2008 Trainee Views

September - October 2008 - Kildangan and Paris

The time has flown here at Kildangan Stud; it seems like only yesterday we posted the last trainee views. There were numerous highlights over the last six weeks, including our visit to John Oxx's yard which was a fantastic opportunity for those among us with training aspirations. Also, trips to Coolmore Stud and Ballysheehan Stud were memorable to say the least. The Irish Equine Centre and Troytown Equine Hospital provided an invaluable insight into the variety of services they provide to the Irish industry. Trips to Horse Racing Ireland and Fairyhouse Racecourse exposed the group to the marketing and management facets of Irish horseracing. We also had the pleasure of having some prominent industry figures, such as Michael O’Hagan, Harry Sweeney MRCVS and Des Leadon MRCVS addressing the group on their specialist subject matters.

Over the past month, we have witnessed some top-class racing. At Punchestown the international contingent were treated to the clash of former Cheltenham Gold Cup heroes Kicking King and War of Attrition. On the flat front, we attended the Irish St. Leger and National Stakes at the Curragh, with Septimus and Mastercraftsman coming out on top. Without question, our trip to Paris for the Prix De l’Arc de Triomphe was an unbelievable experience. Although Charlie impressed us with his linguistic skills, Mick's grasp of the French language will live long in the memory. Some of the group enjoyed the sights and sounds of Parisian life on the Saturday, whilst others attended racing at Longchamp. That evening we enjoyed a lovely meal in a traditional French restaurant, with some of our diverse accents (especially Mick’s) going down a treat with the locals, and Gary’s infamous ‘grey jacket’ catching the fancy of many. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate on the Sunday, however seeing the wonder filly Zarkava in the flesh more than made up for it.

The annual ambassador’s lunch at the historic Kildangan House is another highlight that springs to mind. On an Irish front the group got the opportunity to meet An Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue, ex Minister for Finance, Alan Dukes and the Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, Brian Kavanagh to name but a few.

For the yearling sales at Goffs, the trainees were assigned to some of the best and brightest within the industry, which proved to be a fantastic opportunity to gain some valuable experience on conformation evaluation. Everyone enjoyed a lovely evening at the Hanged Man’s Inn which proved to be a delightful setting to meet up with John Ferguson and Andrew Edgar. We concluded our veterinary module at UCD, with the final exam going well, much to the relief of the trainees. On behalf of everyone we would like to extend a sincere thank you to all our lecturers, especially Emmy Hill for organising the course.

Our final thank you and goodbye to the Irish industry involved our presentations at the Keadeen Hotel. As everyone was very anxious to do a good job, countless hours and late nights were spent in preparation. The conference itself was a great success with some of the presentations generating a healthy debate. Jimmy and Bill ensured that there were a few laughs in the audience with their humour.
The wonderful welcome and warmth of the Kildangan staff was much appreciated by the entire group and we would like to thank them all for all their help and support. Goodbye Ireland – with Mick and Gary signing out as team leaders.

Mick Buckley & Gary King

Click here for a list of all 2008 trainee views

All smiles at Kildangan barbeque