When you meet Ally ‘Skaii’ Stirling, presenter at Television Jamaica (TVJ), you are immediately struck by her attitude of supreme self-confidence.

Having made the transition from being an entertainment reporter to a sport reporter, Stirling is bringing her own style of broadcasting sporting events to Jamaican viewers.

She is even testing the status quo by cantering into the male-dominated field of horse racing. TVJ viewers and punters at Caymanas Park have now become accustomed to seeing this young lady interviewing trainers, jockeys and other racing professionals on race days. The results of her work are broadcast on the programme ‘A Moment With Thoroughbreds’ which is aired on TVJ’s Sports Network on Sundays at 6:00 pm.

“Horse racing is very interesting; the relationship between the jockeys and the horses is something that I have grown to appreciate while watching more races and seeing how they react, and the chemistry between horse and man. It is an interesting sport and horse racing is quite poetic as well,” the 24-year-old said.

Although the Sport of Kings is male-dominated, Stirling says she is making strides while having to deal with a personal conflict.

“Personally, I am an animal activist, so I prefer to see animals run free, but I do understand that the place of horses at Caymanas Park is very important, so probably that is the only disadvantage, and the place is hot as well – most times the weather is unpredictable.

“The advantage is that I am learning a whole lot and I have a great team working with me. My mentor, Spencer Darlington, my boss, Patrick Anderson, the general manager and others have been helping me out, including Denzil Miller Jr, the racing secretary. He is really a great help and a lot of other people at the track have been supportive and I appreciate it a lot.

“I didn’t expect so much support. I know that horse racing is a male-driven sport and I expected some resistance but there hasn’t been any of significance, so I am appreciative,” Stirling said.

After graduating from Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew, Stirling attended the University of the West Indies (UWI) where she studied psychology and minored in business. She didn’t get to complete her business studies, so she decided to enrol in the faculty of Mass Communication and Media at the Arizona State University in the United States. She will graduate next year.

“This wasn’t planned. I actually fell into this profession accidentally. I was recommended, and then I decided to follow up to see where it would lead as I do love to explore and I do love to explore aspects in business, and it happened.

“I was like, ok, maybe we will see, maybe I will do it and won’t really like it, but then lo and behold, I am here and thinking about a future in sport journalism and the sky is the limit from there.

“I actually started doing computer graphics and social media management from I was 16 years old and that kind of grew into entertainment, and I started managing entertainment for shows at Christopher’s and Quad to Jo Jo’s, and it grew from there and I became a DJ about two years ago and started travelling and doing shows, and television happened not too long after. I am kind of juggling those two professions. It kind of goes hand in hand sometimes, so it works,” she said.

Commenting further on her foray into sports journalism Stirling said: “I am a sports fan so if I’m not watching sports, I am trying to play sports. I actually quite love sports. I have been a sports fan for ages, though I never found myself doing it as a profession, but now I really do love it and so I may stick to it. I think I am leaning towards sports in television rather than entertainment, but I am still weighing my options.”