MANY young people will have posters of famous footballers on their bedroom walls, but for former Dromore man, Ronan Slevin, the poster was legendary jockey, A P McCoy. 

Having grown up around horses, the former mechanic's childhood dream was to follow the greats. Horseriding was his passion, and he vowed to one day make this a reality. 

But as is often the case, life takes over. He instead trained to be a mechanic, and while he enjoyed the job, the thought of horse riding remained in the back of his mind.

Eventually, after five years "working at cars", he decided to make his childhood dream a reality.

Leaving all he knew behind in his native Dromore, he headed for England to try his hand at professional horseracing. 

That was two-years-ago, and at the end of the month Mr. Slevin, 25, will take part in a charity horserace in Hereford, all in aid of St Michael's Hospice.

It will be his first major outing, and having raised over £1,500 so far, he is doubly thrilled to be supporting an excellent cause. 

"It will surely be good craic and it will also be a bit of an insight into the world of racing," said Mr. Slevin. "It's for a great cause. St Michael's Hospice provides end-of-life care for people of all ages. 

"I will be up against 12 other competitors, so it will be a good starting block for me. I hope to get my racing licence if it all goes well."

Since arriving in England, Mr. Slevin has completed a 12-week course at Doncaster Racing School, and for the past 18-months has been working at Emma Lavelle Racing. 

As with any job in the equestrian world, the work is hard, and the hours are long. But Mr. Slevin enjoys the rough and tumble of it all, safe in the knowledge that he edging ever-closer to achieving his dreams. 

"No two days are the same, but typically I get up, I muck a few horses out, and then I ride 5 or 6. It's much the same in the evening. At races I get the horses ready and make sure they look smart. 

"I am getting a good education, it's all about learning on the job. 

"A lot of people go into horse-riding from a very young age. I am 25, so I have to work a lot harder. But we will get there in the end!"

Overall, Mr. Slevin feels that his present-day exploits in the horse-riding world would make his younger self proud. 

"I had rid horses when I was younger and I always had a big interest in it," he recounted. "Dad was big into carriage driving, and he did weddings and things like that. I was always around horses.

"I always say that normal boys my age would have had posters of Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, whereas I had AP McCoy on the wall! I also had a news article about him hung up beside the poster. 

"Without a doubt, it's always been a dream of mine since I was young, so after five years as a mechanic I said it wasn't for me and just went for it. I haven't looked back!"

But what does the future hold for this up-and-coming jockey from Dromore? 

"It's hard to say and I suppose it's all about taking it one day at a time," he said. "But if I had to outline an aim for the next five years it would be getting my amateur licence and racing professionally. Time will tell!"