Life as a Darley Flying Start Trainee
Lexington, USA February 2007
The fourth intake of DFS students arrived in Lexington prepared for zero-visibility blizzards and frostbite, but was somewhat disappointed with the downright pleasant weather that they encountered. However, this all changed and the group has now sent home stories about how they barely survived the “winter of ’07.” The group settled in nicely to our most luxurious accommodations to date and got right down to business with visits to farms, vet clinics, racetracks and talks from the best and the brightest Kentucky has to offer. With spring just around the corner we will run down just a few of the people, places and horses we have encountered thus far:
Saddle Ridge – This local establishment has been the host to many of our fun weekends. It’s a country dance club equipped with a mechanical bull, line dancing, and a large enough dance floor for everyone to embarrass themselves. Many of us are proud to be considered regulars there now and we are hoping to leave Lexington with a little more country installed in us.
Storm Cat – Though the group has visited too many farms to name here and seen about half of the stallions listed in the Stallion Register, our visit to see Storm Cat stands out among them. We all felt privileged to see this legend in the flesh and we could have listened to the stories of his exploits for hours. During all of our farm visits we have been met with gracious and helpful staff.
The W. T. Young Library – A few members of the group have become regulars at the W. T. Young Library at the University of Kentucky. The library has been a perfect location to work on whatever assignments are on our plate at any given time. However, rumour has it that the library offers as many distractions as it does resources, which somewhat tempers the academic advantage it provides.
Mitch and Paul – We were expecting sore backs, bloody fingers, and complete exhaustion from the two week farriery course that we enrolled in at the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. Our school directors Mitch and Paul delivered those along with thorough lectures explaining the trade, the locomotion and anatomy of horse limbs, techniques that are used, and many of the foot management problems that our industry faces. An immense amount of information was offered through this course in just two weeks duration. We certainly owe thanks to Mitch for keeping things fun and entertaining during our crash course into the Horseshoeing trade.
Churchill Downs – Fuelled by a visit to Ken-Tex for a barbecue lunch, we made the trip to Louisville for a tour of the famed Twin Spires. Even though the track is eerily quiet this time of year, it did not take much imagination to conjure images of the first Saturday in May, which we are all anxiously looking forward to.
Jon and Joe – The hours spent in the foaling barn at Gainsborough can no doubt be long, but the time passed easier with the company of foaling barn attendants, Jon and Joe. We have been impressed with Jon’s willingness to let Liz watch whatever she wants on television, not matter how sappy and Joe’s uncanny ability to predict whether or not a mare will foal during the night.
Gold’s Gym, aka Globo Gym Many of our lifestyles have become extremely healthy after becoming members at what we call our local “Globo Gym”. They offer protein shakes, fake sun tans, personal trainers to test your limits, and enough motivating music to get you jumping even at 5am. Others of us have preferred our simple apartment complex workout room aka Average Joes. As you can see we have put ourselves in training in preparation for any unknown challenges that lie ahead. Some of us like to consider ourselves on our own personal Derby trail.
Chubby – While the group has been impressed with the work that all of the management and staff do at Gainsborough Farm, we have been most impressed with the unsung hero of the operation – Chubby, the teasing pony. We are learning all about the breeding season from Allen, Dean, Gary and Brian, but we are learning about persistence from Chubby.
We have all been thankful for such a warm reception from Lexington’s Darley management and staff and the many experts that have lectured us. We will be anxious to report on our work experiences during our weekly rotations throughout the Darley organization and at the Hagyard vet clinic. This has been another peek into the lives of Darley Flying Start trainees and I must say we are thoroughly enjoying each and every day. Thank you all who continue to make this such a great program.
Dean and Brandon
The trainees at Churchill Downs. Larger image
Sarah and Dean at work at the Kentucky Horseshoeing School.
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Dissection of horse leg at KHS.
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Jon and Liz on foal watch in the small hours. Larger image