2007 Trainee Views

Kildangan, September 2007

And then there were five!

The fifth intake of Darley Flying Start trainees assembled at Kildangan Stud on possibly the only sunny day of the summer. This gave a somewhat misleading perception of an Irish “summer” to our International colleagues. We were welcomed to the farm by Joe Osborne, Clodagh Kavanagh, James Keogh, Ciara Nolan and Charles Spiller at Kildangan House, where we had a spectacular lunch. We were all taken aback by the idyllic setting that is Kildangan Stud.

After being introduced we all had to quite literally pinch ourselves that we were actually here, we are all extremely grateful for this privileged opportunity. Following our initial week of training and general settling in on the farm, three of the more adventurous of the group, namely Andy, Kyle and Mick, decided to pitch themselves in at the deep end and caught up with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones at Slane. A great time was had with “Satisfaction” guaranteed!

Sunday saw us regroup at Leopardstown Racecourse for a cracking day’s racing with Satu getting us out of jail for free! A number of us took a little detour through Naas on the way home which somehow ended up in Time nightclub, pulling some crazy moves on the dance floor. After five days of borrowing clothes Ian’s luggage finally arrived, much to his delight.

Week two saw all of us getting intimate with ‘resuscitation Annie’ during our first aid practical assessment. This was invaluable training which will be of huge benefit to us in years to come. On receiving our bikes from Danny Mulvihill it wasn’t long before the first casualty was recorded. James “Stephen Roche” McHale hit the tarmac, but luckily Darren was at hand to put his first aid training to good use – “no need to thank me James”.

The presentations completed as part of our communications course provided a great insight of the cultural diversity within the group. Hats off to Andy who gave a terrifying rendition of the Haka to conclude his memorable presentation on “Growing up in New Zealand”. It took people sitting in the front row perhaps a little longer to recover from this spectacular display!

Our first visit to the Veterinary faculty at UCD for Equine Anatomy and Physiology was extremely nostalgic for two of our members and brought a tear to their eyes. That evening we attended the smashing summer BBQ at Kildangan. After being hayed and watered the Flying Starters gallantly lost a tug-of-war competition however spirits remained high despite defeat. The ‘welly throwing’ competition proved a lot harder than anticipated with adjudicator, Ciara Nolan, barely managing to come out unscathed as a result of the ordeal....apologies Ciara!

Following a spectacular Irish breakfast at Mick’s parents’ house we had the privilege of attending the opening day of Dundalk’s new all weather track. This was a memorable day’s racing to witness with one exciting finish after another. The pockets weren’t dented too badly and then it was back to Michael and Maggie Flanagan’s for yet another cracking feed. We have all attended R.A.C.E to begin our NVQ Level 3 training and begin our lunging, long-reigning and bandaging tutorials. Many thanks go out to Niall, Barry and Paul for all their help.

Clodagh brought the gang out for a night in Time to see Irish band The Blizzards. A great night was had by all and Clodagh agreed that the lead singer was indeed very talented! The following Sunday saw the group attending the Curragh for the first time with the Moyglare Stud Stakes the highlight of the card. This was a cracking renewal with Saoirse Abu a popular winner among the group.

The work load is ever increasing with 3 UCD Veterinary assessments looming large so it’s time to really roll the sleeves up. We are all excited about what the remainder of our time in Ireland has to offer and are really looking forward to the yearling sales season.

Darren Fox & Mick Flanagan

Click here for a list of all 2007 trainee views

Group at Leopardstown