Laura is a twenty-six-year-old Irish amateur jump jockey based in the South West of England. She studied law at the University of Maynooth, graduating in 2020 before taking out her amateur licence. She is extremely passionate about horseracing having worked for several trainers in Ireland and then made the move to the UK in 2022 to avail more opportunities.
Laura has ridden in both flat and jump races in Ireland and Britain and has a strong passion for analysing races, studying form and various other statistics. She hopes to combine her love for racing with her industry knowledge to forge a career in racing media.
She applied for the Racing Media Academy as it is a fresh and unique opportunity to extend herself into a new area of the racing industry. Having been a part of many media campaigns for the yard she currently works in ,including one with ITV, she has become increasingly interested in media within racing.
Laura is eager to challenge herself by learning a new set of skills and working in an area of the racing industry that is unfamiliar to her. She hopes to make valuable connections by learning from industry leaders and take a step towards a future career in racing media, while gaining as much hands-on experience as possible.
I was delighted to have been selected to be a part of this year’s Racing Media Academy. During the final week of April, we were brought together as a group in the British Racing School in Newmarket. Here I gotto know my twelve other classmates and began to learn about all things racing media.
The week was made up of many different industry leaders all with unique pathways into racing and who informed us about both the challenges and joys of working within racing media. I particularly enjoyed the lectures which focused on broadcasting. Lydia Hislop and Lee Mottershead worked together to provide a full day workshop on written and presentation broadcast and with the help of race tech we were able to put our skills to the test and record debates and interviews and then review them with Lee and Lydia, receiving instant feedback.
The highlight of the week was putting our skills to the test on the ‘Mock Race Day’. This allowed everyone to play a specific role in a live broadcast and work together to produce a live feed from a day atthe races. The experience this offered was beyond anything I could have expected from the course.
I was lucky enough to obtain a placement with ITV Racing for 6 weeks during the height of the British flatseason. Having worked in a racing stables for many years I was apprehensive if I could transition into office-based environment and have the skills to do well. First day nerves were soon erased after spending the day in the office with the team.
For my first week I worked closely with the production management team and worked on future racing festivals such as the York Ebor festival. Each Saturday I attended the races with the team and shadowed various individuals to learn about the different jobs on a live broadcast.
Through the rest of my time at ITV I worked closely with producers and was even tasked with creating myown VT for the Yorkshire Oaks. I was given the freedom to choose which horses I wanted to show along with graphics and music. Being able to watch from the trucks something which I produced was very proud moment, as was having my name on the credits that day.
My experience was varied at ITV and tailored to my interests, I spent two festivals working with the Social Media team and even edited a video showcasing the various jobs within a live broadcast production.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with ITV and was very sad to see it come to an end. I was able to attend every race meeting during the six weeks and work with some amazing people. I could not recommend the Racing Media Academy enough. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to get out of this at the beginning, but I now know that the options are endless and there are so many people within the industry who are ready to help.“
