Eleanor Broderick, a third-generation farmer from Fermoy, has a long-standing passion for horses. Today, she will fulfill a dream by having her horse, Lisleigh Lad, compete at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival. Having begun training in 2006 and breeding Lisleigh Lad seven years ago, she has experienced both challenges and triumphs with him. Upon achieving her first win at Fairyhouse, Broderick feels a mix of excitement and anxiety as they compete against 23 others in the St Jame's Place Festival Challenge Cup. Despite her worries, she is grateful for her journey in horse racing.
"We are here in Cheltenham. It is overwhelming, very overwhelming," is how she described being at the biggest stage of them all in National Hunt Chase racing.
"He has been here since Tuesday, he has galloped here on everything and he's okay, but that's me, I am a bit of a worrier," Ms Broderick said.
"I have always been interested in horses. I started with ponies, hunting, point-to-pointers, you name it," she told the Irish Independent.
"Lisleigh Lad...had his problems but this year he has just become a man, he grew up," she said.
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