Australia

I apologize about not keeping my blog up to date while I was in Australia, it was a fantastic experience though. The people were so nice and the culture was very cool. I thought it was funny that instead of signs for Deer crossing, like we have in America, they had sings to watch for Kangaroos. These guys were everywhere. We had to be careful during our time in the Hunter Valley because one just might jump out in front of you while you were driving to work in the morning.

The Darley farms in Australia were spectacular. The environment was perfect for rearing horses and it allowed them to be outside pretty much 24 hours a day. During my time on the Darley farms I worked in the breeding shed, the nominations office, in the prep shed, and on farm crew. They were all very cool experiences. I enjoyed learning how to drive tractors on farm crew and being around the stallions in the breeding shed.

When we arrived we immediately began working. We helped out with the stallion parade which was great. It was awesome to see all of the top Darley stallions in one place. Australia is very lucky with the shuttle stallions because not only do they have the opportunity to breed to their best stallions but they also have the ability to breed to some of the best from America and Europe.

We were very fortunate during our time in Australia because we were able to see several different parts of the country. We were based in the Hunter Valley but we also got to spend a bit of time in Syndey and in Melbourne. Sydney was a gorgeous city, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge were spectacular sights. We spent a week in Sydney for our leadership course and also drove there several weekends for racing.

Though Sydney was great my favorite part of Australia had to be the time I spent in Melbourne. Melbourne is one of the coolest cities I have ever been to. What was really awesome was being there for the Flemington Spring Carnival. After seeing the Melbourne Cup I have to say that it is the best racing event in the world. It is a must see for any racing fan. The entire country literally stops to watch this one race and the atmosphere at the track was truly amazing. I wanted to have a good seat for the race so bad that I sat outside in the rain for two races before the Cup and though I got thoroughly soaked it was worth it. After the Melbourne Cup I got to stay in Melbourne for another 4 weeks and work for trainer Danny O'Brien at Flemington Racecourse. It was really enjoyable being in an Australian racing stable. I learned so much because the way horses are trained in Australia is very different from anything I had seen prior. Danny and his staff were great. I got to get a look at his new training facility, swim horses, spend a day in the office, and watch track work from time to time.

Australia really was fantastic and I loved the time that I spent there. After Australia I got to go home to California for a few weeks. It was great spending time with the family and catching up with friends. I'm now in Dubai and it has been great so far.