always have ponies at home, so it’s just trying to figure out what they want to do. If they want to be a dancer I’d definitely support them.’
The 2011 Irish Grand National winner previously suggested she’d rather her children choose another career ‘because I know how hard it is and the injuries aren’t nice. People have been killed in our sport so it is dangerous’.
But if her girls do opt for riding boots over pumps, they can rest assured that their family’s pedigree in racing should shield them from any prejudice. Nina’s father Tommy and brothers were celebrated jockeys, and she’s married to Ted Walsh, brother of Ruby and Katie.
‘I grew up with five boys and had a background in racing and that helped me along the way, that I had a name in racing. So once I was able to show that I was able to ride well, I always got on quite well. I was always given the opportunities, never jocked off a horse because I was a girl.’ Ms Carberry accepts she played some part in the progress of Rachael Blackmore, who became the first ever female Grand National winner last year and was awarded the BBC World Sport Star of The Year prize in December.
‘I suppose myself and [sister-inlaw] Katie both came at the same time, and there weren’t many girls before us that were riding against professionals. When the two of us came along we both rode winners at Cheltenham, we both rode Irish Grand National winners, so it probably helped Rachael get the opportunities she needed to show what she could do. We probably helped her a little to ride with the right owners and stuff like that. We hope we made a difference that way.
‘[A female winning at Aintree] was always going to happen someday, but it was brilliant that it was Rachael. She just topped off a mag
‘If they want to dance I’d definitely support them’
nificent year that she had. It was incredible she broke through that glass ceiling, so there’s nothing we can’t do now! It’s brilliant for her and all the girls coming behind as well.’
The County Meath native says she had to be talked into competing on this year’s Dancing With The Stars, and is now the favourite to capture this year’s coveted glitterball. ‘I was reluctant because I have two kids at home and I realised how much effort had to be put in to try and make me dance, because I actually can’t dance,’ Ms Carberry reveals.
The 37-year-old said ‘even my close friends’ were ‘shocked’ when she accepted the call up to the ballroom dancing show.
‘And they were definitely shocked that I was a different person every week. Especially doing the rumba the second week. I shocked myself. I was a different person.’