IRISH RACING was hit with tragedy yesterday when the 21-year-old jockey Ronan Lawlor was killed in a riding accident in Co Carlow.

Lawlor was riding out at Pat Fahy’s stables in Leighlinbridge yesterday morning when a horse he was riding bolted and threw the young jockey against a wooden post.

An ambulance was quickly on the scene but paramedics were unable to revive him.

Lawlor rode as an apprentice for David Wachman last year when he had 18 rides on the flat but he was aiming at a career in National Hunt racing.

“The horse was just finishing a piece of work and as Ronan was pulling him up, he jinked out to the right to try and go in a different direction. The horse took off and Ronan came off the side and hit a timber stake,” Fahy said yesterday.

“The ambulance came very quickly and it is just very hard to take.

“He has been riding out for me since he was a kid and he’s part of a lovely family.

“It is devastating for everyone,” he added.

Ronan Lawlor is survived by his parents, John and Helena, brothers, Gavin, Conor and Cathal, and his sister, Aoife.

David Wachman said: “He was with me last summer but was heading into the jumping game. You couldn’t have come across a better person – he was very hard working and very honest. He was a top-class guy.”

Lawlor was also associated with trainer John Murphy who said: “It’s shocking news.

“He was one of those old-fashioned genuine kids that are so rare nowadays. He rode for me a good few times and he was a fabulous kid.”

The Turf Club last night expressed its regret and condolences to the Lawlor family, as did Horse Racing Ireland, whose chief executive Brian Kavanagh said it was very sad news.