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What was your experience with horses before this?
I'm used to riding horses. My father used to breed horses when I was a child. I grew up in Tipperary, in the country, and lots of people have horses there. If my parents hadn't been in the business, we would have them anyway, as pets. And my cousin Richard is a jockey.

Did you consult him for the part?
I should have told him as soon as I got my jodhpurs, but I haven't spoken to him in years! [Laughs] He's all the way in Sweden, so it's easier to talk to the jockeys in Los Angeles. I have a trainer who used to be an exercise rider and she's also a girl, so that helps, because being a girl affects the way you sit on the horse: guys are a bit stronger in the arms, and our backsides make up for it. But all horses are different — sometimes they have a long neck — so you don't ride the same way on every horse. It depends on their body, and your body, but the object is to get down low so you're aerodynamic, so you call pull from the horse through the head. The best jockeys do that really well, and know how much to push.

Okay. So if Rosie already won one race with Gettin'up Morning without really pushing, why would she push when she doesn't have to?
I think it's because the first time she won, it was a little bit of a fluke — and the horse won, not her. She broke out of the gate last, so in the second race, she's sort of a young rider who overthinks it a bit. She gets anxious. The old man is like, "Let the horse win of his own accord," but she wonders, Is it in him? She's just thinking about being the best jockey, and winning, and her nerves get to her, so she makes a mistake. She's just feeling desperate. But she still won! [Laughs]

Source: Full interview @ Vulture