Top jockey Katie: "I didn't have to worry about my stammer when I was riding out in the fields."

Kill native Katie Walsh, who is the most successful Grand National jockey in history, revealed how a childhood stammer inspired her to focus on riding.

Katie (31) came third in the 2012 Grand National on Seabass, - the highest finish for a female competitor.

Last year she became the third woman to win the Irish Grand National and has also won at Cheltenham.

She said: "At primary school, I developed a terrible stammer. I can't remember how it started, but there were a couple of teachers who used to pick me out if I couldn't answer a question.

"I still get it a bit today, but I don't give a damn. Back then, though, it knocked my confidence, so I sort of struggled when I was around people I didn't know."

She told the Sunday Times magazine: "Looking back, I suppose I turned to horses because I didn't have to worry about my stammer when I was riding out in the fields.

"There was nobody I needed to talk to. Riding gave me back all the confidence I lost, and also made me realise what I wanted to do with my life. Riding made me understand who I wanted to be."

The jockey also revealed that ponies and horses always came first as a child - even before Barbie"

She explained: "A lot of kids today seem to spend their whole lives in front of the telly or on PlayStation. That would have been torture for me. I was always looking out of the window, wondering what was going on.

"If Dad [trainer Ted Walsh] brought back a new horse, I was out there like a shot. Yeah, I was a bit of a tomboy. I did have a few girly toys — Barbie dolls and all that — but I'd just dismantle them. Pulling their poor legs off ! Let's just say dolls weren't my thing."