Neil Armstrong Kennedy, a retired jockey from Kirkby, is making an ambitious plea to NASA to take him to the moon. Despite sharing his name with one of the most famous men of the 20th century, he has achieved remarkable moments of his own.
A Childhood of Adventure
Looking back to his childhood, Neil explained he was always an adventurous type. He told the ECHO: "I was hyperactive, on the go all the time, sports crazy, super fit. If my dad locked me in the bedroom at night, I'd sneak out the window and go with my friends. While he was in the pub, I was out with my friends having a laugh, then I'd climb up the tree and then back in the window and go to bed until the next day to go to school."
Becoming a Jockey
As the years passed and he headed towards school-leaving age, he said it was a morning in front of the TV which helped him make one of the defining decisions of his life. He said: "I was 15 and my mum and dad were here and I was sitting with them in front of the TV and horse racing came on. I remember it very well as if it was yesterday, they said 'Why don't you become a jockey?'"
After working with the famous English horse trainer, Ginger McCain, he gradually worked his way up to becoming a jockey and got his first taste of glory when he was aged 18. Neil said: "When I tasted my first victory, I went past the line, my voice dried up, I couldn't speak, I was crying in joy because I'd won a race and it was at Brighton. I loved it, and I said, 'I want more.' I got the adrenaline that day to ride more winners."
For the next 25 years he competed in hundreds more races and recorded an impressive haul of 200 wins and even won a huge £100,000 after one particular triumph at Goodwood racecourse. But having now been retired from the sport for 23 years, he is hoping to take on his most ambitious challenge yet.
Moon Ambition
While he has scaled the heights of his own profession throughout his career, Neil Armstrong Kennedy is now vying to complete the same historic moment that the other Neil Armstrong did in 1969. Just like he did at 15, his mum Brenda, 82, said it was while sitting in front of the TV at home that sparked his newest ambition. She said: "When he saw the moon men [astronauts] going up, he said, 'oh, I'd love to do that'. He keeps going on about going to the moon."
After watching footage of the Artemis II mission which took place in April this year, he is now calling on NASA to take him aboard the Artemis IV mission [likely to be in 2028], which will attempt to put people on the moon for the first time since the historic Apollo 17 December 1972 mission.
As his name suggests, Neil's connection to the moon goes back further than his recent ambition. He said: "When my mum was in hospital ready to give give birth to me, she said 'What shall I call my son?' and a nurse came over and said 'Neil Armstrong's on the moon now. Why don't you call him Neil Armstrong?' From that day on, I've been known as Neil Armstrong Kennedy."
Confidence in His Mission
While many might question whether he has the appropriate capabilities to take on such a challenge, he has complete self-confidence. He said: "Even though I'm old now, I don't feel it because I'm at the pinnacle in my life." He added: "They should look into it more deeply and look at my profile and they'll go, he's named after Neil Armstrong, we should invite him over. Get him over here. He's not scared of going to the moon."
"This target is the ultimate goal that I will achieve in life, and I will not surrender." He concluded: "Just trust in me because I'll do the job. It'll be a better story than any author could ever write."
