Amateur jockey Ray Barron has gone from a spectator to a victorious jockey at Galway
24/07/2024
Qualified Rider Ray Barron after winning the Connacht Hotel QR Handicap at the Galway Festival
By Milly McEvoy
Amateur jockey Ray Barron has gone from a spectator to a victorious jockey at Galway and wants to be back in the winners’ enclosure this year.
The 32-year-old rode a winner in his first race at the Festival, guiding Emmet Mullins’ Teed Up to victory in the Connacht Hotel Handicap 12 months ago.
The handicap is a prestigious race for those holding Qualified Riders licenses, as Barron does, and he went on to enjoy a particularly memorable week.
He said: “Last year was amazing, to win the handicap and to have two other winners, so three across the festival, was just a dream come true.
“I studied in Galway, so I went up there regularly as a fan, it was just unbelievable to go there as a jockey.
“There is a real buzz around Galway when the races are on. To even ride there was unbelievable but to have a bit of luck there was even better.
“My first ride in the GPT with Teed Up, he travelled very smoothly all the way and I knew he was going to go very close throughout the race.
“Please God, hopefully, it will be a busy week again next week.”
Barron’s introduction to racing came via his father, as the Kilmallock native started out in hunting and showjumping.
From there he progressed to point-to-point racing as he got his QR license and is now partly based at Charles Byrnes’ stable in Ballingarry.
He added: “I first got into racing through hunting and then I used to ride out for John Gleeson, he was the one who encouraged me to get my license.
“And then it went from there, beginning with a couple of point-to-point races.
“I had my first few rides through him and then progressed getting my first couple of winners with Enda Bolger and am now with Charles Byrnes.
“I was quite aware of the Qualified Rider license, there are a lot of lads around Cork and Limerick who were jockeys and had got their license to be a Qualified Rider.
“The process for me was to go up to the turf club and to do the assessment which is fairly straightforward.
“I didn’t have huge expectations as such when I got my license, I was in college and once I had my license I started riding a winner or two. It evolved from there.”
Barron was studying for a degree in legal studies and economics in Galway when he got his license.
It was not all smooth sailing for the rider, who had to wait 11 months for his first winner, but believes he learnt a lot through that process.
“It was a good period to learn and ride different horses,” he said. “It was great to get to the winner, I would have loved for it come sooner but they are hard to get.
“It taught me loads about resilience, I had to be patient because I was riding for different people and riding more and more horses at that time.
“I have always looked up to people like Patrick Mullins and Derek O’Connor, they’ve put a lot of hard work into it, and it is great to look up to the likes of them.
“I want to keep my head down and try and ride as many winners as I can to try and push on to bigger things.”
The George Mernagh Memorial Fund Qualified Rider Subsidy & Bursary offers financial support for jockeys in obtaining their licence. To find out more and to apply, click here.
Amateur jockey Ray Barron has gone from a spectator to a victorious jockey at Galway and wants to be back in the winners’ enclosure this year.
The 32-year-old rode a winner in his first race at the Festival, guiding Emmet Mullins’ Teed Up to victory in the Connacht Hotel Handicap 12 months ago.
The handicap is a prestigious race for those holding Qualified Riders licenses, as Barron does, and he went on to enjoy a particularly memorable week.
He said: “Last year was amazing, to win the handicap and to have two other winners, so three across the festival, was just a dream come true.
“I studied in Galway, so I went up there regularly as a fan, it was just unbelievable to go there as a jockey.
“There is a real buzz around Galway when the races are on. To even ride there was unbelievable but to have a bit of luck there was even better.
“My first ride in the GPT with Teed Up, he travelled very smoothly all the way and I knew he was going to go very close throughout the race.
“Please God, hopefully, it will be a busy week again next week.”
Barron’s introduction to racing came via his father, as the Kilmallock native started out in hunting and showjumping.
From there he progressed to point-to-point racing as he got his QR license and is now partly based at Charles Byrnes’ stable in Ballingarry.
He added: “I first got into racing through hunting and then I used to ride out for John Gleeson, he was the one who encouraged me to get my license.
“And then it went from there, beginning with a couple of point-to-point races.
“I had my first few rides through him and then progressed getting my first couple of winners with Enda Bolger and am now with Charles Byrnes.
“I was quite aware of the Qualified Rider license, there are a lot of lads around Cork and Limerick who were jockeys and had got their license to be a Qualified Rider.
“The process for me was to go up to the turf club and to do the assessment which is fairly straightforward.
“I didn’t have huge expectations as such when I got my license, I was in college and once I had my license I started riding a winner or two. It evolved from there.”
Barron was studying for a degree in legal studies and economics in Galway when he got his license.
It was not all smooth sailing for the rider, who had to wait 11 months for his first winner, but believes he learnt a lot through that process.
“It was a good period to learn and ride different horses,” he said. “It was great to get to the winner, I would have loved for it come sooner but they are hard to get.
“It taught me loads about resilience, I had to be patient because I was riding for different people and riding more and more horses at that time.
“I have always looked up to people like Patrick Mullins and Derek O’Connor, they’ve put a lot of hard work into it, and it is great to look up to the likes of them.
“I want to keep my head down and try and ride as many winners as I can to try and push on to bigger things.”
The George Mernagh Memorial Fund Qualified Rider Subsidy & Bursary offers financial support for jockeys in obtaining their licence. To find out more and to apply, click here.
“I studied in Galway, so I went up there regularly as a fan, it was just unbelievable to go there as a jockey.