EVERY now and again you come across someone who is the perfect fit for a role. One such man is Ronan Murphy. He is the man who heads up Weatherbys Ireland, but he manages to wear a couple of other hats, and they all fit him well.

When I met him recently he explained his background. “I grew up in South Wicklow and still live near the village of Tinahely. I have always been involved very much in the animal breeding area; studied agricultural science at University College Dublin and did a masters in reproductive physiology. I specialised in stallion reproduction. I always grew up with horses and ponies and had a lifelong ambition, interest and passion for them really.

“I had an opportunity shortly after graduating to join a family business in Kilkenny called Hermitage Genetics, which was at an early stage of its development. From being a domestic business it grew to being a top 10 global player in genetics and animal breeding, with bases and business in 36 countries around the world. I really enjoyed that experience; even though it wasn’t horses, it gave me a great introduction to animal breeding, running a stud book, using science in animal production, dealing with breeders all over the world. Then the opportunity arose and I saw the role at Weatherbys advertised, Joe Kiernan was retiring. If I had to write a job role for myself that would be the one and luckily I was successful.”

Murphy talks with passion about Weatherbys. “The current chairman Johnny Weatherby and his brother Roger represents the seventh generation of the family to maintain the business. The original founding objective was to ‘rid the Turf of the evil of false and inaccurate pedigrees’. And to this day you know it’s still a very relevant objective or mission. I think the exciting thing about working at Weatherbys is the innovation. Darwin used to say that ‘it’s not the strongest of the species nor the fittest that survives, it’s the one that’s most adaptable to change’. And I think that’s very true in Weatherbys situation.”

Four hats

Murphy’s role in the firm, which employs some 400 people, expanded rapidly “I wear four hats at the moment. I manage the general stud book here in Ireland and I do the same in the UK. I also am the CEO of Weatherbys Ireland which is the laboratory and commercial services business. Then I sit on the international side of things as well; I co-chair the European and Mediterranean Stud Book Liaison Committee, I am the Weatherbys representative to the International Stud Book Committee and I represent that body at the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

Murphy outlines the role of the company. “We are an approved passport issuing organisation here in Ireland and the UK, so we are regulated by the EU legislation for our activities. Thoroughbred breeding is very different to breeding other species. We have the excellent Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association which is great and their role is very important. However they don’t dictate to the breeders what to breed. We’ve got the ultimate democracy in thoroughbred breeding and it works because people are of a like mind.”

Murphy sits as an ex-officio member on the ITBA council and this has helped him to get to know the concerns of breeders more closely. One example of this is the grievance about the cost of registration. “I used to wonder when breeders would say the fees are a problem. I looked at it and we haven’t raised our fees for registering a foal in 12 years. Part of the problem was that breeders didn’t really understand what we are doing. When you start to talk about it, and explain it and communicate it, I feel there is a much stronger understanding. I think that’s important.”

FOal Levy

What about the Foal Levy? Is that a headache? “We administer and collect the Foal Levy because it is the logical way to do it. Its’ something we are collecting on behalf of the industry; it’s a statutory levy, within a statutory instrument, and we are listed as the body to collect it for the industry. The revenue from the levy is an important support to the thoroughbred industry if Ireland, and the overwhelming compliance with it shows that most breeders agree.”

Though based at the Equine Centre, some may not understand their actual relationship with Weatherbys Ireland. What is it and what else goes on at the facility in Johnstown? “We’ve been based at the Irish Equine Centre since 1985, renting a facility there from them. That was done originally to support the Equine Centre and it’s something we are very committed to doing.

“Because of the seasonal nature of the thoroughbred industry and because we had about 8,780 foals registered last year, it’s hard to sustain a team of scientists, the facilities, the equipment, everything we need just for that one task of registering Irish thoroughbreds. So over the years we’ve diversified into parentage testing other equines. We also moved into testing cattle, sheep, fish, a number of species for DNA based tests. The laboratory part of what Weatherbys does is separate from our stud book. At the moment we are handling the largest cattle genotyping project in the world which the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation are undertaking, and we are handling the DNA testing for those farmers.”

Does Murphy have a view on the thorny issue of overproduction? “As the stud book authority we don’t take a view on it; no, it’s very much the market that decides, the breeders decide. I suppose at the moment in our foal crop here in Ireland and in the UK we’ve seen some growth. In Ireland we’ve had three years of consecutive growth now. Our foal crop is still under 9,000 foals, so we are 25% off where we were at the peak of production make sure that when foal crops increase or decrease the stud book is positioned to be able to manage their administration.”

Could Weatherbys Bank be something that would benefit the company’s Irish clients? “The bank is expanding on many fronts as a business. Opening a branch in Ireland would be a big step and whilst we wouldn’t rule it out there are some priorities that we first need to focus on before we take that step. I think it’s important to note that we have very strong links with Ireland and with the Irish market. Serving them from a banking perspective in the future is something that I think we would consider. It’s an important part of what we do.”

LEGISLATION

What about the increasing involvement in legislation from the European Union? “The environment that we operate in legislatively is something that we have to always be very aware of, and always try to think ahead. The next wave of EU legalisation will involve the animal health legislation. I think that’s something that’s going to be quite influential on the industry over the next five years. It’s very important that the concerns, the unique positioning, the integrity of the thoroughbred is protected in that negotiation and process. It’s very important that we are proactive at the outset of the discussions on that legislation as opposed to being reactive when it’s a done deal. So I think we’ve got to be aware of that and continue to engage at European level on those new legislations, in a good way, a win/win way. The EU is not an enemy of the racing or breeding industry; in fact I would say it’s the opposite, they are very supportive.”

Murphy is well aware of the many challenges within the industry. A key one is the subject of National Hunt fillies. “It has been an area that the breeders would have expressed to us a concern about. The programme for fillies is improving. There is momentum with the fillies now which is very pleasing. In May we sponsored a new listed race in Punchestown, as part of our development. We came up with a plan a year ago to change our sponsorships programme and to focus on fillies, particularly from the National Hunt sector. So we introduced new fillies’ bumpers or we sponsored fillies’ bumpers in Cork, Galway, Down Royal and Fairyhouse. We went to all the provinces and we organised get-togethers to try and understand what the issues were for breeders.

“I’m really pleased to see the progress of the Young Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and they seem to be very vibrant. I see a lot of breeders come in here to register foals and they are young breeders. That’s important.

WELFARE ISSUES

“I think welfare issues are always very important and the breeding industry needs to be very familiar again with those issues. We are an island nation, our thoroughbreds move a lot, and disease control is important.”

“I was lucky enough to own some useful National Hunt horses in my previous life and I’ve always enjoyed racing. I find in the thoroughbred industry that while we have a diverse breeding demographic, it tends to be very much aligned on issues that are affecting the industry. When push comes to shove people get behind them and they go a common direction. That’s very powerful. A lot of other industries don’t have that; they tend to be competing factions.

“The thoroughbred industry is a very closely knit, vibrant community and they should build on that. We should never underestimate the power that that has to deliver success.”