THE Agri Careers fair, now in its second year, was established to showcase and highlight agricultural careers in Ireland today.

At this year’s fair there were over 60 exhibitors with 1,122 live roles to offer and jobseekers flocked to the event in their thousands.

Ireland’s equine sectors, both thoroughbred and sport horse, are a fundamental part of Ireland’s agricultural industry. The thoroughbred sector contributes nearly €1.1 billion annually to the Irish economy, directly employs approximately 14,000 individuals and thousands more indirectly. The sport horse sector contributes over €700m to the economy annually and provides 12,500 full-time job equivalents.

The equine sectors were well represented at Agri Careers with Horse Racing Ireland, Connolly’s Red Mills, Alltech, CAFRE, Teagasc, MSD and the Irish Farrier Authority, to mention a few, exhibiting on the day.

Commenting on the success of this year’s event, Mary Phelan, careers and education editor for the Irish Farmers Journal, said: “I was delighted with the day. I was particularly pleased with the range of roles we had on offer. I really felt there was something for everyone – anyone who had an interest in working in agriculture would come away with very substantial job leads from the day.

“That for me was the priority, that attendees would feel a trip to Dublin for the fair was a worthwhile excursion (and use of their time).

“The buy-in from exhibitors and national media alike was also fantastic. All the exhibitors were just as excited as we in the Farmers Journal and our partners Open Eir were. One of the most important elements of the fair is highlighting the breadth of opportunity in the sector and I felt we did just that.”

STARTING OUT

The focal point of the event was, once again, the main stage which served as a platform for those who have already built careers in the industry to impart nuggets of wisdom and inspiration which would resonate with people long after the fair.

This year’s main stage line-up included an equine panel comprised of Louisa Williams, former champion jockey and inventor of Ice-Vibe equine boots; Patrick Ryan of Horse Racing Ireland, co-ordinator of the newly established Careers and Racing Education Department (CARE); and Clodagh Kavanagh, general manager of Godolphin Flying Start - a two year full-time international management and leadership training programme for the thoroughbred industry. The session was chaired by our editor, Leo Powell.

The theme of the discussion was: ‘What is possible in the equine sector and how to make dreams a reality’.

Leo Powell opened the session by stating that: “For many, working with horses is seen as a vocation rather than a career” and that seemed to ring true as the guest speakers described how they became involved in the equine sector.

Clodagh Kavanagh’s family background was in agriculture, her father was a vet who had a farm. Kavanagh grew up “horse mad” and got a pony at the age of 10, with whom she competed in pony club events.

At the age of 17 Kavanagh began riding-out for a local trainer and from that instance she was hooked. Kavanagh rode in six races as an amateur jockey and found it to be a fantastic education, before going on to study agricultural science in UCD.

Having finished her degree, Kavanagh worked for a number of very reputable studs including Moyglare, Derrinstown and Ballysheehan Stud. She then got a job at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE), working part-time. That turned in to a full-time job and Kavanagh eventually became general manager, spending 10 years there in total.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai wanted to design a programme for new leaders of the thoroughbred industry, to bring people from around the world together, give them an education and put them back out into the industry. Kavanagh started with Godolphin in 2003 and that was the beginning of the Godolphin Flying Start programme.

HORSE MAD

Louisa Williams’ mother, a BHSAI instructor, had a mantra: “Ponies first, homework later” so Louisa too grew up horse mad.

Williams started riding racehorses at 13 and loved it. “In New Zealand you can drive at 15 so I got a car and used to drive to the track and ride a few horses before school. It was all horses,” stated Williams.

“I worked at a stud then doing yearling prep and it was really hard with long hours but I loved it - it was brilliant. I was going to go on and study physiotherapy but then a scholarship opportunity came up which opened doors to the thoroughbred industry, so I took it.”

Williams spent a number of years working for trainers Charlie Swan and Aidan O’Brien before creating Ice-Vibe horse boots which are now turning over €1.5m each year.

Patrick Ryan grew up in the centre of flat racing, Co Kildare, and that’s where his interest in horses grew. Ryan started out working for the Irish National Stud and was there for six years, working throughout his school and college years.

