First Week

I’ve just finished the first week of the Darley Flying Start program. It’s everything I expected and more. The other 11 trainees are extremely knowledgeable in their areas of specialization. I really feel like I’m surrounded with the best of the best. They’re all great people as well. Darley has really done a fantastic job with the entire program. I’m living on a private section of the farm which has its own 12 stall yard and 5 large paddocks. I’m sharing the house with two gentlemen, one from France and one from Ireland so the house has a very international feel to it. As for the program itself, the course material is fantastic. There’s a lot of it so we will be kept very busy but it’s so in depth in every aspect of the thoroughbred industry.
It’s been great sitting down with the rest of the trainees and learning about the thoroughbred industry in their home countries. It’s amazing how different things are from place to place. That includes breeding, training, rules, and even conformation. Conformation that we look for in horses in the states is very different from what people like in horses over here.
The grounds where the horses are trained are unbelievable as well. Before the program started I did some travelling and visited various training gallops. Newmarket in England was unbelievable; there were multiple uphill gallops and trails lined with trees for the horses to walk back on. One group of about 30 horses stayed at the top of the gallop after training and grazed for about 20 minutes with the riders still up on their backs. The Curragh is a sight to see as well. It’s just acres upon acres of lush green gallops on the outer edge of the racetrack as well as numerous woodchip gallops, sand gallops, and one polytrack gallop. The day before I arrived I went to the races with my family. It was great to see that everybody was dressed up at the races. People still have a great respect for the sport of kings over here in Ireland. At the end of the races Aidan O’Brien worked four horses “a mile and a half” in groups of two over the undulating course at The Curragh. O’Brien worked the great Yeats, four time Ascot Gold Cup winner, in preparation for the Irish St. Leger. It was amazing seeing this unbelievable machine of a horse in the flesh finally and he didn’t disappoint in the work, dusting his workmate by over five lengths. I can’t wait to continue my education in this amazing program. I’ve been very fortunate to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity. To learn more about the program visit www.darleyflyingstart.com.