The simple game an irish jockeys memoir

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His dream was to become a professional jockey. He arrived in America full of wonder and romanticized notions of a sport he cherished and revered. But as he soon discovered, the world of professiona In , seventeen-year-old Thomas Foley immigrated to the United States from Ireland. But as he soon discovered, the world of professional horse racing was not a place where boys with romanticized visions lasted for very long. To survive in this world, young Thomas Foley would have to leave the boy behind.

He did. Eventually, he succeeded as a jump and flat jockey, but he also developed an eating disorder, became addicted to sleeping pills, and in the process lost his family and his passion for the sport of horse racing and horses themselves. Get A Copy. More Details Other Editions 1. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

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Add this book to your favorite list ». Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. It was, he said, like looking out your car window and seeing one of your tires flying by. But instead of falling the tough old trooper Laurel stayed up, thanks to adrenaline and the medication pumping through his system, thereby protecting Foley from near certain death.

Later though, as he watched the state vet load Laurel onto the horse ambulance, something inside Foley that had slept for years awoke again. It only took a second, but it completely changed his life. He was so agitated by what he had seen that he needed a cold shower just to calm down.

The questions got even sharper then. How could had it have come to this, he wondered? Originally from the village of Lorrha outside Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Foley showed an early interest in horses and was lucky enough to get training from some of the best known riders and breeders in Ireland, including Ruby Walsh, the reigning Irish National Hunt champion jockey.

I eventually got a call from a guy here inviting me out to ride over jumps and I thought -- I was just 17 -- sure why not. So I arrived in Virginia and it was night and day compared to Tipperary. When he landed in the U.

I might as well have landed in Mogadishu.