Course News September 28th – October 4th 2009
First Year Trainees
The Orby Yearling Sale took place at Goffs Bloodstock on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Having attended the inspection days over the weekend with bloodstock agents and Darley management, the trainees were well positioned to benefit from the opportunity to learn about the business of bloodstock agency at the sales, to familiarise themselves with the industry in Ireland and to establish many contacts within the industry. The trainees learned about areas such as bidding on horses at auction, liaising with clients and evaluating conformation and pedigrees. After the sales on Tuesday the group had dinner and some good discussion with John Ferguson and Darley management.
On Thursday the group attended the concluding lecture of their Anatomy, Physiology and Reproduction module at UCD. Their final exam takes place on Friday 9th October. The group visited Darley’s Ballysheehan Stud in Tipperary on Friday and met with manager Brian Molony. Brian showed them a number of weanlings and discussed their pedigrees and conformation with them before handing over to Rob Norris MRCVS for a very educational talk on x-raying yearlings limbs and joints. This talk was particularly relevant to the group, having spent the start of the week at the yearling sale at Goffs.
After bring treated to morning tea at Ballysheehan the group proceeded to nearby Coolmore Stud. Here the group got to see stallions such as the great Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, Montjeu and Peintre Celebre. This was followed by a very educational and comprehensive tour of the farm incuding a discusson on the procedure and routine in the covering shed and during the breeding season. The group experienced some wonderful Coolmore hospitality and food in the board room where they met some of the Coolmore management team before boarding the bus for the return journey to Kildangan. The following day eight of the trainees made the trip to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the weekend.
Second Year Trainees
On Monday morning the second year trainees sat their final Equine Nursing exams in the training room at Darley, Kelvinside. Nominations manager, Alastair Pulford met with the group for a management review and a general overview of Darley news from around the globe. They then had a discussion on Darley property, buildings and development with Richard Sonnichsen before meeting with Peter Orton of Vinery Stud. Peter gave an interesting account of his career, the Australian breeding industry and a review of the Vinery operation.
Following a lecture on Equine Amnionitis Foetal Loss with Bill Howey on Tuesday morning, the trainees visited Belltrees farm, a historic Australian homestead. The following evening the trainees had dinner with John and Kris Messara and the University of Sydney faculty. John talked about his career and how he has become a leader in the global thoroughbred industry. The discussion on leadership confirmed much of the theory the trainees had already learned and served as a good preparation for the final two days of their Leadership module which took place on Thursday and Friday.
The second year’s CV’s are now available on the Darley Flying Start website.