Nina Carberry's husband said he was "so proud" of the former jockey after her first appearance on Dancing with the Stars.
The Irish Grand National winner was partnered up with pro dancer Pasquale La Rocca as the fifth series of the RTE hit show premiered on Sunday night.
Facing up for a quick step, Nina put in a brilliant dance, with her footwork being key as she earned a solid 19 points from the judges - the highest score of the evening.
Posting on Twitter following the show, Nina's husband Ted Walsh Junior, who is the brother of former riders Ruby and Katie and son of trainer Ted, said: "So proud of @ninacarberry brilliant at whatever she does."
And those who tuned in gushed about Nina on social media after her performance.
"NINA! Best dance of the night." said one excited fan.
"That's a strong start for Nina" noted a second.
While a third praised the Meath native for how she acts away from the spotlight, tweeting: "Really rooting for Nina this year. She is such a genuine, lovely, hardworking gal. C'mon Nina you got this"
New judge Arthur exclaimed: "Oh Nina, you are definitely the dark horse of the night, that was beautiful. You said you are not girly? I completely disagree. The only thing I will say, work on your upper body...relax more, enjoy!"
But someone diagreed and said the 37-year-old "isn’t the ‘dark horse’ to win", adding "after that tonight, she’s the clear front runner".
Nina had previoulsy spoke about how the show would be the "hardest challenge of her life."
She added on Racing Post: "I took it on thinking it would be fine but, no, it's the hardest thing I've done in my whole life. It's so hard. I was really up for the challenge, but I've realised how much I've bitten off now and it certainly won't be easy.
"I'm two weeks into training and I came into this with no background in dancing at all. It's a complete culture shock, but I'm really relishing the challenge and am excited to give it a go. It will be interesting to see how I get on anyway."
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