'Jim Culloty has been a great help and I have a lot to thank him for'

Jim Culloty, who is my uncle on my mother's side, has been the biggest influence on my career because I'd never have been a jockey without him. I lived with him from the ages of 14 to 16 and he sparked my interest in racing as before that all I wanted to do was showjumping.

We had ponies but I had no ambitions towards becoming a jockey and it was only the fact Jim asked me to come and ride out that did it. I was fortunate to have him in a position to help me out, and then it was his idea to send me to Tommy Stack's for the summer to gain experience when I was 15, and then Ballydoyle the following year. I got a good grounding and Jim and Aidan O'Brien between them decided it would be a good idea for me to go to Britain to join Andrew Balding - thankfully that was a good decision too. I don't think I was good enough to make it in Ireland at that stage and there wouldn't have been the opportunities, but Andrew has given me a lot of support.

I still speak to Jim every second day or so and he watches most of my races – there's no fear of getting a big head when you have someone like him to bring you back down to earth, which is very important. He's been a great help and I have a lot to thank him for.