My name is Maria Sage.  I am 15 years old and live in Kildare Town.  I came to RACE with the dream of becoming the best flat girl jockey.  This is my fourth month in RACE; its very hard work but a lot of fun.  To make it through this course you have to be hard working, tough and dedicated.  Its very early mornings and freezing weather.  It’s a lot of time away from home and you don’t have much freedom. 

You work in the yard in the morning and do classes in the evening so you will get a FETAC Level 1 Certificate.  The classes aren’t like school, they try to make it interesting as well.  You get sent out to the yards after 3 months on a part-time basis and then its full-time in April.  There’s PE two nights a week and Art and Simulators one night a week, so you're always kept busy.

The past few months have gone past really fast.  I made lots of new friends and met a lot of new people.  I learnt a lot from the time I have been here and still have a lot more to learn.  I really like it here; everything about it is great.  It took a lot of getting used to - the early mornings, and trying not to fall asleep in class, and getting the fitness up, but once you get into it you will really enjoy it.