Ryan also did some work for the Tote in his spare time and, while he was working there, one day became aware of an opportunity as an accounts assistant with Horse Racing Ireland. He applied, got the job and has been there ever since.

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

As Leo Powell put it, many people might assume, initially, that working with horses means just physically doing so, but between all the sectors - sport horse, thoroughbred breeding and racing - there are any number of areas for people to work in, including supplies and product development. These areas are very important to our sector also.

According to Kavanagh, who has travelled the world in her role as general manager of Godolphin Flying Start, Ireland has “the most comprehensive suite of training and education in the thoroughbred industry.

“We have a number of equine degree programmes, we have excellent agricultural colleges, some with equine courses, we have a racing school - not every country has that. America only got a racing school five years ago.”

She concluded by saying that “I think we have amazing resources here and fantastic entities providing training for the industry. There are plenty of jobs within the equine industry for people who are bright and ambitious and want a career. The industry is hungry for people at the moment.”

Patrick Ryan added that: “There are a lot of courses that people might not be aware of. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are run all around the country and could be a platform for people to get into the industry.

“I’m trying to work with the educators to try and design a clear pathway through the different education levels.

“One of the first things we did at CARE was set up a website, workinracing.ie, which is a one-stop shop for anyone who wants information on an equine course or different career types, available jobs, etc. and there are blogs and videos from different people working out in the industry to give people a flavour of what opportunities exist.”

When asked how she felt about working in a male-dominated business, Louisa Williams responded: “I don’t buy into that. Be what you want to be, achieve what you want to achieve, no matter where you come from or who you are.”

Williams acknowledged that the culture in New Zealand is incredibly equality-driven and it is all about ‘you can’. She said that this mindset really stood to her arriving in Ireland, but concluded by saying: “I work for the animals. I never looked for a pat on the back from my employers. All I wanted was for the horses to be looked after and that they were the best they could be because we are putting them into that situation – that’s what my fight was about.”

Clodagh Kavanagh added that “When Godolphin Flying Start began, initially the ratio of men to women was about 60:40 and that now it is 40:60 men to women.”

EDUCATION

The topic of a college education and its importance for a career in the equine industry created an interesting discussion amongst the panel members and provided some excellent insight and wisdom.

Clodagh Kavanagh began by saying: “Some employers have reservations on the value of, particularly, a degree or something like that and feel you need to work your way up mucking out.

“That is the traditional way of learning your trade and it’s a very good way of learning if you work with really good people – and if those people have time to teach you. I think that’s a key thing at the moment, everyone is so busy, there often isn’t the time to bring in a young person as an apprentice and mentor them.

“Now parents and young people themselves aspire to have a college degree and I think there is a bit of disconnect between employers and particularly this millennial generation.

“Education is very important to the young people and their parents and possibly some of the employers in the thoroughbred industry like other industries are saying ‘I just need somebody to work’ – it’s a complex situation but I think it’s just a changing of the guard.”

future planning

When Louisa Williams was asked if a piece of paper was important to the different people she had worked for in the equine sector she answered: “No I don’t think so, but it has been important. As a women coming into my late 30s I couldn’t physically keep up so I have fallen back onto my diploma which covered business plans, nutrition and sports science. You do get to a crossroads in your life that you have to be prepared for, so, for me, my college education was a platform to fall back on.”

When asked to discuss further the prospect of turning an idea into a business plan Williams said: “Believe in it, if you have something that solves a problem - believe in it.

“For me it wasn’t about making money – horses legs were being blistered, pin-fired and I hated that. I wanted something non-invasive that would heal them because I loved them I did it for them and it worked out for me.”

Williams had her idea shot down in the beginning but maintained that “You can achieve anything you want to achieve, just go after it.”

She overcame a number of obstacles, honed and refined her idea before pitching it to Tom MacGuinness of Horseware Ireland. MacGuinness loved her idea and now Ice-Vibe boots are sold all over the world.

Louisa felt that she had been lucky but as Leo Powell put it “Luck comes with working hard.”