THE GLAMOUR and excitement of competing in the top races will have to wait.

But for aspiring jockey Abi Adams, it remains a dream she is determined to fulfil.

Adams, of Gunn, near Barnstaple, has just completed a nine-week course at the British Racing School in Newmarket.

Fitness tests, 5.15am starts and the constant pressure to lose weight made it far from easy.

Yet by the end of her stay, no other candidate had lost more weight and Adams, 19, had won the award for best student during the NVQ2 foundation qualification.

She said: "It was physically and emotionally demanding. It's not glamorous at all.

"I lost a stone and a half while I was there.

"When you're there you hate it, but as soon as you come home, you wish you were back there."

Breaking into the competitive world of horse racing is hard enough for anyone. But when you are a woman, it is doubly difficult.

And Adams would love to emulate the achievements of Hayley Turner, one of the few women jockeys to make it in professional flat racing.

"You have got to be really determined, especially being a girl," she said.

"There's so many jockeys out there and lots of male jockeys. It's such a male-dominated industry.

"There were a lot of boys on the course. I used to love putting them right."

Having ridden horses since she was four, Adams did a national diploma in horse management during two years at Duchy College in Cornwall.

She only considered racing as a career after taking a job at Victor Dartnall's yard in Brayford last year.

Initially unable to hold the racehorses, she was grateful to be offered a second chance by Dartnall, the respected trainer.

Recognising her potential, he sent her to Newmarket for the course, which included racing tuition by former jockey Glen Sparkes.

In Suffolk, Adams got to hone her racing skills on Sergeant Cecil, the retired racehorse once ridden by Frankie Dettori.

As well as the three fitness sessions each week, she made extra trips to the gym to meet the weight loss targets.

"The pressure to lose the weight when you're a jockey is so demanding," she said. "Dieting is horrible, I hate it."

Now back at Dartnall's stables, the hard work continues with mucking out, caring for five horses and sweeping the yards.

"I get such a buzz every day, going out on the gallops," said Adams. "It's a great adrenalin rush.

"It can be quite scary to be going really quickly, but when know you can control it and you can stop at the end, it's the best feeling ever."

In six months, Adams hopes to return to Newmarket to eanr her amateur licence, permitting her to race competitively for the first time.

"Hopefully one day I'll turn professional," she said.

"There has never been a female flat champion jockey, and that's my aim.

"I never thought I would be doing this. It was a dream and now it's coming true."